COLUMBUS, Ohio – The Baldwin Wallace University men's lacrosse team defeated Capital University, 9-6, in its Ohio Athletic Conference opener inside Bernlohr Stadium this afternoon. The win gave the Yellow Jackets a 2-1 lead in the all-time series against the Crusaders.

BW (9-1, 1-0 OAC) was led by All-OAC junior midfielder and face-off specialist  Alex Fioritto (Akron / Walsh Jesuit) who won 10 of the 16 face-offs. Offensively, freshman midfielder Chad Steinwachs (Buffalo, N.Y. / Williamsville North) recorded his first career hat-trick with three goals. He also added one assist.

Capital (8-3, 0-1 OAC) was led by sophomore attack Brennon O'Callaghan and junior attack Brent Walton who each scored two goals.

The Yellow Jackets jumped out to an early 2-1 lead when freshman attack Alex Binner (East Amherst, N.Y. / Williamsville North) netted his 12th goal of the season. BW extended its lead to 4-1 when Steinwachs snuck a shot by the Capital goalkeeper at the 14:04 mark in the second quarter. Both teams scored one goal in the last 14 minutes of the first half and BW went into the locker room with a 5-2 lead.  

In the third period Capital cut the Yellow Jackets lead to 5-3 when sophomore attack Brennon O'Callaghan beat the BW goalkeeper at the 7:58 mark. The Yellow Jackets went on a 4-1 run and extend their lead to 9-4 when Steinwachs completed his hat trick with 6:10 left in the fourth. The Crusaders went on a 2-0 run to close out the game, but BW held on for the victory.

All-OAC sophomore goalkeeper Mike Dizonno (Buffalo Grove, Ill. / Adlai E. Stevenson) made seven saves and improved to 9-1 this season and 21-4 (.840 winning percentage) for his career.

The Yellow Jackets are back in action when they host Muskingum University in an OAC game on Tressel Field inside George Finnie Stadium at 7:30 p.m. Fans can follow live at http://bit.ly/1XnetSJ