Box Score 1 | Box Score 2

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WESTERVILLE, Ohio – At last, the Cardinal baseball team was able to get back on the diamond Thursday afternoon to host an Ohio Athletic Conference (OAC) doubleheader with Muskingum University.

The contest, originally scheduled for Good Friday, had been postponed and rescheduled a handful of times as inclement weather has made its way through the surrounding area. Otterbein found a way to shake off the rust as both games progressed on Thursday, receiving two quality pitching efforts and playing to a doubleheader sweep over the Muskies by scores of 8-4 and 10-3.


Game 1:

The first contest settled into a nice pitching duel between Muskingum's Evan Hinds and Otterbein junior Johnny Putnam, who both allowed just two runs by the midway point of the seventh inning.

The Cardinals took the lead for good on a two-out rally in the bottom of the frame, with shortstop Ben Beachy delivering an RBI-double into the right-center field gap that scored Justin Feltner. Tyler Thompson followed with an RBI-single down the left-field line before first baseman Luke Barber lofted a two-run homer to the same area of the ballpark.

Otterbein carried that 6-2 lead into the eighth and eventually prevailed after both teams added another pair of runs. Putnam was impressive on the mount despite not starting for almost an entire month, striking out nine Muskies and not walking in moving to 2-1 this year.

Third baseman Connor Brett went 3 for 4 with a pair of extra-base hits while Barber and Feltner also had multi-hit performances.
 

Game 2:

The rematch followed a similar theme for a little while as both g teams plated a couple early runs and were tied 2-2 entering the fifth inning.

Muskingum took a very brief 3-2 lead before the Cards erupted behind the bat of Beachy, who smoked a towering two-run homer to left field following a leadoff double from Mitch Stotler and then sent a three-run blast into orbit during his next at-bat in the sixth inning. They were just the third and fourth round-trippers of his career.

Those swings gave Otterbein an 8-3 lead, and the Cards would add a pair of insurance runs down the backstretch in coasting to victory. The Muskies did load the bases with one out in the ninth inning against Jaryd Murphy, but the junior right-handed did a nice job escaping with a strikeout and flyout.

Freshman Ethany Doty was sharp on the hill and improved to a 3-1 record as a result, allowing just one earned run and fanning six batters over seven innings of work. He handed things off to lefty Ren Martin, who looked very sharp out of the pen before transitioning to Murphy in the ninth.

Beachy finished the second game with six RBI while Barber was an impressive 4 for 5. Both players remain over .400 this year at the plate, with Barber's .451 average currently good enough to rank second in the OAC. Tim Snyder hit a perfect 3 for 3 in game two while Thompson was 2 for 4.

Muskingum's Michael Pagano, the reigning OAC Hitter of the Week, entered the day holding a league-best .519 batting average but the Cardinal pitchers limited him to just a 1 for 7 output.

Otterbein will be back in action Saturday afternoon at Fishbaugh Field, hosting Heidelberg for a twinbill beginning at 1 p.m.