Much like the Otterbein softball team, the baseball team returned home from a week in Florida with their spirits high. The Cardinals opened their season with eight consecutive strikeouts against Division I foe Chicago State. After the inauspicious start, a two-out rally energized the team en route to a 5-3 come-from-behind victory over the Cougars. It was the team's first victory over a D-1 school since 2011, although the team hasn't had any opportunities since then.
The hot start continued as Otterbein rattled off four more wins before finally losing their first game of the year. The Cardinals went 2-1 the rest of the way before returning to Westerville with a sharp 7-2 record. Two of the Cardinal's wins came against SUNY Old Westbury, a team that advanced deep into last year's NCAA tournament.
The team has continued to have success since it's been back in Ohio, winning six out of the seven games they have played. The only loss was disappointing, however, as the team lets a late 9-8 lead turn into a 10-9 defeat against Ohio Wesleyan in Delaware, Ohio. The wins came at Transylvania in a double header, then at home against Marian from Wisconsin with the Cardinals taking all three games. Then they shut out Adrian, the third shutout of the young season for the Cardinals.
Leading the charge for the Cardinal offense has been senior outfielder Tyler Kent. Kent has been hitting .365 with six doubles, two triples, and four home runs, as well as 15 RBIs. To highlight just how potent the Cardinal offense has been, Kent is seventh on the team (out of qualified hitters) in batting average, third in doubles and fourth in RBIs.
The pitching staff has been well balanced for Otterbein, with eight players each credited with wins. Senior Jordan Malley has earned the most wins at three. Four other players are credited with saves, with junior Caleb Norton leading with two. The team sports a combined ERA of just 2.67.
People have been taking note the start the Cardinals have gotten off to, with the team receiving nine votes in the initial D-3 baseball ranking poll.
Head Coach George Powell was very happy with how his team started the season against Chicago State "Playing a team that had previously beat Villanova, a good Division I team, so they had a good win before they played us. They had games under their belt, so it was definitely a challenge. It didn't get started off very well, we hung in there and just stayed the course and got better as the game went on. We won the game on a pick-off play we called from the dugout, so it was an emotional win and a real good way to get started for sure."
The 13-3 start had the Cardinals sitting atop the OAC, but the team struggled to score against Ohio Northern's pitching staff, which currently sits at fifth in the country in team ERA at 1.89. Otterbein dropped the pair of opening OAC games to the Polar Bears 2-8 and 3-11.
Following the conference losses, Otterbein had to switch gears and play Wittenberg in Westerville, before getting back into OAC play. It proved to be a bounce-back game for the team, as they defeated the visiting Tigers 8-1, allowing just one hit in the contest.
Otterbein returned to conference action with a doubleheader against Baldwin-Wallace in Berea. The Cardinals got two huge wins, limiting the Yellow Jackets offense while scoring 18 runs against a very tough pitching staff. The 12-4 win in game one had some extra importance as it gave Powell his 400th career victory. Otterbein won game two by a final of 6-4.
The Cardinals are now 16-5 overall and 2-2 in the conference. Otterbein has the best overall record to this point in the OAC, but in the conference, they are in the middle of the pack with the 2-2 record. The team's next games will be on Saturday, at Capital to play the Crusaders who are 14-6 overall, but 3-1 in the OAC.
