In the opening game of the best two-out-of-three North Coast Athletic Conference Crossover Series in Granville, Oberlin College held off Denison for a 3-2 win.  Denison will have to sweep the Yeomen on Sunday to punch their ticket to the NCAC Tournament on Thursday, May 12.

Today's game featured two of the top starting pitchers in the conference in Denison's Zack Huarte and Oberlin's Milo Sklar.  The Yeomen drew first blood when Ian Dinsmore's double to left-center scored Sam Harris with the first run of the game.

OC put a second run on the scoreboard in the top of the third when Brian Carney's base hit scored Dinsmore who reached earlier on a single to right.

Denison threatened in the fourth after a single by Duncan Moran followed by a Sam Frazen walk and an error by Oberlin loaded the bases with two outs.  Senior outfielder Jake Meegan was hit by a pitch, scoring Moran.  With the bases loaded, Sklar got Johnson to ground out to shortstop, ending the threat.

The Yeomen added another run in the sixth thanks to an RBI single by Quin Butler that scored Isaac Goldman.

Oberlin went to the bullpen in the eighth after Sklar walked Moran to open the inning.  Sklar threw 126 pitches, allowing one run on three hits while walking six.

Kyle Dominy entered with pinch runner Tucker Davison on first.  A wild pitch moved Davison into scoring position but a foul out, a strikeout and a ground out stranded Davison on second.

In the ninth, Denison threatened once again as Meegan opened the frame with a single to right.  Tanner Johnson's sacrifice bunt attempt turned into a base hit and the same thing happened when Noah Hahn tried to move the pair into scoring position.  With the bases loaded, trailing 3-1 with nobody out Eric Zmuda's sacrifice fly to center scored Meegan.  Johnson also tagged up, moving from second to third.

Pinch hitter Phil Papaioannou hit a high chopper back to the pitcher.  Johnson broke for home trying to tie the game, realizing he wasn't going to make it, he retreated back to third and got in a run-down.  The pitcher made the tag, retiring Johnson.  Meanwhile, Papaioannou represented the go-ahead run and tried to get into scoring position. 

There was a close play at second, but Papaioannou was called out on the tag by centerfielder Justin Cruz, who was covering second base on the play.  That call ended the game and slammed the door on what looked to be a promising rally opportunity just seconds earlier.

Huarte took the loss and dropped to 6-2 on the year.  He went the distance, allowing 12 hits and three earned runs while striking out four.  Johnson was 2-for-4 at the plate with a walk.  Zmuda and Meegan had Denison's lone RBIs.

Sklar picked up the win, improving to 4-3.  Dominy earned the save in his first relief appearance of the season.  Dinsmore led Oberlin at the plate, going 2-for-4 with a walk, an RBI and one run scored.

Sunday's doubleheader will begin at 12 p.m. at Big Red Field.  The Denison Sports Network will provide live video of both games beginning at 11:50 a.m.