UNIVERSITY HEIGHTS, Ohio – The Otterbein baseball team kept its postseason chances alive Saturday afternoon on the road, finding a way to hang on and take both opening games of a massive weekend series with John Carroll.

The Cardinals, on the outside looking in at the six-team Ohio Athletic Conference (OAC) Tournament, trail the Blue Streaks for the final spot in the league's upcoming bracket but aren't going anywhere quietly.

Otterbein began this regular-season finale needing to sweep all four contests with JCU, but achieved half the task at Schweickert Field by scores of 6-4 and 13-11. Both sides will play again Sunday in Westerville, and the Cards will need to win both matchups in order to prolong its spring schedule.

GAME ONE: (W 6-4)
Pitching aces Collin Hoffmann and Mitchell Midea, the OAC's strikeout leader headlining John Carroll's rotation, squared off in the first game. Both hurlers kept the opposition scoreless into the fifth inning before JCU struck first with an RBI single.

Otterbein countered nicely, scoring twice in the sixth frame and then adding another three in the seventh, courtesy of a Ryan Mitchel RBI-double and two-run homer off the bat of Luke Barber.

John Carroll loaded the bases (with no outs) in the bottom half of the seventh, forcing a pitching change from Hoffmann to senior Nick Meyer. JCU plated three in the sequence but the Cardinals remained slightly ahead…

A sacrifice fly from Mitchell in the eighth provided a key insurance run, although Meyer didn't need much else as he retired the next six batters… including three swinging strikeouts. Barber and shortstop Zak Repar both had two hits in the contest.

GAME TWO: (W 13-11)
Otterbein parlayed that momentum into the rematch, getting a three-run homer from Repar and ultimately scoring four runs in the first inning. The Cards batted around and almost added even more, but stranded the bases loaded.

Otterbein later stood on top, 7-2, in the fifth after RBI pokes from Matthew Gibson and Brayden Carter. But a pesky John Carroll squad worked itself back, closing to within 7-6 in the bottom portion of the inning.

The Cardinals, who never trailed in the game, found ways to manufacture runs moving forward. A double-steal sequence involving Dmitri Collaros and Noah Sprowls plated a run in the sixth, and sac flies from Carter and Barber made the cushion 10-7. Otterbein then added three more in the eighth to open a solid 13-7 advantage.

John Carroll, playing on its Senior Day, made things very interesting down the stretch by crossing four runs in the eighth… including three extra-base hits (two doubles, one home run).

To no avail, Travis Burson eventually recorded a flyout to end the frame and then Meyer reentered in the ninth. He secured two quick outs, and then overcame a pair of walks to induce a fielder's choice groundout for his second save of the afternoon.

The game featured a combined 31 hits from both teams, including a perfect 4 for 4 outing from Zach Franz. He also walked once to reach base five times, and came around to score a three himself.

Senior Ethan Doty went 4.2 innings on the mound as the starter, performing well until getting into some trouble in the fifth. John Carroll did all of its damage from the top of the lineup, as all 17 hits came from hitters 1 through 6.