The Otterbein Cardinal baseball team was back in action on Saturday when they took on long time rival Capital Crusaders.
The double header at Capital saw the Cardinals sweep the crusaders 4-1 and 9-1.
In game one Otterbein struck early, scoring one run in the top of the first.
The Cardinals added to their lead in the top of the fourth inning off of sophomore Brian Hiscox's homerun.
Hiscox has been virtually unstoppable when at the plate. He earned Hitter of the Week for the Ohio Athletic Conference on April 21. Hiscox leads the OAC with 10 homeruns
"I knew I could hit, but I didn't expect to lead the conference in only my second year," said Hiscox.
The Crusaders mustered some offense in the bottom of the fourth inning earning one run.
Then senior Dan Lassak hit a homerun in the sixth inning to put Otterbein up 3-1 and take the momentum away from Capital.
The Crusaders struggled offensively in game one thanks to senior pitcher Dan Remenowsky. Remenowsky gave up one run on four hits. The win puts him at 4-1 on the year for the Cardinals.
The story was no different in game two of the doubleheader. "It feels really good to beat Capital. It was two wins that we really needed," said Hiscox. "Now we are in control of our own playoff destiny."
Capital scored early in the second game, scoring one run in the bottom of the first inning.
The Cardinals dealt a knockout blow in the top of the second, scoring four runs on four hits on a triple by junior Charlie Edwards.
The Cardinals continued their offensive attack with three more runs in the third inning, highlighted by a homerun from senior Pat Connor.
The Crusaders never could get anything going after scoring their one run in the first inning. Otterbein extended their lead over the Crusaders in the ninth inning with a two run homerun by freshman Elliott Greenhill.
Senior pitcher Doug Stevens earned the win for the Cardinals making him 4-1 on the year.
"We always seem to get everyone's best shots, so winning two in a day is huge at this crucial time in the season," said Stevens. "It just makes it a little sweeter when it comes against a crosstown rival like Capital."
The Cardinals are on a six game winning streak after Saturday's doubleheader, defeating Denison University 10-5 Monday in Granville and beating Ohio Wesleyan at home Wednesday 7-6.
Hiscox hit his tenth homerun of the season in the sixth inning.
The Cardinals led 7 to 2 going into the top of the ninth inning, where OWU scored four runs to make things interesting.
However senior J.J. Matthews came on to pitch and finished off the battling bishops for the win. With the win, the Cardinals' record moves to 24-11 overall and 11-5 in the OAC.
The team's 11-5 record puts them in third place in the OAC behind Marietta and Heidelberg.
The Cardinals are next in action Saturday with a doubleheader at home versus OAC opponent Mount Union.
While all of the remaining games are crucial, the Mount Union contests are extremely important because the Purple Raiders sit right behind Otterbein in fourth place. t&c;
