WESTFIELD, Ind. – "Yeah, we got uniforms and everything." – Major League

Otterbein does still have a baseball team… and the Cardinals have looked pretty sharp to begin a new schedule by topping a pair of Michigan schools in Albion (14-0) and Hope (15-4) to begin the "Crossroads Crossover Series" at Grand Park.

The Cards are at the midway point of a four-game trip, which continues Saturday evening against No. 23-ranked North Central and the concludes Sunday morning vs. Lawrence. Quick recap below of the two early victories!

ALBION (Friday):

• Otterbein saw runners on base in the first innings but couldn't push anything across. Nevertheless, opening day starter Jackson Peloquin retired the first 10 hitters of his season to keep his team deadlocked.
   
• The Cardinal bats finally broke through with six runs in the fourth inning, sending 11 batters to the plate in the process. Noah Sprowls and Jamie Perebzak sparked the rally before Nathan Weita (first college start) and Brayden Carter delivered 2-RBI knocks along the way.
   
• Peloquin allowed just one hit over six innings before giving way to fifth-year senior Braydon McCloskey, who tossed another three scoreless to finish a combined shutout. The duo struck out nine hitters and McCloskey did enough for a save.
   
• Otterbein didn't let up offensively by adding two more in the seventh before another six-run frame in the eighth. Perebzak had a 2-RBI double down the line in the stretch en route to a three-hit performance.
   
• Four Cardinals enjoyed multi-hit games, including designated hitter Gavin Thompson going 2 for 4 with a trio of RBI.

 
HOPE (Saturday):

• Otterbein carried the momentum right over in Saturday morning against reigning MIAA regular-season champion Hope. The Cards plated three initial runs in the first inning thanks to a 2-RBI triple from Brayden Quincel, who later hustled home to score as Zach Franz stayed alive just long enough in a pick-off sequence.
   
• A consistent and workmanlike offense managed to score in seven of the nine innings overall, including six in the middle frames to methodically pull away. The run support was more than enough for a handful of Cardinal arms, all seeing their pitching debuts at Otterbein…
   
• Freshman Andrew Nemec almost went four full as the starter before giving way to classmate Sam Sethna, who was ultimately credited with the decision. Transfer Gavin Wolf tossed the next three and junior Nick Plucinski contributed a scoreless ninth.
   
• Quincel broke the game wide open in the eighth inning by launching a three-run, opposite-field homer to make the score 13-2.
   
• Otterbein smacked around 17 hits overall. Sprowls erupted to go 5 for 6 with three extra-base ropes, coming around to score four times himself. The Brayden duo of Carter and Quincel had another three each.