Otterbein 4-9, Capital 1-1
(COLUMBUS, Ohio) - Capital University's baseball team was limited to just eight total hits in suffering a doubleheader sweep against Otterbein College Saturday in Ohio Athletic Conference play at Clowson Field.
The losses drop the Crusaders to 9-23-1 and 2-14 in the OAC, while the Cardinals stand at 22-11 (11-5 OAC).
Otterbein took a 1-0 lead in the opening frame of the first game and added a solo home run in the fourth to make it 2-0. Capital came back in the bottom of the fourth when junior outfielder Mike St. John (Perrysburg/Perrysburg) hit an RBI single to score senior second baseman Ryan Hutchison (Columbus/Whitehall-Yearling).
But the Cardinals answered with another solo shot in the sixth and tacked on a single run in the seventh to take a 4-1 lead. Senior Mike Graffin (Bowling Green/Bowling Green) suffered the loss despite throwing a complete game and yielding just eight hits.
Freshman Zach Byers (Pickerington/Bishop Hartley) put the Crusaders on the scoreboard first in the second game as his sacrifice fly to bring home fellow freshman Dave Bartek (Edgewater, Fla./Spruce Creek). Otterbein responded with four runs in the second and took advantage of a pair of Capital errors in the third to score three more runs and take a 7-1.
The Crusaders grounded into four double plays in the second game. Senior Chris Trainer (Chillicothe/Unioto) pitched five innings of relief and allowed just two runs.
Capital returns to action with a doubleheader at 1 p.m. Sunday at Urbana University.