(05/08/08 4:00am)
The Otterbein baseball team lost their final game of the regular season 13-9 to Division I Ohio University (21-27) on Tuesday in Athens. The loss drops Otterbein to 25-13 overall with a 12-6 record in conference play. The Cardinals finished the season winning 15 of their last 18 conference games, earning them a three seed in the Ohio Athletic Conference (OAC) tournament in Tiffin on Thursday.The Bobcats jumped out to an early lead with a three-run first inning. OU scored five more runs in the third, putting the Cardinals in a deep hole. The Cardinals scored one run in the fourth and three more in the sixth inning. However, the Bobcats responded with three more runs in the same inning, making it 11-4. Otterbein rallied with four runs in the ninth, but it was not enough to close the eight-run lead OU took into the inning. Tuesday's game saw plenty of offense, with 31 hits, six home runs and 22 runs combined by the two teams. Sophomore Brian Hiscox hit two home runs and three RBIs going 3-5. The two home runs give Hiscox 14 on the season, just two shy of the school record. Hiscox was confident about the Cardinals performance against Division I pitchers. "Our hitting is really coming around right now," said Hiscox. "We're not going to see a better pitcher than we did Tuesday."Senior catcher Aaron Hutchinson also went 3-5 with two RBIs for the Cardinals. Left fielder Guantlett Eldemire led the Bobcats with three hits, a home run and five RBIs. The Cardinals used nine separate pitchers with none going more than one inning in a game where health for the OAC tournament was paramount to a victory. "We out hit them," said junior pitcher/left fielder Brandon Gessner. "We just gave up 13 walks and that really hurt us." The Cardinals will take on two-seeded Marietta today at 1p.m. in the double elimination tournament. Otterbein swept the Pioneers during the regular season, 8-5 and 18-15, in a double header on April 19 at Marietta. "We couldn't have a better situation going into this game," said Hiscox. "We are looking to hang 20 on Marietta and let the momentum carry us through the tournament."Gessner reiterated Hiscox confidence. "We are feeling pretty confident after beating them twice earlier this season." Top-seeded Heidelberg will take on four-seeded Mount Union at 4 p.m. The winners of the first two games will play Friday at 9:30 a.m. The losers will play each other immediately following in the first elimination game. The championship game will start at noon on Saturday and continue as a doubleheader if necessary. The winner of the tournament receives an automatic bid to the Division III national tournament. The Cardinals have won the last three OAC tournament championships. "Our team has a lot of experience . . . and we know what it takes to win," said Gessner Senior pitcher Dan Remenowsky, 5-1 with a 1.71 ERA on the season, will start for the Cardinals on Thursday. Remenowsky earned OAC Player of the Week for his performance in the first game of a doubleheader with Mount Union last Saturday. In seven innings of work, Remenowsky shut out the Purple Raiders, scattered five hits, walked one and struck out four. "Every time he is on the mound, we feel like we're going to win" said Hiscox. "It's very calming as a hitter to know he's out there."Expect the game verses Marietta to be a high scoring affair. In the two games the teams have played against each other this season, there have been 47 runs scored. t&c;
(01/09/08 5:00am)
The Cardinals' football season ended in disappointing fashion, with a 35-33 triple overtime loss to John Carroll on senior day in Memorial Stadium. Otterbein rallied from a 13 - 3 first half deficit to take the lead with two fourth-quarter touchdowns, but the Blue Streaks were able to tie the game at 20 on a late touchdown with 16 seconds left. "It is a tough way to lose, especially when we had opportunities to put the other team away," said head coach Joe Loth. The first overtime resulted in no points scored by either team. Both the Cardinals and the Blue Streaks missed 35-yard field goals to keep the score knotted at 20 - 20. In the second overtime period, the Blue Streaks got on the scoreboard first with a 13-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Mark Petruziello to tailback Tyler Gingrich. Otterbein