COLUMBUS, Ohio – The Kenyon College Ladies (29-9) split a non-conference softball doubleheader at Capital University Wednesday afternoon at Clowson Field. After falling behind 8-5 in the opener, Kenyon rallied to win 10-8 before dropping game two 6-2.
 
GAME ONE
 
The story of the opener was a pair of comebacks from the Ladies before eventually prevailing at the end.
 
Kenyon had fallen behind 3-0 in the second following a solo homer from Alyssa Patznick. In the next frame, the Ladies' offense caught fire.
 
The first seven batters reached with hits which sent Capital pitcher Brooke Billings to the dugout. Madi Maldonado, Maddy Stark, and Jane Ghublikian all had run-scoring hits during that stretch which moved Kenyon ahead 4-3. Senior Chelsea Delaney added the Ladies' fifth run during the third inning as she drew a bases-loaded walk allowing Stark to score.
 
Capital shook off the big Kenyon inning to respond in the home half of the third and fourth innings. The Crusaders cut the deficit to 5-4 in the third when Maura Rose hit an RBI sacrifice fly. Brooklyn Staten's two-run double to center field in the fourth moved Capital back up 7-5.
 
After the Crusaders added one more run in the fifth, the Ladies fought back in the last two innings.
 
Lindsey Susolik hit a two-run home run down the left-field line and brought the score to 8-7. That homer, Susolik's eighth of the season, tied a single-season record for the Ladies.
 
In the seventh, Maldonado and Ghublikian  completed the Ladies' comeback. Maldonado hit a run-scoring single tying the game and two batters later, Ghublikian hit a shot up the middle scoring the last pair of runs for Kenyon.
 
Capital's last chance in the bottom of the seventh resulted in a single to start the inning. But Stark (20-7) retired the last three batters to preserve victory.
 
GAME TWO
 
Things started well for the Ladies in the second game as they gained a 2-0 lead off the bat of Ghublikian. The Dorchester, Mass., native homered to left field in the first and followed that up in the third as she drove in Sylvie Thomas with an infield single.
 
The quick start didn't last the rest of the game though as the Crusaders climbed back.
 
Capital tied the game on a two-run double from Ashley Knowles in the fourth. Two batters later, Kelsey Swain singled to third base plating Knowles.
 
Kenyon wasn't able to find the run support needed after that as the last three innings resulted in just two base-runners reaching scoring position.
 
The Crusaders added some insurance with three runs in the sixth. Swain hit a sacrifice fly to centerfield scoring Patznick and in the same sequence, Knowles scored on an error from the Ladies. Staten closed the game's scoring with a run-scoring single.
 
Maldonado and Ghublikian tallied five of Kenyon's nine hits to lead the offense.
 
Next up for Kenyon is its regular-season-closing doubleheader at Allegheny College on April 25. The Ladies are in a tie for second in the NCAC standings and need either a win against the Gators or a Denison loss to advance to the conference tournament.