The Big Red split Saturday's nonconference doubleheader with Oberlin in Granville.  Denison rallied to win the opener 10-9 in nine innings, but dropped the nightcap 6-4.

An inning and a half into the opener, DU found itself on the wrong side of a 7-1 score.  The Big Red chipped away at the deficit in the fourth with an RBI double by Andrew Touhy and a one-run single from Tim Duxbury.  The Yeomen answered in the top of the fifth when Andrew Hutson scored on a Brian Hemmert base hit through the left side.  In the bottom of the frame, Denison executed a picture perfect double steal that allowed Kyle Clemmenson to cross the dish, shrinking the margin to 8-4.

With only six outs to work with, the Big Red bats finally came to life in the sixth.  Ryan Loehnert and Duxbury led off the frame with a single and double, respectively, to put runners at second and third.  The back-to-back hits ended the day for Oberlin starter Eric Knight and brought designated hitter Mike McDonald to the mound.  Pinch hitter Duncan Moran sent McDonald's first pitch of the game into center, allowing Loehnert to score on the sacrifice fly.

Sophomore Charlie Apfelbach bunted for a base hit to put runners on the corners with only one down.  After a free pass to Lascelles Lagares loaded the bases, Clemmenson ripped a single through the left side that scored Duxbury and Apfelbach.  With the game-tying run 90 feet away, sophomore Ryan Mulligan laced a base hit through the right side that score Lagares, tying the game at 8-8.

A scoreless seventh sent the game into extra innings.  A single and a fielding error put runners at second and third with one out in the top of the eighth.  With the game hanging in the balance, Head Coach Mike Deegan brought Duxbury to the mound from second base.  The senior's first pitch was rifled back at the hurler.  Duxbury collected himself and fired a strike to Mulligan for the second out of the inning.  On the play however, Robin Witjes was able to score from third base, giving Oberlin a 9-8 lead.

In the DU eighth, McDonald needed just four pitches to record the first two outs of the inning.  Behind 3-1 to Clemmenson, the Yeomen pitcher tried to muscle a fastball past the senior shortstop.  However, Clemmenson made the junior pay as he sent the pitch well over the wall in left field for his fifth home run of the season.  The senior's long ball tied the contest once again and pushed the game into the ninth inning.

With two on and two outs, Mitchell Novak delivered a single that dropped in front of Apfelbach in center.  The sophomore came up firing and threw a frozen rope to senior catcher Lowell Hall who tagged out Ryan Bliss trying to score from second.

In the bottom of the ninth, sophomore Georgie Montes dropped a one-out single into right center that allowed Touhy to go from first to third.  On the throw to third, Montes moved up to second lessening the chance for an inning-ending double play.  With only one out and first base open, Oberlin skipper Adrian Abrahamowicz elected to intentionally walk Duxbury, setting up a force out at any base.  However, that plan hit a snag when McDonald's first toss went past catcher Blaise Dolcemaschio, allowing Touhy to score the game-winning run.

Mulligan went 3-for-5 with two RBIs in game one, while Clemmenson recorded two hits, drove in three runs and scored two more.  Loehnert and Duxbury also posted two hits and scored once.

In the third inning, Apfelbach hit a ground ball towards the left side.  Despite a diving play by third baseman Jeff Schweighoffer, the DU sophomore legged out an infield base hit.  That single extended Apfelbach's hitting streak to a school record 22 games, passing the previous mark of 21 held by DU Hall of Famer Derek Johnson '01 set in 2001.  Apfelbach finished the game with two hits and two runs.

Duxbury picked up his team-leading fifth win of the season after scattering two hits in 1.2 scoreless frames.  The biggest performance, however, came from senior reliever Sam Belisle.  Having seen just four innings of work this season, Belisle was called upon in the second inning to relieve starter Danny Kraus.  After walking the first batter he faced, the senior found his groove and tossed 5.2 spectacular innings.  Belisle scattered five hits, struck out four batters and gave up just one earned run.  With his strong performance, the senior's ERA went from 6.75 to 3.72.

In game two, DU found itself trailing 6-1 through four and a half frames.  In the bottom of the fifth, Kraus roped a double down the right field line that scored Jake Meegan, while a wild pitch allowed Apfelbach to score.  Still trailing 6-3 heading into the seventh, the Big Red had the top of the order due up.  An error, an infield single and a hit by pitch quickly loaded the bases with no outs.  Mulligan drove in one run with a sacrifice fly to left.  However, reliever Jesse Kohler induced a fielder's choice out and a ground out to short that ended the Big Red rally.

Kraus, Mulligan and Nick Marsit all recorded two hits, while Kraus and Mulligan each drove in a run.  Apfelbach extended his school-record hitting streak to 23 games with a lead-off triple to left center in the first inning.  Additionally, Clemmenson extended his streak of consecutive games reaching base to 28 with a base-on-balls in game two.

Kyle Colgain suffered the loss after allowing six runs (three earned) on six hits with three walks and a strikeout in five innings of work.  Freshman Brandon Morgan made his first appearance on the bump in relief.  Morgan, the catcher in game one, surrendered one hit in two innings.

The Big Red also learned their seeding as it pertains to next weekend's NCAC Crossover Series.  DU secured the top-seed in the NCAC West Division following Wittenberg's doubleheader sweep of DePauw on Saturday.  Denison will host a three-game series against the No. 4 seed in the East Division next Saturday and Sunday.

DU moves to 22-13 on the year, while Oberlin sits at 18-18.  The Big Red will travel to nationally-ranked Marietta on Monday for a 7 p.m. contest.