Box Score

WESTERVILLE, Ohio – Some inclement weather, a holiday weekend and final exams kept the Otterbein baseball team off the diamond for over a week recently, but the Cardinals were finally able to get back in action Wednesday afternoon with a non-conference outing against Mount St. Joseph at Fishbaugh Field.

A quick two-hour game ended with Otterbein escaping 4-3 down the stretch, as senior Vince Ruggieri and Tim Snyder both launched home runs to help make the difference. Otterbein improves to 17-13 on the year as a result.


HOW IT HAPPENED:

• MSJ plated an unearned run in the first and then another in the third for a 2-0 lead.
   
• Ruggieri, pinch hitting in the third inning, swiftly knotted the game with his first-career home run across the right-field fence.
   
• The Lions jumped back on top with a two-out single in the sixth before Otterbein countered again. Ruggieri was involved yet again, drawing a lead-off walk and then later hustling home from third on a pop/sac fly to shortstop by Snyder that was corralled behind the second base bag in shallow center.
   
• Snyder had the game-winning bomb in the eighth, jumping on a pitch and sending it opposite field down the right-field line.
   
• Junior closer Collin Hoffmann shut the door from there, tossing a clean ninth inning for his seventh save this spring.
   

 
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE:

• The Cardinals whole-staffed it from a pitching standpoint, with freshmen Travis Engard and Travis Burson each tossing three frames to begin. Cody Goletz pitched a scoreless seventh and Andy Caddas (3-0) earned the win with a clean eighth.
   
• Senior Connor Brett went 0 for 4 at the plate to unfortunately snap his 15-game hitting streak. He rocketed a ball down the left-field line in the sixth that looked like it had a chance to get out, but was corralled on the warning track.
   
• Mount St. Joseph out-hit Otterbein by a count of 10-5, with Roman Rothwell and Tyrell Anderson both notching three each in the middle of the lineup.
   
• Hoffmann ranks top-15 nationally in saves this year and is just one behind Heidelberg's Joey Wenning for the conference lead.
   

 
UP NEXT:

Otterbein will hit the road for a crucial OAC doubleheader in Berea, traveling to take on first-place Baldwin Wallace come Saturday afternoon at 1 p.m.