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Game 1 Box Score

Game 2 Box Score

The Capital University baseball team responded from a gut-wrenching defeat in the first game Saturday to defeat cross-town rival Otterbein 7-1 in the second game of an Ohio Athletic Conference doubleheader in Westerville.

The Crusaders (19-15 overall, 7-9 OAC) fell in the opener 2-1 on a walkoff single in the bottom of the eighth.

Capital rebounded in the nightcap to remain two games behind the Cardinals (22-14, 9-7) and Mount Union for the third and fourth spots in the conference tournament.

In the second game, the Crusaders tallied runs in each of the first three innings, highlighted three-run third which featured a two-out, two-run single by junior third baseman Ryan Pearson (Springfield, Ohio).

Capital gave junior pitcher Justin Hoying (Fort Loramie, Ohio) all the run support he would need early on. The right-hander posted his third complete-game of the year to move to 4-3, striking out four while allowing just three hits and one unearned run in the contest.

Junior left fielder Taylor Branisel (South Euclid, Ohio) gave the Crusaders a 1-0 lead with an RBI groundout in the first. Capital tacked on one more in the second on a two-out, run-scoring single to right by junior right fielder Andy Grillo (McArthur, Ohio).

Otterbein cut the lead to 5-1 in the bottom of the third, but Hoying stopped it there, surviving a two-on, two-out jam in the fourth then retiring the last seven hitters he faced in the affair.

The Crusaders added insurance runs in the sixth and seventh on another two-out hit, this time by senior shortstop Jacob Thuman (Westerville, Ohio) and a sacrifice fly by freshman catcher Ryan McSweeney (Seven Hills, Ohio).

Grillo finished 3-for-4 to lead the team, while Thuman and Pearson each contributed with two hits.

In the opener, Capital jumped out to a 1-0 lead in the top of the first on an RBI single to center by junior second baseman Anthony Calabrese (Hudson, Ohio).

Despite outhitting the Cardinals 11-7, the Crusaders were unable to push another run across, spoiling a solid outing by sophomore Robert Fravel (Port Clinton, Ohio). The right-hander earned a no-decision despite allowing just one run on five hits and striking out six in the contest.

Otterbein tied the game at 1-1 in the bottom of the third then plated the winning run in the bottom of the eighth with the bases loaded and nobody out.

Capital visits Beavers Field in Lancaster for a single non-conference game against OU-Lancaster Tuesday at 5 p.m.