Denison picked up its first North Coast Athletic Conference win following a 7-4 victory at Wittenberg on Friday.  DU completed the sweep with a 2-1 win in game two.

In the opener, a three-run 10th propelled Denison to its first NCAC win of the 2012 season.  An interference call plated junior Kyle Clemmenson and broke a 4-4 tie.  After a walk to David Baskin loaded the bases, senior Evan Nicholson drove a double into the gap in right center that plated Danny Kraus and Justin Vaske.  In the bottom of the inning, freshman reliever Kyle Colgain struck out two batters en route to his first-career win.  Colgain went two hitless innings with three strikeouts.

The Big Red took a 4-1 lead behind a four-run second.  Clemmenson led the inning off with a bunt single, while back-to-back walks to Vaske and junior Lowell Hall loaded the bases.  With two outs, Nicholson drew a free pass that scored Vaske.  Freshman Charlie Apfelbach followed with a single to right center that scored Hall and Kraus, while senior Andrew Mahle knocked in Nicholson with a base hit through the right side.

Wittenberg plated runs in the fourth, fifth and sixth frames to tie the game at 4-4.  In the top of the ninth, Denison loaded the bases with one out.  However, David Moore turned a double play to get reliever Brad Prewitt out of the inning unscathed.  Colgain entered in the bottom of the frame in relief of starter Tim Duxbury.  The rookie induced two ground outs and struck out a batter to force another extra frame.

Nicholson finished 3-for-3 with a double, three RBIs and a run scored, while Apfelbach and Clemmenson also posted three hits.  Apfelbach drove in a pair, while Clemmenson scored the game-winning run.  Duxbury tossed eight innings, gave up four runs (three earned) on eight hits with a career-high eight strikeouts.

The story of the nightcap was the pitcher's duel between DU starter Connor Murphy and Tiger hurler Kevin Tolle.  Murphy allowed just one hit in the first four innings, while Tolle gave up just one base knock in the opening five frames.  In the bottom of the fifth, the Tigers broke through with a two-out single by Zac Wilson that scored Moore from second.  Down a run, freshman Ryan Mulligan put the Big Red ahead with a two-run home run in the sixth.  The rookie's first-collegiate long ball cleared the wall in right field and scored pinch runner Tyler Nicholson.

After gaining the lead, Murphy went into shutdown mode, allowing just one base runner over the next two innings.  The sophomore gave up a single to lead off the sixth, but retired the next six batters in order to secure the twinbill sweep.

Murphy scattered four hits, allowed one run and struck out four en route to his second win of the season.  Mulligan, Kraus and Dave Holmes accounted for Denison's three hits.

With the sweep, the Big Red improves to 7-18-1 overall and 2-4 in the NCAC West, while Wittenberg falls to 17-10 and 3-7 in league play.  Denison completes the four-game series on Saturday.  First pitch is scheduled for 1 p.m.