Box Score 1 | Box Score 2

Things could not have started much better for JCU softball on Friday in Bexley, as Rachel Byrnes threw a four-hit shutout in a 5-0 victory against Capital; unfortunately for the Blue Streaks, the Crusaders unleashed an early barrage in the day's second contest to take down John Carroll, 11-4.

Byrnes, who improved to 7-1 on the season, kept Capital bottled up in game one.  She struck out five and allowed just four hits to deny the Crusaders a run in the 7-inning game.  

Providing offensive support was the quartet of Erica Chiudioni, Mackenzie Griffin, Morgan Robinson, and Lia Locey, who each knocked two base-hits.  Ally Kleinhans added a single, a walk, and two runs batted in.

With Byrnes cruising, JCU tallied a run in the first and third, before putting two on the board in the fourth, thanks to two singles, a pair of walks, and a hit-by-pitch.

Game two was decidedly different, illustrated by a resurgent Capital team's five-run first inning that featured a three-run home run from Maura Rose.  

Trailing 6-0 in the bottom of three, the Blue & Gold fought back.  First, Ashlee Unrue belted a solo homer to lead off the inning.  Then, Colleen Brady and Michaela Mackey chipped in back-to-back RBI singles to help JCU put up four runs on five hits in the frame.

The unrelenting Crusaders picked up three more runs in the sixth and two in the seventh inning, as they pushed the lead to an insurmountable 11-4 advantage to earn the split.

On the day, Griffin went 3-4 at the plate, walking three times, while Chiudioni added three hits for the Streaks, who move to  11-5 overall and 3-1 in the OAC in 2013.