MARIETTA, Ohio – The Cardinals went extra innings with annual national power Eastern Connecticut State on Friday evening to begin their weekend at the BSN Sports Invitational, but unfortunately came up just short by a score of 6-5 at Pioneer Park.

ECSU, 2022 national champions with a record of 116-23 over the past three seasons, used a one-out single in the tenth to cross the winning run of a tightly-contested, back-and-forth, well-played showdown.

Otterbein, now 9-5 this year, will look to regroup before a doubleheader against Johnson & Wales University tomorrow. Game times are scheduled for 3:15 and 6:30 p.m.

THE SCRIPT:

• A one-out triple from Noah Sprowls helped Jamie Perebzak launch a sacrifice fly in the first, but Eastern Connecticut manufactured a run of its own (also via the sac fly) in the bottom half.
   
• The dynamite pitching matchup between Kyler Archual and Dan Driscoll settled into a jockeying of strategy and working pitch counts, with an extra-base hit giving the Warriors a 2-1 lead in the second.
   
• But Archual held ECSU scoreless over the next three frames as Otterbein worked back ahead. Logan Ullom came around to score (on a base knock from Brayden Carter) after his leadoff double in the third and then Perebzak delivered a go-ahead RBI in the fifth.
   
• Four-straight hits ultimately pushed Eastern Connecticut back ahead (4-3) in the sixth, yet Otterbein punched back once again…
   
• A leadoff single from Max McCann forced a Warrior pitching change early in the eighth, and a two-out rally shortly thereafter gave the Cards a 5-4 edge. Pinch hitter Minseo Jang brought around the tying run with a timely single, and his pinch runner (Adam Folk) eventually came around to score after a failed pickoff attempt and then infield single via the bat of Carter.
   
• Sam Sethna entered in the eighth to relieve Archual, who provided a valiant effort but allowed the game-tying run in the frame. Sethna was able to record two outs and keep the game deadlocked…
   
• Neither team broke that tie in the ninth as a two-out single by McCann went for not, and Otterbein then went 1-2-3 in the top of the tenth after Sethna kept the Warriors in check.
   
• The last laugh would belong to ECSU, using a leadoff double in its first at-bat of extras to quickly find a game-winning single a couple batters later.

BOX SCORE STATS:

• Archual chucked 123 pitches en route his lengthy no-decision, facing 34 batters in all and registering six strikeouts over his 7.1 frames.
   
• Driscoll threw 93 pitches on the other side before turning things over to his bullpen in the sixth. He struck out eight Cardinals.
   
• Carter was 3 for 6 atop the lineup while Sprowls, McCann and Ullom also pieced together multi-hit nights. Perebzek furthered his hitting streak in the process.
   
• The game saw a combined 20 runners left on base.