ADA, Ohio – The Otterbein baseball team kept grinding throughout all 18 innings of an Ohio Athletic Conference (OAC) road doubleheader Tuesday afternoon, and the persistence paid off to secure a critical mid-week sweep at Ohio Northern.
The Cardinals fell behind early in both games, but stayed the course from both an offensive and pitching standpoint to win 6-3 and 10-4. Otterbein now stands with a 17-8 record on the season, 6-2 against the league.
GAME ONE HIGHLIGHTS:
Both sides plated a run in the first inning, before ONU took a 3-1 lead in the fourth after a sequence that saw a walk, failed pickoff attempt, consecutive singles, a hit batter and sacrifice fly.
The Cardinals had multiple offensive chances in the early going to build a lead, stranding at least one runner in each frame and a combined eight left on base through six. A breakthrough finally came in the seventh when Brayden Carter launched a two-run home to right field after pinch hitter Nick Plucinski drew a leadoff walk.
Braydon McCloskey, who provided some excellent long relief on the hill, went 1-2-3 in the bottom half and Otterbein created more separation once the eighth began.
The Cards batted around, receiving a one-out single from Zach Franz and eventually getting a clutch two-out single from Luke Barber that brought around a pair of teammates. A single from Jamie Perebzak on the next play allowed Ryan Mitchell to come home, and push the lead to 6-3.
Alex Hook came on for McCloskey to begin the ninth, and worked around some mini trouble in becoming the seventh different Otterbein pitcher to notch a save this season. The tying run got to the plate for Ohio Northern, but a groundout (on a bunt) to Carter stamped the game shut.
McCloskey earned the win on the mound, tossing 4.1 scoreless frames and allowing just two hits in the process. He relieved starter Luke Perigo late in the fourth.
Six Cardinals had multi-hit games, spearheaded with Barber (reigning OAC Hitter of the Week) posting a three-hit performance for the fifth game in a row.
GAME TWO HIGHLIGHTS:
A similar theme took place in the rematch, with the Polar Bears opening a 3-0 lead after the third before the Otterbein bats kicked into launch mode. Luke Barber blasted a two-run bomb in the fourth, and the Cards later took the lead for good with a big sixth inning…
The frame was off to an encouraging start with runners on the corners and nobody out, but a line drive from Barber was corralled by the second baseman and doubled up Ryan Mitchell on first. Despite that setback, Perebzak was hit by a pitch and Sam Edgell (veteran student worker in the Sports Information office, used to producing under pressure) came up with a game-tying single.
Otterbein kept its foot on the gas following a pitching change for ONU, with hits from Noah Sprowls and Brayden Quincel sandwiching a double steal. Those outcomes gave the Cards a decent 6-3 lead entering the homestretch.
Ohio Northern pieced one run back on a leadoff homer in the bottom of the frame, but Otterbein responded mightily with back-to-back homers from Perebzak and Edgell in the seventh. Sprowls was stranded on third to end the top half, but the damage had been done with the Cards standing on top 9-4.
Franz joined the long-ball party in the eight with a solo shot to center field.
The lead was enough for a group effort on the mound, as Otterbein sent five arms on the hill to cover the full day. Jackson Peloquoin went three as the starter, followed by Kyle Krieger initially getting six-straight flyouts in the middle frames to become the (winning) pitcher of record.
Freshman Robby Kain made his varsity debut after that, striking out three of his five batters faced before turning things over to Hunter Passwaters and Ashton Spurgeon. That duo combined for the final 2.2 of shutout work as the staff tallied 11 collective strikeouts.
Sprowls, making very good contact in recent games but not quite seeing the results, was rewarded this time around with a 3 for 5 day. Barber, Edgell and Perebzak all had two RBI. Barber is now hitting 18 for 32 (.563) in the month of April.
GOOD FRIDAY:
The Cardinals will get right back on the road for another key doubleheader to begin Easter weekend, traveling to Berea for a pair of matchups with No. 9-ranked Baldwin Wallace.