WESTERVILLE, Ohio – It was a tough day at the ballpark for Otterbein in its Ohio Athletic Conference (OAC) opener Sunday afternoon, as visiting John Carroll swept a doubleheader by scores of 11-3 and 7-4 at Fishbaugh Field.

The Blue Streaks, improving to 12-6 overall, smacked around a combined 28 hits and received a pair of standout pitching efforts from starters Matthew Aukerman and Jon Ambro to lead the charge.
Otterbein, falling to 13-5 this season, begins league play on a tough note and will look to battle back throughout a lengthy OAC schedule in the month of April.

GAME 1 HIGHLIGHTS:

• The Blue Streaks scored in eight of the nine innings, including some timely two-out hitting across the entire matchup.
   
• Nine JCU runs occurred with two outs, with late hits in the fourth and fifth during critical sequences pushing the margin to 7-0 by the midway point.|
   
• Otterbein got on the board in the later innings thanks to a sac fly from Brayden Carter and 2-RBI single from Max Latkovski, who came on to catch for Logan Ullom the inning prior.
   
• Aukerman improved to 4-0 on the mound for John Carroll after going 7.1 innings on the bump.
   
• Joe Olsavsky and Logan LaMere went a combined 9 for 10 offensively in the Blue Streak lineup.

 
GAME 2 HIGHLIGHTS:

• A pitcher's duel between Jon Ambro (JCU) and Luke Walter (Otterbein) took place in the rematch, with the game deadlocked at 1-1 entering the seventh inning…
   
• Otterbein took the initial lead in the second on a first-and-third sequence, where Adam Folked was picked off but kept himself alive long enough for DH Gavin Thompson to scoot home.
   
• John Carroll drew even in the third on, you guessed it, a two-out single.
   
• JCU vaulted ahead in the seventh after a few tough sequences for the Cardinals. The Streaks grabbed a 2-1 lead and then forced Walter out of the game after a fielding error right back to the mound. After intentionally walking the red-hot Olsavsky to load the bases, reliever Braydon McCloskey secured a key strikeout to get within one out of limiting the damage…
   
• Unfortunately, a bases-clearing double furthered the momentum to John Carroll as four unearned runs eventually crossed the plate.
   
• Ambro was one strike away from a complete game later on in the ninth but Otterbein didn't go quietly, as catcher Sam Roy launched a two-run blast to left field that kept the game interesting at 7-4. Brayden Carter drew a two-out walk before JCU freshman Robert Simon entered from the bullpen to notch a game-ending strikeout.
   
• Gavin Wolf, the game-one starter on the mound for Otterbein, hit 2 for 4 as the right fielder in game two and made a handful of nice catches defensively.

 
THE WEEK AHEAD:

• Plenty of action is currently on the schedule, beginning with a mid-week game at Transylvania before welcoming Ohio Wesleyan to campus Thursday afternoon.