WESTERVILLE, Ohio – The Otterbein softball team split a conference doubleheader with No. 25 Muskingum, as the Fighting Muskies did majority of their damage in the fifth inning in game one. In game two, the Cardinals got revenge by taking advantage of multiple Muskingum miscues.  

Otterbein now holds a 12-10 overall record and a 4-2 mark in the Ohio Athletic Conference (OAC), while Muskingum is now 21-5 on the year and 5-1 in the league.

HOW IT HAPPENED:
GAME ONE: MUSKINGUM – 9, OTTERBEIN – 5

• The Cardinals scored first in the opening inning, as Katrina Wierzbicki had a sacrifice fly to score Maria Herron.
• Gabby Johnson did not allow a hit for the first four innings in the circle, while Muskingum would finally figure out the All-conference pitcher in the fifth by scoring five runs.
• Muskingum would add on four more runs over the course of the sixth and seventh inning.
• Otterbein put one final effort together in the seventh inning, as Courtney Hackney hit the top of the Clements Center with a two-run homer to left field.

GAME TWO: OTTERBEIN – 8, MUSKINGUM - 7

• Herron scored on a wild pitch in the first inning, as Alyson Shaw used her speed to advance from first to third on the same pitch.
• Wierzbicki had a hard hit groundball on the next at-bat which scored Shaw to give Otterbein a 2-1 edge.
• Kayla Queer added to the Cardinal lead with a single up the middle in the third inning.
• The Otterbein offense added a few runs of insurance in the fourth inning by capitalizing on a couple Muskingum errors.
• Muskingum used the long ball to score three runs in the sixth and seventh inning.
• Erin Vonderwell made her first appearance of the season with the Cardinals leading 8-7 in the seventh with one out. The first batter reached on a single, but the sophomore maintained her composure and retired the next two batters.

INSIDE THE BOX SCORE:

• After finishing last season with nine homers, Hackney hit her first of the season to deep left field. 
• This was the first time Otterbein played a conference opponent who was ranked inside the top 25 since 2015 when Heidelberg was No. 24 in the nation.
• The last time Otterbein defeated a nationally ranked opponent was in 2017 when the Cardinals beat #10 Alma 3-2.
• The Cardinal defense only allowed one single hit to reigning National Hitter of the Week Krissy Hughes, as she went 1 of 9 for the afternoon.
• Shaw tallied four hits in game two to move into fifth place all-time in program history with 189 career hits, as she passes Casey Clarridge (09-12).

UP NEXT:
The Cardinals will host OAC opponent Heidelberg Saturday at 1 p.m. Otterbein lost both games in extra innings to the Student Princes during the regular season last year, but got revenge and won 12-3 in the OAC Tournament.