WESTERVILLE — The Otterbein baseball team split a home doubleheader with defending Ohio Athletic Conference Champion Baldwin Wallace on Good Friday at Fishbaugh Field, snapping a six-game losing skid against BW in the opener (12-7) before the Yellow Jackets took the rematch by a count of 9-4.

The Basics

• Records: Otterbein (14-20 overall, 3-11 OAC), Baldwin Wallace (19-12 overall, 9-5 OAC)
• Venue: Fishbaugh Field - Westerville, Ohio

Game 1 Highlights - Otterbein 12, Baldwin Wallace 7

• Otterbein snagged an early 2-0 lead in the bottom of the second thanks to some nice offensive manufacturing, as consecutive singles from Nolan James and Charlie Greenlief ignited the sequence. Jake Brown dropped a perfect sacrifice bunt before Calvin Mabry poked a timely single to right-center that brought around a pair of teammates.
• BW leapfrogged into the lead with a four-run effort in the next frame, crossing all with two outs. Mally Kilbane launched a two-run homer to left field and then, after a throwing error that could have ended the frame, a double by Dennis Ritlinger-Nirider pushed the Yellow Jackets ahead 4-2.
• The Cardinals shrugged that off and worked back in the frames shortly thereafter, receiving a handful of impressive defensive plays from shortstop Trae McAninch and soon drawing even in the fourth. Logan Ullom launched a towering solo homer that slipped inside the foul pole in left field, before Charlie Greenlief later scored on a wild pitch. The frame was extended nicely by a bunt from Mabry that moved up both runners.
• Multiple runs were scored from both sides in a hectic fifth inning, where BW took a 6-4 lead in the top half before the Cards responded to cross five during their chance. Ottebein's rally featured a bit of everything - errors by the opposition, a hard lineout, infield single off a high bounce - and was punctuated by a pair of critical RBI-singles from Brown and Mabry. All of a sudden, the home team stood on top 9-6.
• The Jackets threatened mightily in each of the next two frames, but managed just one run altogether as Otterbein navigated the adversity. A 3-6-3 double play (involving Jamie Perebzak and McAninch) promptly ended the sixth and then veteran reliever Sam Sethna came on in the seventh to escape a jam. He entered with two runners on base, and no outs, before retiring three-straight batters.
• Otterbein added three insurance runs in the eighth thanks to additional miscues by the Jackets, and Sethna finished the job with three scoreless to notch his first save of the spring.
• Brady Heagen improved to 4-1 on the hill for Otterbein as the pitcher of record in middle relief, while starter Maverick Rabe provided 4.2 innings to begin the day.
• Five Cardinals enjoyed multi-hit games, led by three each from Brown, Ullom and Greenlief. Mabry matched a season-high in RBI (4).

Game 2 Highlights - Baldwin Wallace 9, Otterbein 4

• A revenge-minded BW team gained early momentum in the rematch, batting around in a marathon first inning although scoring just three runs. The Cardinals unfortunately committed a trio of errors defensively to help prolong the stretch.
• Baldwin Wallace tacked on runs in the second and third to eventually hold a 6-0 lead at the midway point, but Otterbein began to find some rhythm in the bottom of the fifth...
• The Cards got seven bats to the plate in the inning, with pinch hitter Gavin Scott and Zac Taylor drawing early walks before RBI-singles from Perebzak and Ullom (sandwiched around a BW pitching change) got Otterbein on the board. Nolan James followed with an RBI-groundout to officially slice the deficit in half.
• Andrew Kitts provided four scoreless innings of middle relief to help continue giving Otterbein's bats a chance, and the home side began threatening again in the bottom of the seventh. Ullom ripped another RBI-single and James then reached safely to load the bases... with just one out. However, on the very next play, Greenlief flew out to right field and Perebzak was called out trying to score after being deemed to have left early from third base.
• Otterbein still only trailed 6-4 at that moment, but a home run in the next inning allowed BW to recapture full momentum. The Yellow Jackets added a pair of insurance runs in the ninth and limited the Cardinals down the stretch.
• Ullom and Perebzak combined to hit 7 for 8 in the game, as Otterbein tallied 10 hits as a lineup. BW ripped 12 of its own behind four individual multi-hit showings.
• BW created a difference on the base paths across both games, finishing the rematch with a 6-0 edge in stolen bases.

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 (193). He ranks third all-time at Otterbein in hits (231), third in doubles (49) and is tied for seventh in home runs (25).
• Ullom has 121 hits, 26 doubles and 52 RBIs in his Otterbein career.
• Entering Friday, Ullom ranked second in the OAC in hits (46), tied for fourth in doubles (10) and tied for seventh in runs (30) on the season. Perebzak and James were tied for third in home runs (5). Greenlief was tied for seventh in RBIs (27) and tied for eighth in hits (39), and Perebzak was tied for ninth in RBIs (26).
• Head coach George Powell is in his 26th year at Otterbein and has an all-time record of 622-440-1 at the helm of the Cardinals. He is two wins away from tying his mentor and former Otterbein legend 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. The program has been led by just two head coaches over the past 60 years.