The Denison University Big Red split a pair of games on their third day of competition at the Tucson Invitational Games in Tucson, Ariz.  Denison suffered their first loss of the year against SUNY-Oneonta, 2-1, but rebounded with a thrilling 3-1 victory over Wisconsin-La Crosse in the nightcap.  On Monday, DU notched victories over Lakeland, 11-2, and Husson, 4-2.

The Big Red held a 3-1 lead over UW-La Crosse heading into the bottom of the seventh inning.  Despite their sluggish performance at the plate through the first six frames, the Eagles generated a late offensive spark that helped them load the bases with no outs.  Facing a serious threat in the final frame, first-year pitcher Rebecca Dyer induced back-to-back outs at the plate to preserve the two-run lead.  With two down and the bases still juiced, the rookie hurler struck out the next hitter en route to her second win of the year.  The DU offense was paced by Hannah Price's 3-for-4 performance.

In game one on Tuesday,  sophomore Rosie Glaser broke up a scoreless tie in the bottom of the fifth with an RBI single.  However, the Red Dragons answered in the top of the sixth with a two-run double that put them on top for good.  Glaser finished the day a perfect 3-for-3 with an RBI, while Dyer went 2-for-3 with a run scored and suffered the loss.

In two starts, the first-year pitcher struck out 16 batters, allowed three runs, gave up 10 hits and walked two en route to a 1-1 record.

After surrendering an early run to Lakeland on Monday, Denison used a six-run third to capture their only lead of the game.  DU tied the game after drawing a bases loaded walk.  Price put the Big Red on top with a two-run single, while first-year Heather Larsen cleared the bases with a two-out double that extended the Denison lead to 6-1.  The Muskies added a run in the fourth frame, but a two-run double by Price, an RBI double by Meghan Edwards and an RBI base hit from Larsen gave DU an 11-2 lead.

Senior Erica Evans, Price and Larsen all went 2-for-3 against Lakeland.  Evans scored twice, while Price logged a double, four RBIs and two runs.  Larsen also had a double and drove in a career-high five runs.  Rookie pitcher Rachel Laughlin surrendered two runs, scattered two hits and struck out four in her first collegiate win.

Against Husson, Evans crushed a three-run homer in the top of the first to give the Big Red the early edge.  The Eagles scored in the first and fourth innings to shrink the margin to one, but DU tacked on an insurance tally in the fifth to extend their lead back to 4-2.  Dyer secured her first save of the season with a strikeout to end the game.

Starter Kelsey Hager picked up her second win of the year after giving up two runs on four hits with five strikeouts in 3.1 innings.  Dyer allowed one hit and notched five Ks in 3.2 innings out of the bullpen.

Denison (5-1) returns to action on Thursday (March 17) when they take on Central and Rutgers-Newark at 7 and 9 p.m. EDT, respectively.