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Jeff Jenkins |
TERRE HAUTE, IND. -- Otterbein College advanced to the championship round of the NCAA Division III Mideast Baseball Regional with a 13-7 victory over Manchester College on Friday night at Rose-Hulman. Otterbein relied on a 10-run sixth inning to turn a 7-2 deficit into the victory. The Cardinals advance to square off with Ohio Athletic Conference rival Marietta College on Saturday. Marietta needs one win to earn the regional title, while Otterbein must win twice. Chris Kovanda and Mike Griffin paced the 12-hit Cardinal attack with three hits each. Kovanda drove home two runs and scored twice, while Griffin scored two runs. Andrew Harrison picked up the victory with 2 1/3 innings of scoreless relief, allowing one hit with three strikeouts. Trevor Horn added a pair of scoreless innings for Otterbein. Manchester's 12-hit attack was led by three hits and three RBIs from shortstop Ryan Seal. Matt Talarico and George Mallett added two singles each, with Mallett scoring twice and driving home two. Manchester scored four times in the fifth inning, before Otterbein answered with 10 in the sixth frame. Otterbein relied on two hit by pitches and one walk to load the bases. Mike Griffin drove home one run on a fielding error, then Brandon Mauck added a sacrifice fly to plate a second run. The Cardinal bats then heated up for the 10-run frame. Kovanda slapped an RBI single to left field, Chris Martin added another hit and Kyle Dyar smashed a two-run double to bring home more tallies. Bobby Wright then hit a two-run single, before Aaron Hutchinson capped the frame with another RBI single. Otterbein improved to 33-15 on the campaign, with Manchester completing the season at 35-11. The championship round begins on Saturday at noon. |
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