The Denison baseball team closed out their North Coast Athletic Conference weekend series at Wittenberg University with a doubleheader split. The Big Red won Saturday's opener 7-2, while the Tigers were victorious in game to by way of a 4-1 score.
In game one, Denison jumped out to an early 6-0 lead and never looked back. In the first frame, senior Aidan Lucas (Evanston, Ill./Evanston Township) belted a one-out double to center field that drove in senior Park Smith (Warren, N.J./The Pingry School) and junior Matt Forgatch (San Marino, Calif./San Marino) to give DU a 2-0 lead through one. The Big Red added to their lead with four tallies in the second inning. Danny Pritz (Wilmette, Ill./New Trier) and Evan Nicholson (North Canton, Ohio/Hoover) hit back-to-back base hits to put runners at the corners with only one out. After Nicholson stole second, Forgatch lined a single into left field that scored both base runners. Forgatch stole a pair of bases before Smith reached base via base-on-balls. With runners at first and third, Lucas laced a triple down the left field line to plate two more runs. The Tigers trimmed the margin to 6-1 with a run in the bottom of the second. Each squad plated a run in the seventh, but the fast start was key in DU's victory.
Offensively, Lucas went 2-for-3 with four RBIs, while Forgatch drove in two, scored twice and swiped two bags. Sophomore pitcher Tyler Vaske (West Chester, Ohio/Lakota West) improved to 2-2 on the year after tossing a complete game on the hill. Vaske surrendered two runs on eight hits with three strikeouts.
In the nightcap, Wittenberg expanded on a 1-0 lead with a three-run third frame. The Tigers' three tallies came with one out on an RBI walk issued to Zach Spring and a two-run single from Ray Noe. Denison plated a run in the sixth on a pinch-hit single by Peter Krieger (New Canaan, Conn./New Canaan) that scored Forgatch, but it wasn't enough as Wittenberg avoided the series sweep. Lucas suffered his second loss of the season after allowing two earned runs on four hits in six innings of work. The senior fanned five batters and issued three free passes.
Denison is now 13-10 overall and 4-2 in the NCAC West, while the Tigers sit at 9-11 on the year and 5-5 in league play. The Big Red returns to the field on Tuesday (April 6) when they travel to second-ranked Heidelberg University. First pitch from Tiffin, Ohio is slate for 4 p.m.
