WESTERVILLE, OHIO – The Otterbein softball team split a pair of doubleheaders on the week, sweeping Case Western Tuesday in Cleveland before returning home to drop both to cross-town rival Capital Saturday afternoon.

The team began the week strong, jumping on top of Case Western 7-1 after three innings Tuesday afternoon. The run support would be more than enough for sophomore Natalie Zwicker, who surrendered just five hits and one earned run over six innings pitched en route to the team’s 10-2 victory.

The game saw four different Cardinals tally at least two hits, with sophomore Heather Nance leading the way by going a perfect 3-for-3 in her first start of the season.

Sophomores Becca Devore and Liz Holthaus each went 2-for-4 with an RBI and two runs scored in the opening game.

Game two saw OC grab a 4-2 lead after the top of the third, but Case responded with three runs in the bottom of the inning to vault back on top at 5-4.

The Cardinals countered with two runs of their own in the fourth, but the contest would turn into a see-saw battle with Otterbein eventually entering the top of the seventh trailing 8-7.

Freshman Brooke Albright doubled to left field to begin the inning for the Cards, and freshman Brittney Kuhn delivered an RBI double two batters later to even the game. Two batters after that, sophomore Casey Clarridge would drive in Kuhn for the go-ahead score.

Zwicker came on in the bottom half of the seventh to sit down Case and record the save.

The team fell victim to a consistent Capital offense in game one Saturday, as the Crusaders slowly built a 6-1 lead by the middle of the fifth after scoring at least one run in each of the first five innings.

OC posted one run in the bottom of the fifth, but it wouldn’t be enough as Capital preserved a 6-1 victory.

Kuhn would record an RBI single as part of a two-run first inning for the Cardinals in game two, and would lead 2-1 entering the fourth inning.

The Crusaders strung together two runs in the top of the fourth, however, to jump on top at 3-2.

Capital tacked on an insurance run late, and Otterbein was never able to generate a rally en route to the defeat.

Clarridge hit .533 on the week (8 of 15) in addition to crossing the plate four times. Freshman Paige Hamon hit .455 (5 of 11) and delivered a timely home run during the second game of the Case Western doubleheader.

The team will hit the road this week, traveling to play Wilmington on Wednesday before venturing to Alliance for a battle with Mount Union Saturday afternoon.