GRANVILLE, Ohio (April 22, 2022) – Playing for the first time in six days, the Denison University softball team returned to action with a doubleheader split against the College of Wooster. The Big Red won game won 3-2 before falling 8-7 in a tight game number two that came down to the final at bat.
 
Game 1 (Denison 3, Wooster 2)

• In what began as an important battle between two of the five .500 teams in the North Coast Athletic Conference, the Big Red jumped out to a 1-0 lead in the first inning after a leadoff double to left field by Claire Powell, followed by a one-out RBI-single to right center field by Jessica Hopkins.
• In the bottom of the third inning, Denison added a pair of runs as Maggie Ballentine singled to right field with one out, and then with two outs, Annabelle Calderon doubled to center field to score Ballentine before Caitlin Ellwanger singled up the middle to score Calderon.
• Those two runs for Denison in the third would prove to be very important as Wooster led off the top of the fourth inning with a solo home run and then scored an unearned run on an error in the fifth.
• Powell, Hopkins and Ellwanger would each finish 2-for-3 in game one while Sydney Silverstein (7-7) pitched all seven innings and allowed only five hits, two total runs, one earned run and zero walks.
• After Wooster got to within one in the top of the fifth inning, Silverstein got a strikeout and a groundout to leave the tying run on third base, and then set the Fighting Scots down 1-2-3 in the sixth.
• Lastly, in the seventh, Silverstein worked around a one-out single to finish off the seventh complete game of her freshman campaign.

 
Game 2 (Denison 7, Wooster 8)

• Wooster struck first with a leadoff single and a two-run home run to center field in the top of the first before leaving the bases loaded.
• Denison tied it with RBI-singles by Hopkins and Ellwanger in the bottom of the first before Wooster loaded the bases with only one out in the second and came up with a two-run single up the middle to chase starting pitcher Lexi Knipp.
• The new pitcher, Sophia Parpala, then got a fly out to center field followed by a swing and a miss on strike three to leave two runners on in the top of the second.
• Down 5-2 in the bottom of the third, Denison came back to tie it again as after a two-out RBI-double to right center field by Ellwagner, her second RBI-hit of the game, an errant throw by the Scots' third baseman that would have ended the inning allowed two runners to score.
• Unfortunately, Wooster answered right back yet again in the top of the fourth as a two-run double by a pinch hitter followed by a sacrifice fly again made it a three-run deficit for Denison.
• After an RBI-single to right center by Calderon to get one run back in the bottom of the fourth, the Big Red then went down 1-2-3 in the fifth and had only a two-out bunt single by Powell in the sixth.
• Then in the bottom of the seventh, a two-out single by Ellwanger was followed by an error and then a four-pitch walk to load the bases. With a 1-2 count, a wild pitch by the Scots allowed Ellwanger to score and make it just a one-run game.
• Macie Harkovich then drew a walk to again load the bases, forcing the first pitching change of the game by Wooster, who brought in their closer to get a strikeout to end it.
• Parpala, meanwhile, set down the Scots 1-2-3 in each of the final three innings of the game to try to give the Big Red offense a chance in the late innings.
• Ellwanger finished 3-for-4 with two RBI's for the Big Red while Powell and Hopkins both added two hits for the second game in a row.

 
Records:

• Denison's record moved to 14-17 overall and 5-5 in the NCAC while Wooster's moved to 14-16 and 6-6.

 
Next Up: Denison will host its Senior Day tomorrow (April 23) starting at 1 p.m. against Allegheny College. The pregame ceremony honoring Denison's five seniors will begin at approximately 12:40 p.m.