SALISBURY, Md. - The Capital University softball team posted an impressive 3-1 record at the Salisbury State Invitational this weekend. CU swept SUNY Geneseo (3-1) and TCNJ (3-2) on Friday. The Crusaders then beat SUNY Plattsburgh (2-0) on Saturday before falling in the final inning to #23 Ithaca (1-3).
Capital (9-5) was paced by the strong pitching of junior Brittany Stefano (Uniontown, Ohio/Uniontown Lake HS) who tallied four complete games. Stefano combined for a 1.00 ERA after holding the opposition to a .214 batting average against her with 32 strikeouts in 28.0 innings pitched. She also accounted for all the offense the Crusaders would need in their 2-0 win over SUNY Plattsburgh with a two-run homer in the fourth inning.
In the weekend's opener, CU scored one run in each of its first three trips to the plate to build a 3-0 lead after three innings. Freshman Stephanie Peterson (Columbus, Ohio/St. Francis DeSales HS) led the charge as she was 2-for-4 with a run scored while sophomore Jen Reimer (Hamilton, Ohio/Edgewood HS) doubled and walked twice to setup two stolen bases and a run scored. Classmate Sarah Finkel (Mechanicsburg, Ohio/Bishop Ready HS) also singled, stole a base and scored while fellow sophomore Ashley Daugherty (Reynoldsburg, Ohio/Pickerington Central HS) and senior Kaleen Keitch (Pickerington, Ohio/Pickerington North HS) each drove in a run. Stefano struck out 12 to shut down SUNY Geneseo for a 3-1 victory.
Capital continued the momentum in its second game of the day as it scored three runs in the top of the first inning against The College of New Jersey. Daugherty and junior Liz Dumas (Pataskala, Ohio/Watkins Memorial HS) started with back-to-back one-out singles. Reimer then provided the big blast with a three-run homer to left centerfield. From there, Stefano struck out 11 batters while scattering seven walks and five hits to earn a 3-2 victory.
In the final game of the weekend against #23 Ithaca, the Bombers opened with a run in the top of the first inning. The Crusaders responded with an RBI single from Reimer to send home Peterson in the bottom of the frame and then rode solid pitching and defense until late in the game. Capital threatened in the bottom of the sixth beginning with a leadoff single by Dumas. After a sacrifice bunt, Stefano ripped a long drive to left field that was caught over the top of the outfield wall to keep CU off the scoreboard. IC came back in the top of the seventh to score two runs and held on for a 3-1 victory.
Capital will play host to pair of doubleheaders to open its home schedule at Clowson Field this week. CU will take on Transylvania on Tuesday and Thomas More on Thursday. The action begins each day at 3:30 p.m.