MARIETTA, Ohio – Another challenging day on the baseball diamond took place Friday afternoon for Otterbein, falling behind early yet again and dropping a 14-4 decision against Mount Union in the OAC Tournament.

The No. 2 seed Cardinals suffer elimination from the league's four-team bracket, while the No. 4 Purple Raiders advance back in the consolation latter. They will take on Baldwin Wallace for the right to play host Marietta in Saturday's championship content.

Otterbein likely ends its season 27-15 overall, with the NCAA Tournament bracket officially released Monday afternoon during the Selection Show. Mount Union now stands with a 23-18 record.

Nicky Zorne secured two quick outs to begin the day, but the next four batters reached base as the Raiders manufactured a pair of early runs. Otterbein drew two walks during its first place appearance… but was caught stealing in between to halt momentum.  

The deficit expanded to 7-0 after Mount crossed another five runs in the second, highlighted with a three-run blast by Zack Mazza. The Raiders blew the game open with another four in the fourth, taking an 11-0 lead by the midway point of the contest.

That cushion would be more than sufficient for Dwayne Sumler, who carried a no-hitter into the seventh before Luke Barber broke it up with an opposite-field single. Ryan Mitchell was hit by a pitch to begin the inning, and four-straight hits ensued (starting with Barber) as the Cardinals found a bit of life…

A ground-rule double by Jamie Perebzak put Otterbein on the board, with ensuing RBI base knocks from Zach Franz and Noah Sprowls helping put three on the board. Unfortunately, an infield fly and double-play groundout allowed Sumler to escape the jam.

Otterbein couldn't slice into the gap any further, although senior Sam Edgell punctuated his career in style with a solo home run in the ninth inning. He finishes the spring with a team-best eight bombs.

Barber, one of the top players to even come through the program, reached base all four times in his final college game by going 2 for 2 with a pair of walks. He departs as Otterbein's all-time leader with 246 hits, while ranking second in RBI (178), third in runs scored (147), fourth in home runs (28) and fifth in doubles (40).

Barber and Franz were eventually named to the All-Tournament Team.

The Cardinals (making the OAC Tournament in four of the last five seasons) send off a well-rounded senior class and will now look to continue building into the future.