Box Score 1 |
Box Score 2 Otterbein University 9, UW-Stout 3 |
Otterbein University 5, UW-Stout 3
FORT MYERS, Fla. (March 17, 2013) - UW-Stout fell into early deficits in both games as they suffered a pair of losses to Otterbein University, Sunday afternoon, to open their spring break trip.
Stout saw a four-run second inning deficit turn into a 9-3 loss in the first game and allowed five runs in the first inning of the second game, leading to a 5-3 defeat.
Starting pitcher
Brad Kohn (Sr, St. Charles, Minn.) got the Blue Devils (3-5) through the first inning, but Otterbein (6-1) went to work in the top half of the second.
Two errors and a walked batter led to a bases loaded situation for reliever
Jake Brehm (Fr, Westboro), who replaced Kohn after just one inning of work. Brehm walked in the first run, and the Cardinals added three more with a sacrifice fly and a pair of RBI singles.
Nick Lamers (Fr, Freedom) came in to close out the inning, striking out the first batter he saw.
Otterbein added four more runs in the top of the fourth inning to take a commanding lead. Thomas Linder drove in two runs with a single to center field one batter before Jake Ashbrook hit a two-run homer to give his team an 8-0 lead.
Mitch LaVelle (Fr, Chippewa Falls) and
Ryan Gangestad (So, Maple Grove, Minn.) started the bottom of the fourth with a pair of singles, Stout's first hits of the game.
Santiago Morales (Sr, West St. Paul, Minn.) drove in LaVelle with a double before
Charlie Meyer (So, Janesville) scored Gangestad and Morales with a single.
That was as close as Stout could get, however. Otterbein added a run in the fifth for good measure to make the final score of 9-3. Brehm absorbed the loss, his first decision of the year, while David Cydrus got the win to improve to 1-0.
As quick as they fell into a hole in the first game, Stout fell into one deeper and quicker in the second contest.
Cody Loertscher (Jr, Rib Lake), who had been very effective in each of his first three starts this season, did not find that same success today.
Loertscher walked the first batter he faced, hit the second one, and allowed his first hit of the season to the third batter of the inning. He later walked and hit two batters in succession again, which was
Andrew Driessen's (Sr, Champlin Park, Minn.) cue to replace Loertscher on the mound.
Otterbein scored five runs in the inning, although they only got one hit. Both batters who walked scored, as did the two who were hit by a pitch.
Stout's only attempt at a comeback came in the top of the fourth inning. The Blue Devils took advantage of a couple Otterbein errors to score three runs. Meyer had the only hit of the inning, but
Brett Vavra (So, Chippewa Falls) drove in two runs and
Nick Nalbach (So, Plover) pulled Stout within two runs with an RBI of his own.
Otterbein's Dominic Porretta came in to close out the game and prevented Stout from getting any closer than 5-3.
After replacing Loertscher, who retired only one batter, Driessen pitched the rest of the game, allowing three hits and no runs in five and two-thirds innings of work. Loertscher picked up the loss, his first decision of the year.
Stout returns to action tomorrow, March 18, to play a doubleheader with Utica College, beginning at 10 a.m. (ET).
