Baseball Drops Pair To Otterbein To Close Gene Cusic Classic

FORT MYERS, Fla. – The Elms College baseball team closed out the Gene Cusic Classic on Thursday, dropping a pair of Games to Otterbein, 4-1 and 5-1.

The Elms (1-8) offense struggled to string together hits while the Cardinals (6-4) ran rampant on the bases, stealing 11 bases, including 10 in the second half of the double-header.

GAME 1 – Otterbein 4, Elms 1
Josh Pasini and Jaeden Rasmus each went 2-for-3 in the middle of the Elms lineup on the first game on Thursday, but the Blazer seven, eight, and nine hitters combined to go 0-for-8 as Elms stranded six base-runners in the game.

After falling behind 3-0 heading into the bottom of the second, the Blazers cut the lead to 3-1 in the bottom of the frame. Two walks and a single from Rasmus left the bases loaded when a wild pitch scored Nathan Ayala.

The Cardinals tacked on another run in the top of the third to cap the scoring. Otterbein pitcher Johnny Putman got the win after throwing all seven innings and giving up just one run and five hits. He struck out five Blazer batters.

Matt Plasse went the distance in the seven-inning contest for Elms, racking up five strikeouts with just one walk. He gave up eight hits and four runs, three of them earned.

GAME 2 – Otterbein 5, Elms 1
Ben Ross hit a game-tying RBI double in the top of the third inning, but it was all the offense the Blazers could muster in a 5-1 loss to Otterbein in the second-half of the double-header. Meanwhile, the Cardinals were successful on all 10 stolen base attempts, including a brazen theft of home, in the contest.

Ross' double was the only extra-base hit of the afternoon for Elms, while Pasini, Thomas Slane, Jaeden Rasmus and Cam Hart all singled for the Blazers. Brandon Bennett pitched four and a third innings and allowed five runs, four earned. He struck out four batters, but three walks and a hit batter proved costly when they led to a combined seven stolen bases and two runs.

Jaryd Murphy pitched six innings in the win for the Cardinals. He gave up just one run on five hits and struck out one batter before giving way to Eric Norton who pitched a one-two-three seventh.

The Blazers are scheduled to return to action on March 13 with the home-opener against Rhode Island College.