The Denison University softtball team won their second-consecutive North Coast Athletic Conference regular season crown after splitting a doubleheader at the College of Wooster on Saturday afternoon in Wooster, Ohio. The Big Red suffered a 9-1 setback in the opener, but rallied in game two to edge the Fighting Scots 3-2 in nine innings.
Denison closes out the regular season with a 10-4 record in the NCAC. DU will share their seventh regular season title with Ohio Wesleyan (10-4 NCAC), who swept a twinbill from Allegheny College this afternoon. However, the Big Red earned the top-seed and will host next weekend's NCAC Tournament in Granville by way of their sweep over Hiram College Friday night.
Wooster scored a pair in the second and added another in the third inning to jump out to a 3-0 advantage in the first game. Denison was able to hang one in the fourth when senor Brie Berkopec (Mars, Pa./Mars Senior) doubled home junior Erica Evans (Worthington, Ohio/Thomas Worthington), but the Scots responded with six runs in the bottom of the frame to take a 9-1 lead. Wooster pitcher Jenn Horton baffled the Big Red as she retired the side in four of the five innings. Horton held the high-powered DU offense to just two hits and struck out four batters en route to her 12th win of the year. Senior pitcher Leslie Brenner (Deerfield, Ill./Deerfield) suffered the loss, giving up three runs on six hits in two innings of work.
In game two, Denison gained a 1-0 edge in the third frame when senior Molly Sack (Toledo, Ohio/Sylvania Southview) scored on a Lauren Lynn (Cincinnati, Ohio/Sycamore) double to left center. The Big Red doubled their lead in the fourth on a base hit by sophomore Hannah Price (Hudson, Ohio/Hudson) that scored rookie Jessica Robertson (Mt. Gilead, Ohio/Mt. Gilead). The Fighting Scots knotted the game at 2-2 in the fifth when Lauren Swinehart laced a two-run single down the left line.
After both teams failed to score in the sixth, seventh and eighth innings, DU regained a one-run lead in the top of the ninth. Price got things going with a one-out single to left. After a Sack ground out moved the sophomore to second base, Price came around to score the go-ahead run on a two-out base hit through the left side by sophomore Kait Fiore (Millburn, N.J./Millburn).
Looking to close out another solid outing, senior hurler Samantha Rumschlag (Carmel, Ind./Cathedral) retired the first two hitters via strikeout and line out in the bottom of the ninth. After giving up a two-out single, the senior got Erica Villa to foul out to senior Emily Croll (Oak Harbor, Ohio/Oak Harbor) at first to end the game. Coming off a four-hit shutout less than 24 hours ago, Rumschlag tossed all nine innings, surrendering two runs on 10 hits with seven strikeouts as she improved to 4-4 on the season.
Offensively in the second contest, Lynn, Robertson and Price all logged a pair of hits. The sophomore trio of Lynn, Price and Fiore all knocked in a run, while Robertson, Price and Sack represented the three DU tallies.
Denison closes out the 2010 regular season with a 26-14 record, while Wooster moves to 20-20. The Big Red returns to action on Friday (May 7) when they host the 2010 North Coast Athletic Conference Tournament.
