Box Score 1 | Box Score 2

CINCINNATI, Ohio – The Cardinal softball squad picked up a pair of wins at Mount St. Joseph on Tuesday evening to snap a three-game losing skid and get back on the winning track.

The victories for Otterbein bump its record to 18-8 overall on the spring as a duo of twinbill's in Ohio Athletic Conference (OAC) are on tap for the remainder of the week on home field.. The Cards will host Wilmington tomorrow with first pitch of game one slated for 3 p.m.

Game One – Won, 9-7

Mount St. Joseph (14-8 overall) nearly handed Otterbein its third-consecutive late-inning loss, but the Cardinals countered each opportunity by delivering clutch hits with runners in scoring position.

An early 4-0 lead was in favor of the Cards as senior Bailey McElwain and freshman Katrina Wierzbicki each poked a two-run home run over the first two innings, respectively. But it was MSJ which battled back with two runs in the fourth and three in the fifth to take its first lead.

The Cards then regained the lead for the first time in the top of the sixth inning as senior Maddie Flasco led off with a hit-by-pitch, before a two-out walk from sophomore Courtney Hackney set the table for back-to-back run-scoring hits from senior Rachael Owens and Wierzbicki.

A 7-5 advantage quickly turned into another tie game as the Lions stringed together two runs on three hits in the bottom half. It was the Cards that would have the final say though as a one-out walk by junior Alyson Shaw in the final frame setup a two-out two-run double from senior Megan Garner to put the team ahead for good.

Junior Anna Edwards earned the win in relief of starter Gabby Johnson, who exited after four-and-a-third innings pitched. Edwards tossed one-and-two-thirds innings, before sophomore Kasey Morris earned the save with a shutout after facing two batters over the final two outs.

Game Two – Won, 10-2

The Cards made it two-straight wins behind a solid performance in the circle from Owens, who posted one of her best outings of the season going the distance for her fifth complete-game and second shutout.

A 1-0 lead after one inning of play turned into a 6-0 advantage after the second frame as Otterbein reached base safely seven times en route to five runs, thanks in part to a pair of errors on MSJ.

A leadoff double from Shaw, who would come around to score in the fourth, again set the stage to boost the margin, and that the Cards did as an error two batters later placed McElwain on first. Garner then added to the score with an RBI-double before Owens and McElwain added two more runs to inflate the score.

Owens switched to the outfield in the third inning after not allowing a hit, fanning two MSJ hitters while walking just one to earn her sixth win of the year. Morris came on in relief for the second game in a row and threw the final two innings with a 10-0 lead, surrendering two runs on five hits and a walk. 

Senior Maria Reed, along with Garner, McElwain and Shaw, each tallied two hits in the game as six different players accounted for a run batted-in.