The Denison offense scored 27 runs on 27 hits, while the pitching staff limited Otterbein College to just four runs on eight hits as the Big Red snapped a four-game skid against the Cardinals with a doubleheader sweep on Thursday afternoon in Granville. DU posted a 17-2 victory in the opener, and took the second game 10-2.
Denison wasted no time gaining the edge in game one. Already up 1-0 in the bottom of the first, seniors Brie Berkopec (Mars, Pa./Mars Senior) and Alex Murray (Mayfield Heights, Ohio/NDCL) connected on back-to-back home runs. Berkopec's was a three-run shot that scored junior Erica Evans (Worthington, Ohio/Thomas Worthington) and sophomore Kait Fiore (Millburn, N.J./Millburn), while Murray's was a solo bomb over the wall in left-center field.
After Otterbein trimmed the deficit to 5-1 in the top of the second, the DU bats erupted for 10 runs in the bottom of the frame. The Big Red's tallies came off eight hits and three Cardinal errors. In the second inning, first-year Rosie Glaser (Chicago, Ill./Jones College Prep) scored senior Molly Sack (Toledo, Ohio/Sylvania Southview) from second on a triple to center. The three bagger was the first-career hit for Glaser in just her second collegiate appearance at the dish. The rookie drew a two-out walk in the first inning. Also highlighting the inning was a three-run homer by Evans that drove in Fiore and senior Emily Croll (Oak Harbor, Ohio/Oak Harbor). The Cards tacked on another tally in the third, but Murray responded in the fourth with a two-run sack. Murray's second home run of the game scored Berkopec.
Not to be lost in the shuffle was the pitching performance by Leslie Brenner (Deerfield, Ohio/Deerfield). The senior surrendered just one earned run and scattered five hits in five innings en route to her North Coast Athletic Conference- leading 13th victory.
In the nightcap, rookie hurler Jessica Robertson (Mount Gilead, Ohio/Mount Gilead) also fired a gem allowing just one earned run on three hits with two strikeouts as she picked up her first collegiate victory in only her second appearance.
RBI-hits by Murray and sophomore Lauren Lynn (Cincinnati, Ohio/Sycamore) in the first and second innings, respectively, put the Big Red up 2-0. In the third, Otterbein cut the deficit in half on a throwing miscue, and tied the contest at 2-2 when Casey Clarridge scored on a Paige Hamon single. However, DU answered in the bottom of the frame with three runs to regain a 5-2 edge. In the fourth inning, a Robertson double and a Sack sacrifice fly pushed Denison's lead to five (7-2). After Fiore drew a free pass to load the bases, Lynn cranked a two-out triple to the right-center field wall that scored Fiore, sophomore Hannah Price (Hudson, Ohio/Hudson) and Robertson. Robertson retired the side in the fifth to lock up her first-career win.
On the day, Murray went a perfect 5-for-5 with two home runs, a double, five RBIs and five runs. The senior third baseman also drew two base-on-balls which moved her into sole possession of first place on DU's all-time walks list with 42. Also sparking the Denison offense were Berkopec and Robertson, who both finished 4-for-6 on the day. The senior logged a homer and a triple, drove in three runs and scored five, while Robertson had a double, knocked in four and crossed the dish three times. Evans (4-for-8) and Lynn (2-for-4) both hit .500 with four RBIs. Evans and Fiore both scored four times, while Lynn posted a pair of doubles.
Additionally, Berkopec registered a hit in each game improving her currently hitting streak to 19 games which ties the school record set back in 2008 by fellow senior Samantha Rumschlag (Carmel, Ind./Cathedral).
Denison improves to 22-12 overall, while Otterbein falls to 6-22. The Big Red resumes NCAC play on Saturday (April 24) when they host Hiram College. Game one of the doubleheader is scheduled to start at 1 p.m.
