Box Score 1 |
Box Score 2 A pair of walk-off doubles powered the Denison Big Red to a sweep of North Coast Athletic Conference foe Wooster on Sunday in Granville. Denison won the opener 8-0 in five frames, and took the nightcap 8-0 in six innings.
First-year pitcher Rebecca Dyer tossed her second no-hitter and fourth complete-game shutout of the season in the Big Red's game-one win over the Fighting Scots. Dyer struck out seven and issued four free passes in five innings of work. The DU offense opened the scoring in the bottom of the second inning when rookie catcher Meghan Edwards took an 0-1 pitch over the foul pole in left field. Edwards' second homer of the season scored Hannah Price and gave Denison a 2-0 lead.
In the fifth, the Big Red bats exploded for six more runs to end the contest. Karla Dixon kicked off the inning with a double to left center. After a pass ball moved the rookie to third, Kait Fiore drew a one-out walk and Rachel Laughlin was hit by a pitch to load the bases. A wild pitch scored Dixon and moved Fiore and Laughlin to second and third, respectively. Erica Evans knocked in Fiore on a fielder's choice to third that did not record an out. With runners out the corners, Price sent a base hit through the left side that scored Laughlin. Jessica Robertson extended the DU lead to 6-0 on an RBI ground out the pitcher. With runners at second and third and two outs, head coach Tiffany Ozbun sent pitch hitter Kelly Cunningham to the dish. After taking three consecutive balls to open the at bat, the sophomore belted a two-out walk-off double to left center that drove in Edwards and Price.
Lauren Lynn, Price and Edwards all went 2-for-3 in the opener. Edwards had two RBIs and two runs, while Price scored a pair.
In game two, Denison wasted no time getting on the board when Evans lined a base hit up the middle to give the Big Red a 1-0 after one. In the third, back-to-back singles by Evans and Price resulted in two more DU runs. An RBI double by Evans in the fifth extended the lead to 4-0, while a dropped pop up by the Wooster third baseman allowed Denison to post two more tallies. In the bottom of the sixth, Dixon reached on a one-out double to left center. Lynn followed up with a double that scored Dixon. The junior advanced to third on the throw home and scored when the errant throw ended up in the Scots' dugout. In addition to staying unbeaten in the league, the game two win also marked Ozbun's 100th victory as head coach of the Big Red.
Evans went a perfect 3-for-3 with a double, three RBIs and two runs in the nightcap. Lynn also logged three hits, including two doubles, and three runs, while Laughlin had two hits, a double, and scored twice. Kelsey Hager picked up her conference-leading 10th win of the season. She scattered four hits and struck out two in six innings of work.
Denison improves to 21-5 overall and 6-0 in the NCAC, while Wooster falls to 9-17 and 1-5 in the league. The Big Red return to action on Tuesday (April 19) when they host a doubleheader with conference rival Ohio Wesleyan University at 3:30 p.m.