The Denison baseball team held on to its lead in the North Coast Athletic Conference West Division following a doubleheader split with Wabash on Saturday in Crawfordsville.  The Little Giants rallied to win game one 6-5, while the Big Red returned the favor in the nightcap with a 4-3 come-from-behind victory.

Heading into the top of the ninth and trailing by a run, the Big Red had just three outs to try and push across the game-tying run.  Alan Corey took the hill for his third inning of relief in hopes of earning a save.  However, those hopes didn't come to fruition as the Little Giant defense couldn't support its pitcher.  Steven Curry led off the inning with a two-base throwing error that allowed Ryan Mulligan to move into scoring position.  Mulligan moved 90 feet closer to home when the first pitch of Andrew Touhy's at-bat got away from catcher Justin Green.

That wild pitch was Corey's last as he was replaced by Wabash closer Christian Vukas.  Touhy tied the game with a flyball to center that allowed Mulligan to touch the dish.  With two outs, Georgie Montes doubled down the left line.  The junior came around to score on a two-base throwing error by KJ Zelenika on a ball hit by Alex Enrique.

Wabash got the game-tying run into scoring position with two outs, but a pop out to Mulligan nailed down the come-from-behind victory.  Freshman pitcher Johnny Funkhouser (3-1) picked up the win after allowing three runs on nine hits with four strikeouts over eight innings. Connor Hanrahan notched his second save of the season following a one-hit ninth inning.

Duncan Moran and Montes accounted for four of DU's eight hits, while Montes also scored two of the four runs. Charlie Apfelbach and Touhy also had a hit and an RBI in the win.

In the opener, the Big Red jumped out to a 2-0 lead in their first trip to the plate thanks to RBI base hits by Touhy and Enrique.  Denison maintained its two-run lead until the fifth when the Little Giants pushed across two runs on three hits.  In the top of the sixth, Denison retook the lead after scoring three times on just two hits.

Down to their final two outs, Wabash erupted for four runs on five hits to rally for its first victory of the four-game series. Curry came through for the Little Giants with a game-winning sacrifice fly to left that scored pinch runner Drew Biddle.

Apfelbach and Touhy both went 3-for-3 in the opener. Apfelbach scored twice, while Touhy drove in a run.  Moran also had a hit, two RBIs and a run, while Montes and Enrique also had a single and an RBI. Junior Kyle Colgain fell to 3-3 on the year after allowing six runs on nine hits in 6.1 innings of work.  Colgain struck out two and walked two.

Denison moves to 15-12 overall and 11-3 in the NCAC West, while the Little Giants now sit at 16-14 and 7-5 in divisional play.  The Big Red returns to action on Tuesday when they travel to Tiffin, Ohio for a 4 p.m. contest at Heidelberg College.