DAYTON, Ohio – It took some time to begin working out the kinks of live baseball outdoors but, nevertheless, Otterbein ultimately worked its way to a sweep of Wilmington College at Day Air Ballpark across Saturday afternoon.

The Cardinals, winning by final scores of 5-2 and 8-5, begin their season on a positive note after waiting a full calendar year to get back on the diamond. The two schools will return to the same facility on Sunday for another doubleheader.

GAME 1: (W 5-2)
Both sides traded runs in the first, as Wilmington tallied an RBI-single before Otterbein responded with a double from Luke Barber that brought home Gino Pierro.

The two starting pitchers then settled in and kept the game right there, as Cardinal ace Collin Hoffmann allowed just two hits and no more damage throughout five innings. Counterpart Luke Chappie was also solid for the Quakers, going a full seven innings and leaving the game with his club ahead 2-1.

Otterbein stayed the course and eventually broke through against the Wilmington bullpen, scoring four times in the eighth to jump in front for good. The Cards batted around in a sequence that featured a bit of everything, including RBI-singles from Matthew Gibson and Ryan Mitchell to leap ahead.

Travis Burson ultimately secured a victory for Otterbein, allowing no hits over four innings of relief despite working around a handful of free bases. Wilmington had just two hits for the entire game.

GAME 2: (W 8-5)
The rematch saw Wilmington take another lead, this time plating one run in each of its first three at-bats. Otterbein got going in the bottom of the third, bringing four runs across and never trailing again… Dmitri Collaros led off the frame with a double, and singles from Will Johnson and Zak Repar later benefited the rally.

Ashland transfer Zach Franz was involved in a few scoring plays moving forward; an RBI groundout in the fifth, followed by reaching on and error and then coming around to score on another error after stealing third base.

Wilmington kept things interesting by crossing a pair in the eighth, leaving the deficit at just 7-5, but the Cardinal bullpen would help finish the job. Cody Goletz received the win following three strong middle innings on the bump, and senior Nick Meyer earned a save by shoving the last four outs where the ball didn't leave the infield.

Collaros went 3 for 4 from the leadoff spot while Johnson, Gibson and Repar all had multi-hit games themselves.

UP NEXT:
The Cardinals and Quakers will reconnect Sunday morning for showdowns at 11 a.m. and 2 p.m. Stay tuned to otterbeincardinals.com and all of our social media outlets for continued coverage.