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Game 1 Box Score
Game 2 Box Score
The Capital University softball team continued its hot start in Ohio Athletic Conference play Saturday with a pair of wins at Muskingum in a doubleheader in New Concord, Ohio.
The Crusaders (17-7 overall, 6-2 OAC) pounded out 19 hits to take the first game 21-10 in five innings before holding on late in the second for a 7-6 victory thanks to sophomore left fielder LeAnna Cotton's game-ending throw to get a Muskingum runner at the plate.
In the opener, every Capital starter posted at least one hit as the Crusaders tallied 10 runs in the top of the second, four in the third and five in the fourth to take a commanding 21-2 advantage. The Muskies (19-9, 4-6) plated eight runs in the bottom of the fourth but the Crusaders held on to the large margin to win by run rule after five.
Senior shortstop Devan Boggs (West Jefferson, Ohio) led Capital with four hits, including a home run, four runs scored and six runs batted in. With two doubles in the affair, she tied the OAC record for career doubles with 51. Boggs, who entered the season as the program's leader in career doubles, knocked in five runs alone in the second frame with a two-run homer and a three-run double.
Sophomore centerfielder Kelsey Swain (Pickerington, Ohio) added three hits, two runs and three RBIs, while freshman second baseman Brooklyn Staten (Grove City, Ohio) scored three times and plated a run to go along with her three hits. Cotton (Okeechobee, Fla.) contributed with two hits, two runs and three RBIs, while freshman designated player Sarah Nist (North Canton, Ohio) knocked in three with a home run as part of the Crusaders' big second inning.
Sophomore pitcher Brooke Billings (Clyde, Ohio) moved to 9-3 on the season with the complete-game win.
In Game 2, Capital entered the bottom of the seventh with a two-run lead before running into trouble during the inning. With a runner on second, Muskingum staged a two-out rally with a single, taking advantage of a fielding error on the play, and a walk.
With runners on first and second, the Muskies hit a single to left field. The runner from second tried to score, but Cotton cut her down with a throw to sophomore catcher Maura Rose (Williamsport, Pa.), who applied the tag for the final out of the contest.
Sophomore pitcher Alyssa Patznick (Newark, Ohio) moved to 8-4 on the year with a complete-game effort, stranding nine Muskingum runners in the process.
Trailing 5-1 entering the top of the fifth, the Crusaders tallied five times on home runs by Boggs, senior first baseman Lexi Majoy (Huron, Ohio) and Cotton. Boggs hit her team-leading seventh of the year, while Majoy and Cotton hit their fifth and second of the season, respectively.
Capital tacked on what proved to be a crucial insurance run in the top of the sixth as Majoy brought in Swain, who tripled earlier in the inning, with a bunt.
Rose plated the Crusaders' other run in the affair with a one-out single to left in the third.
Capital resumes OAC action Tuesday at Baldwin Wallace. First pitch of the doubleheader is scheduled for 3 p.m.