answered when sophomore quarterback Jack Rafferty connected with senior wide receiver Scott DeLong for a 26-yard pass to the John Carroll four on third and fifteen. Rafferty punched the ball in the end zone on a one-yard run two plays later to tie the game at 27. In the third overtime, Otterbein scored on the first play from scrimmage with a 25-yard run by Rafferty. The Cardinals had to go for two, as the overtime rules state, but the conversion attempt failed on an incomplete pass, leaving the score 33 - 27. After gaining one first down, the Blue Streaks converted a fourth and two from the Otterbein seven with a touchdown pass from Petruziello to wide out Peter Spachner to tie the game at 33. Petruziello then scored the game-winning two- point conversion with a two-yard pass to tight end Chuck Sroka. "It is the worst feeling, but it is motivating as well," said junior linebacker Eric Burnsides of the loss. John Carroll got on the scoreboard first with a three-yard pass from Petruziello to wide receiver Frank Ross on their opening drive of the game. The Blue Streaks moved the ball 67 yards on 12 plays. The Cardinals responded with an 11-play, 42-yard drive that stalled at the John Carroll 18 on an incomplete pass from Rafferty to DeLong. Place kicker Alex Shirvanian hit a 35-yard field goal to bring the Cardinals within four. In the second quarter, the Cardinals began a drive at their own 20 and moved to the John Carroll 39-yard line. The drive was stopped when tailback Eric Yates fumbled at the 35-yard line. The fumble was recovered by John Carroll's defensive end Nadhal Eadeh, who returned the ball 65 yards for a touchdown. The extra point try by John Carroll was blocked, leaving the score 13 - 3 at halftime. "A couple turnovers in the first half slowed down our ability to score," Loth said. Otterbein's opening drive of the third quarter was stopped at the John Carroll 46-yard line. B.J. Wanninger's punt was blocked by the Blue Streaks and recovered by M. Nettling at the Otterbein 44. The Cardinal defense came out strong after the blocked punt with a first down sack that was erased by a holding penalty on the Blue Streaks offense. On second down, Austin Weaver forced a fumble and Corey Spellman recovered it at the John Carroll 46. With momentum on their side, the Cardinal offense moved the ball 40 yards to the six. Then Shirvanian added his second field goal of the day. In the fourth quarter, the Cardinals rallied with back-to- back touchdown drives of 57 and 95 yards. On the first drive, Rafferty completed a 40-yard touchdown pass to sophomore wide receiver Ray Welch to tie the score. "We made some good adjustments on offense," Rafferty said. "We kept drives alive that we stalled out on in the first half." On the next drive, the Cardinals converted a third down with a 47-yard strike from Rafferty to DeLong. Rafferty then hit sophomore wide receiver Dan Gendron four plays later for a 36-yard touchdown pass that took the lead 20 - 13. With just under four minutes left in the game, John Carroll began the final drive of regulation at their own 26. The Blue Streaks' offense moved the ball 74 yards on 10 plays to tie the game. It was their only score of the second half. "It was tough to lose the last two games," Rafferty said. The Cardinals finish the season with a 5 - 5 record overall and 5 - 4 record in conference play. Otterbein tied for fourth place in Ohio Athletic Conference (OAC) play with John Carroll and Baldwin-Wallace.The highlight of the season has to be the upset win over then sixth-ranked Capital. The rivalry win put the Cardinals in position to make the post season, but season-ending losses to Baldwin-Wallace on the road and John Carroll at home ended those hopes. Otterbein finishes the season with some impressive offensive numbers. The Cardinals ranked second in the OAC in rushing offense (165 ypg), scoring offense (28.1 ppg) and total offense (381.7 ypg) behind conference champions Mount Union.The 2008 season looks promising for the Cardinals, with the return of 18 starters. "With all the starters we have coming back and how we improved as the season went on, [we have] something to build on in the off season," said Rafferty."I had a goal of making a run in the playoffs," said Burnsides on the potential of the 2008 season. t&c;