Box Score 1 | Box Score 2
WESTERVILLE, Ohio – The Otterbein University softball team tallied a doubleheader split Monday afternoon in Ohio Athletic Conference (OAC) action, defeating crosstown-rival Capital University 9-7 in game one before suffering a 12-5 loss.

The Cardinals (9-6, 2-2 OAC) will return to action tomorrow afternoon, traveling to Marietta College for a 3 p.m. doubleheader start time. The team will stay busy throughout the remainder of the week, hosting Bluffton University Friday before another twinbill with Baldwin Wallace University come Saturday.

Otterbein's offense hit the gas pedal to begin game one, scoring four runs in the opening frame thanks to a pair of 2-RBI singles from Kelsey Long and Maddy Shelley.

The Crusaders scored once in the second, but Otterbein stayed hot at the plate with another four runs in the ensuing at-bat to seize an 8-1 advantage.

Capital ignited a fourth-inning rally to get within one, at 8-7, but an RBI double from Rachael Puthoff helped give the Cardinals an insurance run in the sixth on their way to victory.

Freshman Lizzy Snodgrass improved to 7-1 on the mound this season with another complete-game win while Shelly, Kristen Ramer, Laura Basford and Molly Riggs all registered two hits.

Otterbein took an early lead once again in the second affair, scoring three times in the first inning thanks to an RBI from Ramer and a few Capital miscues in the field.

The game was later tied at 4-4 entering the fifth, but the Crusaders saw an opportunity after back-to-back errors from the Cardinal defense put runners on first and second. Capital's Marisa Koss  proceeded to launch a three-run homer over the left-field fence, and the visitors eventually added three more runs in the sixth frame.

Otterbein managed to get six batters to the plate during its final at-bat in the seventh, scoring once but ultimately coming up short. Puthoff and Ramer each went 2 for 4 in the contest, with Puthoff also scoring twice.