KISSIMMEE, Fla. - The Cardinals claimed back-to-back victories Thursday at The Spring Games thanks to strong pitching efforts and heightened at-bats. Otterbein returned to action after taking a break on Wednesday and earned a sweep over Catholic University (1-0) and Misericordia University (10-9).
 
Both games had drastically different themes, with the first being a battle between defenses and fighting to hold onto the lead from the first inning. The second game had the Cards coming from behind, clawing their way to a narrow victory.  
 
CATHOLIC RECAP:
 
Otterbein came out on top in the battle of the Cardinals thanks to heavy contributions from Bryn Grabowski inside the circle and a solo home run from Sage Jenkins. 
 
Grabowski opened the game by striking out Catholic's first batter and continued that success by amassing more strikeouts throughout the game. The sophomore pitcher faced off against 22 hitters and racked up 10 total strikeouts, while only allowing 3 hits.
 
Jenkins stepped into the batter's box in the bottom of the first and was battling a full count when she launched a shot over the fence in left-center field. The first home run of the season for Otterbein would ultimately be the difference. 
 
The Cardinal defense backed up Grabowski on the mound, committing zero errors in the game. Caroline Heller pushed hard offensively by earning a hit during all three of her at-bats. Jenkins, who found the lead for the Cards, also put an end to Catholic's hope at a comeback by fielding a hard line drive to officially put three outs on the scoreboard.

MISERICORDIA RECAP:
 
Otterbein found itself behind early on in the contest despite scoring the first run, suddenly trailing 6-1 after the opening frame. However, the Cards stayed the course and battled a gritty fight to take the victory away from the Cougars in the seventh inning..
 
At least one run was scored per inning for the Cardinals. Haylee Ternovan came on for a valiant relief effort, owning the circle by holding Misericordia scoreless for 4.1 innings and only allowing one hit.
 
Jenkins (again) earned the first run of the game after reaching base and getting the send home thanks to Isa Lewis. The Cardinals were very quickly matched by the Cougars when a three-run-homer took the lead away. Misericordia didn't stop there and added three more runs to widen the gap by the end of the first inning. 
 
Taylor Baran shut down the second inning and prevented any runs with a smooth diving catch. But the Cougars again drove the ball hard earning three more runs in the third, extending their lead 9-3.
 
The Cardinals continued to grind out each inning, chipping away at the deficit. Otterbein closed the margin each at-bat by putting one additional run on the scoreboard until the sixth inning when it added two. Isa Lewis ended the sixth inning for Misericordia by throwing out all three batters from shortstop.
 
A huge two-out rally made the difference for Otterbein. Caitlin Wilkins earned her first-career hit with a single up the left side and Jenkins followed with a single on the right side. With runners in scoring position, Lewis singled to the right side and brought Wilkins home. Heller stepped up to the plate and smashed the ball to the right-center field fence, giving a speedy Lewis the go-ahead around the rest of the way. 
 
The Cards led by one run going into the bottom of the seventh inning. Ternovan opened with a big strikeout, and her fielders backed up nicely with two catches by Wilkins and Lewis. The Cardinals held steady and won the long race,10-9.
 
Six Cardinals had multi-hit performances in the game, including three RBI off the bat of Megan Payne.

FRIDAY FUN:

Otterbein will wrap up its spring break trip with two final games against Roanoke and Benedictine (Ill.) at the Auburndale Sports Complex.