BEXLEY -- The Heidelberg University softball team earned a vital conference sweep on Thursday, beating host Capital University 12-4 and 9-3 at Clowson Field.  The Student Princes pounded out 23 hits on the day.  

Emma Dean had five hits and six RBI, anchoring the heart of the lineup.  

GAME ONE:  BERG 12-14-2   CAP 4-4-2

Kat Brady started the game in textbook Kat Brady fashion.  The senior slapped a single to short, stole second, then moved to third on a wild pitch. She scored easily on a base hit by Dean.  

Up 1-0 in the third, HU added three.  Gabbie Stallbaum doubled down the left field line and scored on a triple down the right field line by Meghan Bame.  Dean delivered another RBI baseknock to plate Bame.  With two outs, Dean crossed the plate on a wild pitch.  

Not satisfied, The Berg scored five times in the fourth. Brady scored on an error before Aubrey Conklin drove in Stallbaum with a single to center.  Days after hitting her first collegiate home run, Maddie Gossard hit another one -- a three-run shot to left.  

In the fifth, Dean belted her first home run of the season, a two-run blast to left center.  Later in the inning, Ryann Ramacciatti drove in pinch runner Grace Anthony with a single to left center.  

Though the Comets scored four times in the fifth, Heidelberg was able to get the mercy-rule win.  

Caitlin Dems (4-3) went the distance, striking out five and allowing four runs (three earned) on four hits.  

GAME TWO:  BERG 9-9-1   CAP 3-5-4

Heidelberg scored two unearned runs in the first with another RBI hit from Dean and a run-scoring ground out by Conklin. 

The Student Princes added their third run, Brady-style.  Kat walked, swiped two bags, and scored on a throwing error.  

Capital inched back into the game with a two-run homer in the bottom of the third.  

The teams traded runs in the fifth.

Up 4-3 in the seventh, Heidelberg provided breathing room with a five-spot.  Bame doubled in Brady early in the inning.  With two outs, Ramacciatti hit a two-run single through the right side to plate pinch runners Halie Monhollen and Morgan Woycitzky.  Murissa Drown followed with a pinch-hit double that drove in Gossard and Ramaciatti.  

Payton Scheid (5-2) earned the complete game victory, limiting the Comets to three runs (one earned) on five hits.  She fanned four and retired the last seven batters of the game in order.  

UP NEXT:  
Ready or not, Senior Day is slated for Saturday when Heidelberg welcomes Muskingum to Frann's Field.  Weather permitting, the ceremony will precede the first pitch, which is scheduled for 1 p.m.  

Photos by Carrie Wyman