TIFFIN — Sophomore Nolan James hit a pair of home runs to lead the Otterbein baseball team in an Ohio Athletic Conference doubleheader at Heidelberg on Saturday. He homered once in each game as the Cardinals fell 11-6 in the opener and 5-4 in 12 innings in the second game.

The Basics

• Records: Otterbein (12-19 overall, 2-10 OAC), Heidelberg (14-16 overall, 6-6 OAC)
• Venue: Peaceful Valley - Tiffin, Ohio

Otterbein Stat Leaders Game 1

• James had two hits, including his home run, to go with two RBIs and one run.
• Senior Logan Ullom posted two hits and two runs.
• Senior Zac Taylor tallied two hits and one run.
• Senior Charlie Greenlief had one hit and two RBIs.
• Graduate student Jamie Perebzak tallied a double and a run.
• Freshman Calvin Mabry posted a triple and a run.

Game 1 Highlights - Heidelberg 11, Otterbein 6

• Ullom hit a two-out single in the top of the first inning and James followed with a two-run homer for an early 2-0 Cardinal lead.
• Heidelberg answered with one run in bottom of the first and three more in the second for a 4-2 edge.
• The Student Princes added two runs in the fourth for a 6-2 lead, but Otterbein closed the gap to 6-5 with a three-run fifth highlighted by a 2-RBI single from Greenlief.
• The Cardinals tied the score at 6-6 when Mabry hit a leadoff triple and later came home on a wild pitch in the top of the sixth.
• Heidelberg plated three runs in the seventh and two more in the eighth for an 11-6 lead.
• Perebzak hit a two-out double in the top of the ninth but was stranded.
• Heidelberg out-hit Otterbein by an 11-9 margin. Otterbein committed two errors to Heidelberg's three.

Otterbein Stat Leaders Game 2

• James had two hits, including the home run, to go with one RBI and one run.
• Perebzak added a double and two RBIs.
• Taylor, Ullom and freshman Daniel Uhl each posted one hit and one run. Taylor's hit was a double, and Uhl's hit was a triple.
• Freshman Maverick Rabe got the start on the mound for the Cardinals and pitched five scoreless innings, giving up four hits and one walk while striking out three.

Game 2 Highlights - Heidelberg 5, Otterbein 4

• James again got the scoring started for Otterbein, hitting a leadoff homer in the top of the fourth.
• The Cardinals extended their lead to 3-0 courtesy of a 2-RBI double from Perebzak in the fifth.
• Heidelberg scored two runs in each of the sixth and seventh frames for a 4-3 lead.
• Otterbein tied the score at 4-4 thanks to a sac fly from senior Jake Brown in the top of the eighth.
• Heidelberg put runners on first and second with two outs in the bottom of the 11th but left them stranded.
• The Students Princes loaded the bases with two outs in the 12th inning and scored the winning run via a catcher's interference call.
• Heidelberg out-hit Otterbein by a 10-8 margin. Otterbein committed four errors to Heidelberg's one.

Notables 

• Named the OAC Player of the Year and CSC Second Team Academic All-America in 2024, Perebzak is Otterbein's all-time leader in RBIs (192). He ranks third all-time at Otterbein in hits (225), third in doubles (49) and is tied for seventh in home runs (25).
• Ullom has 117 hits, 26 doubles and 51 RBIs in his Otterbein career.
• James' two home runs on Saturday gives him five on the season.
• Entering Saturday, Ullom ranked second in the OAC in hits (42), tied for third in doubles (10) and tied for ninth in runs (26) on the season. Perebzak was tied for the OAC lead in home runs (5), tied for eighth in RBIs (24) and tied for ninth in runs (26). Greenlief was tied for seventh in hits (37), tied for eighth in RBIs (24) and ranked 10th in batting average (.366).
• Head coach George Powell is in his 26th year at Otterbein and has an all-time record of 620-439-1 at the helm of the Cardinals. He is four wins away from tying Dick Fishbaugh (624) for most coaching wins in program history and fifth all-time in OAC history. Powell is a six-time OAC Coach of the Year honoree and has coached the Cardinals to three OAC regular-season championships and six OAC Tournament titles.
• Heidelberg is 19-14 against Otterbein dating back to 2009.