WESTERVILLE, Ohio – Mount Union rallied for a split at Otterbein in an Ohio Athletic Conference Saturday at Fishbaugh Field. The Purple Raiders dropped the opener 12-8 before winning the nightcap 10-6.
The split leaves Mount Union at 13-8 overall and 4-2 in the OAC, while Otterbein is 15-8 overall and also 4-2 in the OAC. Both teams are a game out of first place in the conference.
At the plate, the Raiders were led by Zack Mazza (Flint, Mich. / Powers Catholic) who had three hits in each game and Trey Weaver (Franklin, Pa. / Franklin Area) who also had six hits on the day, four in game two including driving in four runs in the Raiders 10-6 win.
In game two, Mount Union scored a run in the first inning on an Eric Schilling (Stow / Stow-Munroe Falls) single, but Otterbein came back with two in the third to take a 2-1 lead. The Raiders then got the bats going with single runs in the fifth, sixth and seventh on a Weaver homer, a Nate Duliba (Berea / Berea-Midpark) fielders' choice and a Walker Marlowe (Berlin Center / Western Reserve) solo home run for Mount Union to take a 4-2 lead.
Otterbein would rally again this time with a three-run seventh to retake the lead at 5-4. Mount Union once again responded scoring six unanswered with two in the eighth on a Weaver RBI and a Schilling sacrifice fly then a four-run ninth on a Coleman Stauffer (Boardman) RBI single, a run on a wild pitch then two more on a Weaver single. Otterbein tried a third rally but scored just a solo run in the bottom of the ninth.
On the mound, Dwayne Sumler (Indianapolis, Ind. / Warren Central) struck out six in 6.2 innings, but Dan Zelina (Mentor) picked up the win in relief and Cole Robinson (Lewis Center / Olentangy) got the final five outs for his first save of the season.
In the opener the teams combined for 20 runs on 27 hits, but Otterbein scored a 12-8 win. Mount Union had a seven run second inning to take a 7-1 lead. In that big inning, Chase Angotti (Monongahela, Pa. / Ringgold) hit a three-run homer and Mazza hit a solo home run.
Otterbein would out-score Mount Union 11-1 the rest of the way including a six-run fourth inning.
Ryan Osman (Pittsburgh, Pa. / Moon) took the loss in relief for the Raiders.
Mount Union is back on the diamond Tuesday at 1 p.m. with an OAC series against John Carroll at Rafeld-Rogers Field.