GRANVILLE, Ohio--  Denison opened North Coast Athletic Conference play on Monday afternoon with a doubleheader sweep of Wittenberg University.  The Big Red took game one, 10-4 and returned in the nightcap with a 7-3 victory to improve to 17-2 on the season.

In game one, Danny Brackman took the ball for DU and pitched six innings, allowing five hits and three earned runs while striking out five.  Brackman picked up the win to improve to 4-1.

Vince Walker led off the game with a solo home run to left and Anthony Ruggieri followed in the second inning with an RBI double to right that scored Cam Farren.

The Tigers committed five errors in game one and three of Denison's 10 runs scored were unearned.  In the third, Grady Paine scored after a throwing error after a base hit by Will Krushena.  Brian McAuliffe followed with a double down the right-field line and Brad Baldinger gave his team a 5-1 lead with a sacrifice fly to right.

That lead turned into an 8-1 advantage in the fourth after RBI singles by Ty Robinson and Krushena and a sacrifice fly by Max Lahn.

After Brackman left the game in the sixth, John Troll pitched the seventh and eighth before Jack Arnstein closed out the ninth.

Tanner Griggs (1-1) took the loss for the Tigers. Gabe Stacy and Jack Hollinshead were 2-for-4 to lead the Wittenberg offense.

In game two, the Tigers took a 2-1 lead after the first inning after being aided by three Denison errors in the opening frame.  Taylor Perrett got the start for the Big Red and he settled in nicely, going six innings, allowing six hits and one earned run while striking out four.

In the third inning, Paine tied the game with a double to right and Krushena gave his team a 3-2 lead with a single to left, scoring Paine. 

The Tigers responded in the fifth inning when Jack Seifert hit a solo home run to right, tying the game at 3-3.  Denison retaliated in the bottom of the fifth as Robinson left the yard with a solo homer to right to put his team on top, 4-3.

In the seventh, Robinson delivered again, this time with an RBI single that scored Grady Paine.  Mikey Rivera entered the game in the seventh inning for Perrett with a one-run lead.  After Brian McAuliffe's two-run blast to right-center in the eighth, Rivera was able to close out the game with a four-run advantage.

Perrett got the win and improved to 2-0 and Rivera received his second save of the year after allowing one hit and one walk in three innings while striking out three.

Robinson was 2-for-4 with three RBIs and one run scored.  Paine was 2-for-4 with a double, triple and three runs scored.  Lahn was 1-for-2 with two walks.

Denison continues the best start in school history through 19 games at 17-2.  The pitching staff boasts a team ERA of 2.28 and the offense is batting .348 as a team while outscoring the opposition 172-56.

The Big Red continues NCAC play on Wednesday when they travel to Greencastle, Indiana for a doubleheader slated for a noon first pitch.