SAINT ELIZABETH PHOTOS
PITT-BRADFORD PHOTOS

FORT MYERS, Fla. – After a pair of off days, the "BirdGang" switched sites from Terry Park to the Player Development Complex and jumped back onto the diamond Thursday morning. They now enter the weekend holding a 5-2 record (on its spring trip) following a nice victory Friday.

The Cardinals, 6-3 overall this season as a whole, were forced to settle with a split against Saint Elizabeth (NJ) but responded nicely with a lopsided win over Pitt-Bradford across Friday afternoon. More details below:

SAINT ELIZABETH RECAP (W 12-9, L 9-0):
A weird tale of two games took place, following a pair of off-days for the varsity team, beginning Thursday morning against the Eagles from Morristown, N.J. The Cards used a workmanlike approach and free bases to pull away in the middle innings, posting a 3-2-2-3 line en route to a commanding 10-0 lead.

Saint Elizabeth kept battling and made it semi-uncomfortable down the stretch, plating all nine runs over the final three innings to shrink the final margin significantly. Senior Travis Burson was forced to come in and finish things off in the last frame, inducing a pair of flyouts sandwiched around a clean groundout.

Jackson Wilson enjoyed a nice bounce-back effort, going five innings for his first pitching win of the season. Otterbein's top-three hitters in the lineup (Brayden Carter, Sam Edgell and Luke Barber) hit a combined 6 for 12 with nine RBI.

The Cardinals walked an astounding 12 times in the game.
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The rematch would go the opposite way, as 5-foot-6 freshman Tyler Monzo chucked a complete-game shutout for Saint Elizabeth. The lefty allowed five hits and only walked one.

The Eagles took an early 2-0 lead after an RBI-double and two-base throwing error. Otterbein starter Luke Perigo was one strike away from escaping a mini jam in the fourth, but SEU found a way to extend the frame and ultimately cross four.

Otterbein did its best to catch up, barreling up some pitches but just not quite enough to break through and find outfield grass. The Cardinals, down 6-0, had multiple runners on in the fifth before a tough double-play groundout stymied any momentum.

PITT-BRADFORD RECAP (W 10-2):
A strong bounce-back result was in store for the potent offensive lineup, but the primary story of the game would become fifth-year senior Nicky Zorne on the mound. The lefty went 7.2 frames, striking out 10 batters and walking just two over 118 total pitches.

The Cardinals were aggressive on the base paths and it paid off, headlined by speedy outfielder Ryan Grant doing a ton of damage from the nine hole. Otterbein stole 10 bases on the day, with he and Sam Edgell combining for seven of those.

Otterbein only led 2-1 after the third, but widened the gap on frames of 1-3-1-2 across the middle innings. Both teams continued battling heavy gusts of wind and dirt blowing everywhere, pushing countless fly balls in and over to the right-field area.

Four Cardinals had multi-hit days, led by a 4 for 6 effort from sophomore Brayden Quincel making his first start of the year at shortstop. Edgell, Luke Barber and Noah Sprowls all hit safely twice, while the patient Edgell reached base five times overall after another three walks.

Jackson Peloquin induced a nice flyout to escape a bases-loaded jam in the eighth and then tossed a scoreless ninth. The Cardinals are now 2-0 in their new "Vegas gold" uniforms" as well.

UP NEXT:
Otterbein has weekend games slated with Hiram (Saturday) and U.S. Merchant Marine (Sunday) before flying back home. Rain could be a factor on Saturday, but stay tuned to otterbeincardinals.com and social media outlets for continued updates.