WESTERVILLE — The Otterbein softball team opened its Ohio Athletic Conference schedule with a doubleheader split with Capital on Saturday in the annual Battle for the Oar rivalry series. The Cardinals reclaimed the Oar trophy with a 10-9 win in the second game after falling 2-0 in the opener.

The Basics

• Records: Otterbein (10-8 overall, 1-1 OAC), Capital (8-10 overall, 1-1 OAC)
• Venue: Otterbein Softball Field - Westerville, Ohio

Otterbein Stat Leaders - Game 1

• Junior Rachel Miller recorded the lone hit for Otterbein.
• Freshman Evie Lehman started in the pitching circle and allowed two runs on eight hits and three walks while recording two strikeouts over five innings.

Game 1 Highlights - Capital 2, Otterbein 0

• Capital opened the scoring with an RBI single in the top of the first inning.
• Neither team scored over the next four innings, sending the game to the sixth with the Comets up 1-0.
• Capital added another run in the top of the sixth for a 2-0 lead.
• Miller led off the bottom of the ninth with a single and advanced to second when senior Isa Lewis reached base on a Comet error with one out. Miller and Lewis advanced to second and third on a groundout, but the Cardinals were unable to take advantage.
• Capital out-hit Otterbein by a 10-1 margin. Both teams recorded one error.

Otterbein Stat Leaders - Game 2

• Sophomore Maggie McVicker tallied two hits, including a home run, to go with four RBIs and two runs.
• Graduate student Caroline Heller posted two hits, two RBIs and two runs.
• Miller recorded two hits, including a double, to go with one RBI and one run.
• Freshman Kaylie Eichorn added a double and a run.
• Freshman Addison Yoder earned the win in the circle, pitching 3.2 relief innings and recording four strikeouts.

Game 2 Highlights - Otterbein 10, Capital 9

• After Capital scored two runs in the top of the first inning, Otterbein answered with four in the bottom of the frame. Two of those runs came on RBI singles from McVicker and Miller, and the other two came on a passed ball and wild pitch.
• The Cardinals added four more runs in the second, taking an 8-2 edge. Heller hit an RBI single, and McVicker added a three-run homer.
• Capital added a run in the top of the third, but Otterbein responded with two more in the bottom of the frame for a 10-3 lead. Junior Caitlin Wilkins had an RBI groundout, and Heller hit an RBI single.
• The Comets scored a pair of runs in the top of the fourth to get back within five, 10-5, and neither team scored over the next two innings.
• The Cardinals held off a Comet rally in the top of the seventh to secure the victory. After a one-out RBI single, Capital added runs on a bases-loaded hit-by-pitch and walk with two outs. Trailing 10-8 with the bases loaded, the Comets added another run on an RBI single, but the second runner trying to score was thrown out at home as the Cardinals cliched the victory and the Oar trophy.
• Capital out-hit Otterbein by a 13-11 margin. Each team committed one error.

Notables 

• Heller has 136 hits, 34 doubles and 78 RBIs in her Otterbein career. She is tied for fifth all-time in doubles.
• Lewis has 87 hits, 47 RBIs and 29 steals in her Otterbein career.
• Named the OAC Rookie of the Year in 2024, sophomore Kennedi Endsley has 65 hits and 26 steals in her Otterbein career.
• Head coach Bruce Anderson is in his fourth year at Otterbein and has an all-time record of 63-60-1 at the helm of the Cardinals.
• Otterbein leads the series with Capital by a 22-14 margin dating back to 2009.