Denison junior Ethan Carlyon ripped a base hit inside the third-base bag to send the Big Red to a thrilling 4-3 victory over Capital on Thursday night in Granville. With the win, DU secured its third 20-win season under fourth-year head coach Mike Deegan.

The Big Red entered the ninth deadlocked with the Crusaders at 3-3. Sophomore Cody Mauri needed just eight pitches to retire the side in order in the top half of the inning. Lead-off hitter Tanner Johnson opened the bottom of the ninth with a hustle double down the left line. DU quickly had runners at the corners after Capital reliever Brett Colburn was unsuccessful in his attempt to retire Johnson at third on Noah Hahn's sacrifice bunt.

After issuing an intentional walk to Evan Flax, Colburn faced off against pitch hitter Tucker Davison. The junior sent a hard ground ball towards Logan Bastin at third. Despite a slight bobble, Bastin was able to throw out Johnson at the plate. With the bases still loaded and the infield drawn in once again, Carlyon ripped the first pitch of his at-bat past Bastin to drive in Hahn for the walk-off victory.

DU got on the board in the first when Johnson scored on a sacrifice fly to right by Eric Zmuda. Zmuda plated Johnson once again in the third on a ground ball to short. The Crusaders got a run back in the fourth on a wild pitch. Freshman Connor Green singled in Jack Blanchard in the sixth to put DU in front 3-1, but solo runs in the seventh and eighth tied the game heading into the ninth inning.

Green improved his batting average to by 100 points after going 3-for-4 at the plate with an RBI, while Johnson finished with two hits and two runs. Zmuda also drove in a pair. Mauri picked up his first-career victory after tossing 1.1 hitless inning out of the pen. Denison starter John Troll earned a no decision after surrendering one run on just three hits with three strikeouts in the first five frames.

Jake Foley and Kirby Boehm combined for four of Capital's six hits, while Doug Connor recorded the Crusader's lone RBI. Colburn took the loss after giving up two runs on four this in 3.1 innings of relief work. Starter Gabe Morris allowed just one earned run (two total) on four hits in five innings.

The Big Red improves to 20-6 on the year, while Capital falls to 18-12 this season. Denison continues its six-game homestand this weekend with a four-game series against North Coast Athletic Conference rival Ohio Wesleyan. Game one of Saturday's doubleheader is slated to begin at 12 p.m.