Peter Krieger belted a pair of home runs as the Denison baseball team snapped a three-game skid with a 7-3 victory over Rutgers-Newark on Monday afternoon in Redlands, Calif.

The Big Red opened the scoring with a Justin Vaske single that scored senior Matt Forgatch from third base in the first inning.  However, the Scarlet Raiders answered in the bottom of the frame with a trio of runs off two hits and a Big Red error.

After two scoreless innings, Denison exploded for three tallies in the fourth.  Vaske and Tim Duxbury opened the inning with a single and hit by pitch, respectively.  With one down and runners at second and third, Vaske crossed the dish on a sacrifice fly to center by junior David Holmes.  Down one with a runner at third, Krieger blasted a fastball over the left field wall to put DU ahead 4-3.

For the second time in as many at bats, Krieger used the long ball to add to Denison's lead.  Just like his previous plate appearance, the senior first baseman sent a fastball over the wall in left field.  His second homer of the day scored Vaske and Holmes and gave the Big Red a 7-3 advantage in the sixth.

Southpaw Danny Kraus found himself in a bit of trouble in the bottom of the sixth.  After a leadoff single and a one-out double put runners at second and third, the sophomore responded with a pair of strikeouts to escape the threat with no damage.

Denison relievers Sam Belisle and Duxbury combined for three hitless innings.  Belisle struck out three in two innings of work, while Duxbury fanned the final batter of the game.  Kraus picked up his first victory of the year after surrendering three runs (two earned) on six hits with six strikeouts in six frames.

Krieger finished the day 2-for-4 with two home runs, five RBIs and two runs, while Vaske went 3-for-4 with a double, two runs scored and an RBI.  Forgatch also had a triple, a double and a run scored.

Tim Miller, Michael Cassese and Jimmy Napolitano had two hits apiece to pace the Scarlet Raiders' offense.  Michael Schneider took the loss after giving up seven runs on eight hits.

The Big Red (2-5) return to action on Wednesday (March 16) when they take on Carleton at The Yard in Redlands, Calif.  First pitch is scheduled for 10 a.m. PDT.