BEREA, Ohio – It was tough sledding for the Cardinals on the road Saturday afternoon in a battle of first and second-place teams in the Ohio Athletic Conference standings, as No. 3-ranked Baldwin Wallace swept a doubleheader by scores of 7-3 and 11-4 on Fisher Field.

The Yellow Jackets, coming off back-to-back appearances in the Division III World Series, improved to 28-4 overall and 13-1 in OAC play with the results. They clinch at last a share of the league's regular-season title.

Otterbein drops back to 23-10 this spring and 9-5 within the conference slate, but still remains second with a good amount of baseball still left to play.

GAME ONE HIGHLIGHTS:

• An Otterbein team eager to prove itself against the best took early momentum when Noah Sprowls homered to left field in the first inning, but the hosts responded with a two-run double in the bottom half.
   
• It was the Cardinals' turn for the next counterpunch in the second, as catcher Logan Ullom was involved in both runs. He first hustled to second on a double-steal sequence that allowed Gavin Wolf to barrel home, and then crossed himself on a passed ball moments later.
   
• Once again, BW answered with another pair in the bottom of that second frame and then plated another two insurance runs in the fourth on a critical homer from Mally Kilbane with one out.
   
• Otterbein had two runners on in the seventh before that inning stalled, and a double-play groundout in the eighth also hampered any push back.
   
• Wolf hit 2 for 4 while ace Kyler Archual got touched up just a bit, still going seven innings but allowing 10 hits and walking four.
   
• Vince Dolcemaschio improved to 6-1 on the mound for BW this season with a seven-inning showcase.

GAME TWO HIGHLIGHTS:

• The Yellow Jackets parlayed that opening victory into a huge lead in the rematch, scoring six times in the second inning and eventually holding an 11-0 cushion midway through.
   
• Otterbein kept fighting and admirably swung across the entire day, slicing into that gap just a bit with a four-run effort in the sixth…
   
• Three-straight Cardinals reached to begin the frame, including an RBI-double by Jamie Perebzak. Gavin Thompson tallied an infield single to keep the sequence rolling and a two-out hit from Wolf allowed Otterbein to make a dent in the climb back.
   
• Unfortunately, the Cardinals were unable to find any more baserunners across the final three innings as reliever Matt Sabin chucked a three-inning save.
   
• Tyler Walker stayed perfect on the hill for BW and is now 7-0 this spring. Perebzak was 2 for 4 offensively and broke the Otterbein single-season record for most RBI, reaching 56 to surpass the longstanding mark set by Bill Moller (55) way back in 1985!

MOVING AHEAD:

Otterbein will now have the middle of this coming week off to focus on final exams before hosting Muskingum in OAC doubleheader action next Saturday on campus, which also marks graduation weekend.