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WESTERVILLE, Ohio – Despite a frustrating and rather sluggish day on the baseball diamond, Otterbein worked back to salvage a doubleheader split against a pesky Wilmington team in doubleheader action Wednesday at Fishbaugh Field.

The Cardinals, falling behind in both games, rallied to claim the rematch and now stand 8-4 within the Ohio Athletic Conference. Marietta (11-1) leads the standings while John Carroll and Baldwin Wallace are tied for second at 9-3.

GAME ONE RECAP (L 9-5):
Defensive miscues and a quality start on the mound by Wilmington's Aaron Boster didn't help Otterbein in the opener. The Cardinals committed six errors in the field, extending a few innings for the visitors as the Quaker bats found a groove.

Despite bumps in the field, all runs became earned as Wilmington smacked around 17 hits on the day and moved the ball with two strikes/outs. The Quakers crossed two in the first but Otterbein countered with a two-out rally in the third, starting with a single up the middle from Brayden Carter and culminating on back-to-back RBI rips from Luke Barber and Jamie Perebzak.

Wilmington punched back, however, taking a 3-2 lead in the fourth and then erupting for another five in the fifth. Otterbein's powerful offense did its best to catch up, with Carter drawing a one-out walk (with bases loaded) in the sixth to chase Boster out of the game. Unfortunately, Quaker reliever Kaleb Stines got the next two Cardinals to pop up and escaped the jam.

Logan Ullom (defensive replacement at catcher) threw out a pair of runners in the top of the eighth and injected some energy back into the home dugout. The Cards manufactured two in the bottom half on another two-out push, with a single from Ryan Mitchell extending the frame and Luke Barber getting jammed for a slow roller up the middle. Shortstop Jacob Kalt did his best to charge in and make a play, but his throw was just barely off line. Pinch runner Cole Harris scored easily, and Carter hustled all the way around from second to slide in safely.

A solo homer opened the ninth for Wilmington, and Stines finished the job shortly thereafter to earn a save. Boster (4-3) got back over .500 on the mound and Logan Weber had to absorb the loss for Otterbein.

Braydon McCloskey did his best to keep the Cardinals hanging around with another long-relief effort, allowing two  runs (spread apart) over 3.2 frames of work. Barber hit 3 for 4 at the dish.

GAME TWO RECAP:
The Cardinals faced another hole to begin the afternoon session as Wilmington leapt out to a 3-0 lead midway through the second. Otterbein got two back in the bottom portion when Brayden Quincel poked an opposite-field double and Zak Repar had an RBI groundout on a tough play up the middle.

Both teams traded runs in the fourth and sixth, with Repar popping into a sac fly on the shallow outfield grass and Perebzak singling a couple frames later. Wilmington nearly added to its lead in the fifth, but Kyle Krieger (aka 60 Cent) entered from the bullpen to notch consecutive flyouts with bases loaded.

Otterbein missed a prime opportunity in the bottom of the fifth… and later trailed 5-4 entering the seventh-inning stretch. However, the persistent Cardinals would jump ahead for good in the minutes after as Wilmington starter Luke Chappie remained on the hill. Ryan Mitchell (bunt) and Luke Barber (rocket to third base) both reached via infield hits, and ended up in scoring position thanks to a pair of wild pitches. Senior Sam Edgell, 0 for 8 on the day to this point, came up big when it mattered most with a 2-RBI, go-ahead single that allowed both teammates to come around.

Noah Sprowls delivered a fourth-straight single before an inning-ending double play left Otterbein's lead at just 6-5. Have no fear, though, as left-hander Travis Burson (making his return after some brief time off to rest) was rock solid over three scoreless innings to finish. He allowed just tow hits over his 12 batters faced, earning the win as a result.

Wilmington threatened mightily in the ninth, getting the leadoff man on first base and then a double down the left-field line creating some quality theatre. Pinch runner Owen Baumann scooted around the bags and was ultimately waved home at third… but was promptly thrown out on a relay from Zach Franz to Quincel to new catcher Sam Roy. That shifted momentum back to Burson on the hill, escaping with back-to-back flyouts upon conclusion.

Otterbein had a bounce-back showing defensively with no errors while three players had multi-hit games. Barber now holds a 13-game hitting streak.

Chappie was solid for Wilmington in being asked to go the distance, allowing just four earned runs and no walks over the complete-game effort.

UP NEXT:
The Cardinals will continue OAC play this weekend in New Concord, heading over to play Muskingum in a doubleheader beginning Saturday at 1 p.m.