GAMBIER, Ohio  – The Kenyon College softball team's bid for their 20th win this season was put on hold after Capital University took two wins away from the KC Softball Complex, Monday evening. The Crusaders used the small ball strategy to its advantage, posting 6-5 (F/8) and 5-2 (F/6) victories over the Ladies. Kenyon will look to obtain its second consecutive 20-win season in its home doubleheader this weekend against Allegheny College.

Capital (20-16) broke a 5-5 tie in the eighth inning of game one with the use of a sacrifice bunt, pushing pinch runner Jessica Robinson to third. She was driven home on a call for a safety squeeze play, executed by Lizzie Strain. Maddy Stark came out of the circle and made a shovel pass to Toni Miller behind the plate, but the tag was not in time and allowed the go-ahead run to score.

Kenyon (19-15) countered by pushing its free runner, dictated by the international extra-inning rule, from second to third in the same fashion the Crusaders had. However, Alyssa Patznick shut down the next two hitters to close out the game and earn her 11th win of the year.

The Ladies held a one-run lead heading into the seventh inning, but a wild pitch by Stark put Brooklyn Staten in scoring position. One batter later, Marisa Koss singled to center to score Staten, representing the game-tying run that forced an extra inning.

Kenyon took an early lead in the game, plating two when Molly O'Connor knocked a two-out, two-RBI single. However, the Crusaders came back and tied the game in the following frame. It was the first of three different occasions that Capital erased or retook the lead from the Ladies in game one.

Stark (11-8) went the distance but took the loss despite striking out six Crusaders. Four of her six runs allowed were earned, while spreading out eight hits over her eight innings of work, and walking none.

Both teams swapped runs in the first inning and took a 2-2 tie into the sixth inning of game two. As the skies darkened while the game rolled into the eight o'clock hour, Katlyn Simpson started off what would become a three-run sixth inning for the Crusaders. Another sacrifice bunt pushed her into scoring position and a second bunt that went down as a base hit put runners on the corners with one out. Koss put a ground ball down on the right side, allowing Simpson to score. On the play, an error was committed to prevent an out from being recorded. That gave Capital an extra opportunity at the plate, which allowed LeAnna Cotton's ground out to plate another run. That play followed another successful safety squeeze, driving the score to 5-2.

After the Ladies went down in order in the bottom of the sixth, the game was called due to darkness, thus handing Kenyon its second loss of the day.