Otterbein Eliminates Mount Union

The Otterbein College Cardinals defeated the Mount Union College Purple Raiders 5-3 in game four of the Ohio Athletic Conference Baseball Tournament. Otterbein will face off next against Heidelberg College in a 4 p.m. contest this evening, May 9, to see which team will compete against Marietta College in the final round of play tomorrow, May 10, at noon.
 
Starting pitchers for each side tossed shutouts for the first two innings of play until Otterbein pulled ahead with a three-run inning in the top of the third. Charlie Edwards (Springfield, Ohio / South) started the scoring blitz off for the Cardinals when he singled and then advanced to second on the throw, picking up two RBIs along the way. He was followed at the plate by Brian Hiscox (Burton, Ohio / Berkshire) who hit a sacrifice fly to center, allowing one more run to score before Mount’s defense was finally able to close out the inning.
 
Mount Union answered back with two of its own runs in the bottom of the third, but it was not enough to pull ahead of the Cardinals. Otterbein retained the lead for the rest of the contest, scoring one more run in both the fourth and fifth innings. Meanwhile, Mount attempted a comeback in the eighth but managed to plate only one.
 
Pat Connor (Columbus, Ohio / Bishop Watterson) led at the plate for Otterbein during the game, going 2-for-3 with one run, a double, and a walk. Edwards contributed one hit and two RBIs, while Dan Lassak (Sunbury, Ohio / Big Walnut) hit the lone bomb of the game with a solo shot in the fifth. For the Purple Raiders, Craig Knott (Canton, Ohio / GlenOak) knocked two hits and two RBIs, picking up a double along the way.
 
Defensively, Knott led Mount with five assists and Cory Slaybaugh (Hartville, Ohio / Lake) posted eight put outs. For Otterbein, Hiscox recorded a team-high 18 put outs and Ben Titus (Bowling Green, Ohio / Bowling Green) and Brandon Mauck (Reynoldsburg, Ohio / Reynoldsburg) contributed six assists apiece.
 
Doug Stevens (Newark, Ohio / Newark Catholic) earned his fifth win of the season for Otterbein on the mound. He pitched all nine innings, giving up nine hits, one earned run, no walks, and struck out three. Meanwhile, Brett Thomas (Uniontown, Ohio / Lake) dropped to 4-3 on the year for Mount, having thrown 4.2 innings he allowed five hits, five earned runs, walked two, and struck out one. Joe Irwin (Boardman, Ohio / Cardinal Mooney) closed the game out for the Purple Raiders. He commanded the mound for 4.1 innings, allowed three hits, walked four, and struck out five.