The Denison University baseball team suffered a 9-7 setback to Capital University on Tuesday afternoon at V.A. Memorial Stadium in Chillicothe, Ohio.

After spotting Capital three runs in the top half of the first, the Big Red answered when sophomore Tim Duxbury's double to left center plated Matt Forgatch and Andrew Mahle.  Over the next three and a half innings the Crusaders outscored DU 3-1 which allowed them to build a 6-3 lead.

With one out in the bottom of the fifth, Duxbury, sophomore Lowell Hall and rookie Clayton Culler all reached base in consecutive at-bats.  Following a foul out to left and a Capital pitching change, second-year Kyle Clemmenson smacked a single through the left side that scored Duxbury and Hall.  The sophomore's two-run hit shrunk the deficit to one.

Capital extended their lead back to three in the sixth thanks to a two-run double to right center by James Oldfield.  In Denison's half of the frame, junior Tyler Nicholson led the inning off with a base hit bunt down the right line.  After a Forgatch single moved Nicholson 90 feet, the junior center fielder came around to score when Mahle reached on a fielder's choice to second.  With two down, Hall belted a screamer up the middle that pushed Mahle across the dish.

The Crusaders added an insurance run in the eighth to push their advantage to 9-7.  Over the final two frames, Denison was only able to muster one hit as they suffered their second-straight loss.

Evan Nicholson went 3-for-4 with an RBI, while Duxbury and Hall each finished with two hits.  Duxbury had a double, drove in two runs and scored another, while Hall crossed the dish twice and knocked in a run.  Clemmenson also notched a pair of RBIs.

Capital's John Rowan logged three hits, three RBIs and a run scored, while Zach Byers and Jacob Thuman each scored twice.

Connor Murphy suffered the loss after giving up four runs on four hits in three innings of work.  Relivers Joro Forman, Philip Seay and Nick Smith combined for two earned runs and five strikeouts in six innings.

Starter Kevin Brennan secured his first victory of the year after giving up three runs (two earned) on three hits in 3.2 innings.  Sam Sifferlin picked up his first save of the season after retiring the side in the ninth.

Denison (1-4) returns to action on Saturday (Mar. 12) when they take on Kean University in Whittier, Calif.  First pitch is scheduled for 4 p.m. EST.