Freshman catcher Zane Vitense lined a 2-run single in the top of the ninth inning to lift the Ohio Wesleyan baseball team over Otterbein 11-10 in non-conference action on Thursday in Westerville.
The Bishops trailed, 10-9, heading into the top of the ninth. Sophomore third baseman Noah Brazytis reached on a fielder’s choice and junior outfielder Ryan Stefancin followed with a double. With 2 down, senior shortstop D.J. Neff was walked intentionally, but Vitense foiled the strategy with a single to center, scoring Brazytis and Stefancin.
Junior righthander Tyler Monaco, who had come on in relief in the bottom of the eighth, retired the Cardinals in order in the bottom of the ninth to nail down the win.
Sophomore second baseman Ryan Duckworth singled home a pair of runs for a 2-0 Ohio Wesleyan lead in the top of the first, and after Otterbein pushed across a run on a bases-loaded walk in the bottom of the inning, the Bishops took advantage of a pair of Cardinal errors to add 4 runs in the second.
Brazytis singled home a run in the top of the seventh to extend the Ohio Wesleyan lead to 9-5, but the hosts erupted for 5 runs in the bottom of the inning, getting a 2-run single from Brayden Carter and taking advantage of 3 Bishop errors.
Neff and Duckworth each went 3-for-5, while sophomore outfielder Sammy Stoner was 3-for-6 with 3 runs scored. Monaco worked the final 1.2 innings in relief to record the decision.
SOFTBALL
Junior shortstop Rylee Anspach crushed a 3-run homer to open the Ohio Wesleyan scoring and senior outfielder Rylie Moore scored the winning run in the bottom of the seventh to give the Bishops a 7-6 win over Otterbein in the second game of a non-conference doubleheader on Thursday at Margaret Sagan Field.
In the opener, junior lefthander Katie Chittum and Otterbein’s Bryn Grabowski and Haylee Ternovan matched up in a pitchers’ duel, with the Cardinals taking the 1-0 victory.
Anspach belted a 3-run homer and sophomore outfielder Lauren Kunzler singled and came around to score as the Bishops raced to a 4-0 lead in the first inning of the nightcap.
Otterbein got a 2-run single from Isa Lewis in the second, and after an RBI single by junior second baseman Sophia Cegledy in the bottom of the inning, the Cardinals tied the score at 5 with the help of Kendall Sestili’s 2-run double in the third.
The Bishops took the lead in the fifth when Kunzler and sophomore first baseman Sophie Leohner reached on one-out singles, with Kunzler scoring when sophomore shortstop McKenna Tuttle reached on a fielding error by Cardinal second baseman Chloe Clark.
Down to their last out, the Cardinals tied the score in the top of the seventh when Megan Payne pulled a home run down the leftfield line.
In the bottom of the seventh, Leohner reached on a throwing error by Clark, and Tuttle followed with a grounder that Otterbein shortstop Jen Sindledecker misplayed. One out later, junior catcher Sara Bias walked to load the bases, and sophomore outfielder Avery Panozzo followed with a grounder that Sindledecker misplayed, with pinch-runner Moore scoring on the play.
Cegledy and Kunzler each went 2-for-4 for Ohio Wesleyan. Sophomore righthander Kaelyn Rodriguez pitched the final 5.0 innings to collect the win.
In the opener, Chittum and Grabowski traded zeroes through the first 3 innings, with Chittum allowing but 2 hits and Grabowski only one.
The Cardinals took the lead in the fourth as Caroline Heller led off with an infield single, and one out later, Sestili followed with a single. With 2 down, Sydni Clever sent a fly ball to short left center that fell between shortstop Anspach, leftfielder Panozzo, and centerfielder Moore, with pinch-runner Sindledecker scoring on the play.
Chittum finished with a 6-hitter, striking out 6. Grabowski and Ternovan combined on a 2-hit shutout.
OWU Sports Information contributed to this report.
