COLUMBUS – The Capital University softball team used a stellar pitching performance and a pair of timely hits Sunday to record a 3-0 victory over Wilmington in the second game of an Ohio Athletic Conference doubleheader at Clowson Field.

The Crusaders (14-10 overall, 3-5 OAC) fell against the Quakers, 3-1, in the first game of the day.

In the nightcap, junior pitcher Alyssa Patznick posted her third shutout of the season to improve to 9-4 on the year. The Newark, Ohio, native struck out nine and allowed just one hit – a single with two outs in the top of the sixth – in one of her best, and most clutch, performances of the season.

Junior centerfielder Kelsey Swain (Pickerington, Ohio) delivered all the offense Capital needed in the affair with a two-out, two-run, inside-the-park home run in the bottom of the third. Swain slapped a hit through the left side of the infield, and the ball rolled all the way to the fence, allowing the speedster to score easily on the play.

Junior pinch hitter Emma Caputo (Columbus, Ohio) provided an insurance run in the bottom of the fifth with a two-out, run-scoring double to deep left center.

Sophomore third baseman Katlyn Simpson (Loudonville, Ohio) contributed with two hits and scored a pair of runs.

In the opener, Wilmington (12-13, 3-5) tallied 11 hits and scored in the top of the fifth and seventh innings to defeat the Crusaders.

Junior pitcher Brooke Billings (Clyde, Ohio) stranded six Quakers through the first three innings before Wilmington's Catlin Shilling connected on a two-run home run in the fifth. Billings dropped to 5-5 on the season, striking out five in 6 1/3 innings of work.

Capital plated its lone run in the bottom of the fifth on a two-out single up the middle by Simpson, who finished 2-for-3 in the contest. Sophomore second baseman Brooklyn Staten (Grove City, Ohio) also registered a pair of hits.

The Crusaders totaled eight hits but left eight runners stranded in the game.

Capital returns to conference play Wednesday at Heidelberg. First pitch in Tiffin is set for 3 p.m.