ALLIANCE, Ohio - The No. 15 nationally ranked Mount Union baseball team (18-4) swept the Otterbein Cardinals (2-17) in an Ohio Athletic Conference doubleheader on Sunday afternoon at Rafeld-Rogers Field. The Purple Raiders' offense had an outstanding day, with three balls leaving the field.
In game one, junior left-handed pitcher
Luke Ickes (Green, OH / Green) made the start, pitching 5.0 innings with three strikeouts, allowing 13 hits and five runs.
Junior right-handed pitcher
Christopher Maurer (Hudson, OH / Hudson) earned his first win of the season, going 4.0 innings with two strikeouts, allowing three hits and no runs.
Otterbein started the game with a 3-0 lead, highlighted by a three RBI singles, including one to left by JT Gels, who had four hits and three RBIs in his game one performance.
Mount Union responded, as senior outfielder
Chris Tsouras (Las Vegas, NV / Arbor) delivered with a deep solo home run to right field in the second inning. Tsouras had a strong performance, going 2-for-4 with a walk, two home runs, and three RBIs.
The Cardinals added two more runs to take a 5-1 lead, but the Purple Raiders went on to score 10 unanswered runs for the remainder of the game, as the offense exploded for a big performance. Junior outfielder
Brycen Fox (Hamilton, OH / Badin) had an outstanding game, going 3-for-5 and scoring two runs.
Tsouras hit a two-run blast in the sixth inning, as senior second baseman
Aidan Schroeder (Pittsburgh, PA / Keystone Oaks) followed with an RBI sacrifice fly to tie the game. In the seventh,
Daniel Tome III (Cleveland, OH / St. Edwards) hit a deep bases-clearing three RBI triple to give the Purple Raiders an 8-5 lead. In game one, Tome went 2-for-5 with four RBIs.
Mount Union would add three more runs, including an RBI single from Schroeder, as the team propelled themselves to an 11-5 game one victory.
In game two, junior right-handed pitcher
Ty Dennison (Hudson, OH/Hudson) dominated, pitching 7.0 innings with eight strikeouts, allowing only four hits and two runs.
Otterbein started the scoring in the third inning, scoring two runs, as Daniel Uhl hit a two-RBI single to right field.
Mount Union responded in the fourth, as Tome III hit his first career home run to center field, to trim the lead to 2-1.
The Purple Raiders would add two runs in the bottom of the sixth, as Ickes scored on a wild pitch, then junior third baseman
Drew Denham (Alliance, OH / Marlington) hit an RBI single to center field, to give Mount Union a 3-2 lead.
Junior right-handed pitcher
Drew Gernert (Mequon, WI / Homestead) finished the game, notching his third win of the season. Gernert pitched 2.0 innings with three strikeouts, allowing no hits and two runs, with one being earned.
The Cardinals scored two runs in the top of the ninth, one off a passed ball and the other off a wild pitch, to take a 4-3 lead.
In the bottom of the ninth inning, Ickes came to the plate with the bases loaded and two outs in a 3-2 count. He took ball four, which tied the game with a walk. On the very next pitch, Tome was hit by the pitch, allowing him to walk it off and secure a 5-4 victory.
Mount Union's next game will be tomorrow on the road at 2:00 PM in a non-conference matchup.
