The Capital University softball team recovered from a pair of setbacks one day earlier Thursday with consecutive victories at Denison in a non-conference doubleheader at Granville, Ohio.

The Crusaders (16-12 overall) won the opener 2-1 before taking control of the nightcap early and hanging on late for an 8-6 triumph.

In the second game, Capital tallied four times in the top of the second and didn't look back, out-hitting the Big Red (11-9) by a 13-6 count. Twelve of the 13 hits by the Crusaders were singles.

Junior pitcher Alyssa Patznick (Newark, Ohio) improved to 10-5 on the year with the win, allowing just one hit through her first five innings of work. Junior Brooke Billings (Clyde, Ohio) tossed the final 1 1/3 frames to pick up her first save of the year, working out of a jam in the seventh with the go-ahead run at the plate.

Sophomore right fielder Ashley Knowles (Canton, Ohio) started the second-inning rally with an RBI base hit to right. Junior centerfielder Kelsey Swain (Pickerington, Ohio) followed with an RBI on a fielder's choice. One batter later, junior left fielder LeAnna Cotton (Okeechobee, Fla.) knocked a two-run single up the middle.

In the fourth, sophomore second baseman Brooklyn Staten (Grove City, Ohio) posted an RBI groundout before Cotton knocked in another with a single through the right side to increase the Capital advantage to 6-0.

Swain and Staten singled with two outs in the sixth before Cotton came through again, this time with a two-run double to left center.

Cotton finished 3-for-5 with five RBIs, while Swain, Staten, Knowles and freshman designated player Marisa Koss (Ostrander, Ohio) totaled two hits apiece.

In Game 1, Billings was sharp on the mound, surrendering just five hits while striking out four in a complete game effort. Billings stranded six Denison runners while improving to 6-6 on the season.

After the Big Red took a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the third inning, Capital responded in the top of the fourth as sophomore third baseman Katlyn Simpson (Loudonville, Ohio) knocked a two-out, run-scoring single to left field. Staten, who reached on an error to lead off the inning, scored from second on the play.

The Crusaders plated the go-ahead run in the top of the sixth as junior first baseman Maura Rose (Williamsport, Pa.) knocked in Staten with a two-out single through the left side.

Billings allowed a leadoff double in the sixth before retiring the final six hitters she faced in the last two frames.

Staten and Koss accounted for the team's only other hits in the affair.

Capital returns to Ohio Athletic Conference play this Saturday at Mount Union. First pitch of the doubleheader is slated for 1 p.m. in Alliance.