GRANVILLE, Ohio – Despite the Coronavirus sending thousands of Ohioans into a frenzy Wednesday afternoon, the Otterbein baseball team remained calm on the diamond and played its way to a critical 12-6 regional win at nearby Denison.

The Cardinals, competing less than 48 hours after landing back in Columbus after midnight from their spring break trip to Florida, used a big fifth inning to take the lead and never trail again. Otterbein now stands 8-5 on the season after its fifth-straight win.

Both sides traded home runs in the first inning, as Luke Barber smashed a solo shot for his fourth round tripper of the spring before Brian McAuliffe launched a two-run shot bomb in the bottom half.

Otterbein later trailed 5-3 entering the middle frames, but strung together a huge two-out rally that plated four runs in the fifth. Matthew Gibson bega the sequence with a single and then Ryan Mitchell, back in Granville after transferring from Denison in the offseason, drew a timely walk…

Zak Repar, back after missing a few games due to injury, continued the spurt with an infield single. Brayden Carter followed with a critical 2-RBI poke to right field and the Cards eventually crossed four runs.

Senior Cody Goletz, earning his first win of the year, came on to chuck three hitless and scoreless frames midway through to keep the Big Red silent. Otterbein eventually added four more insurance runs in the eighth, as sophomore lefty Travis Burson went the final three innings to earn another save. He fanned six batters.

Barber finished the night 4 for 6 at the dish, scoring three runs himself, while Carter, Gibson, Chase Collins and Adam Stotler all had multi-hit outings as well. Carter had a team-best three RBI and also walked twice, reaching base four times.

The Cardinals are now scheduled to head to Lexington, Ky. this coming weekend for a trio of games, consisting of a doubleheader against host Transylvania on Friday followed by a matchup against Wisconsin-OshKosh.