SPRINGFIELD, Ohio (April 26, 2022) – The Denison University softball team started off its final week of the regular season with its third straight doubleheader split against a fellow .500 North Coast Athletic Conference team. The Big Red won game one 12-6 after combining for 11 runs in the final two innings, but then dropped game two by a final score of 7-1 on Tuesday at Wittenberg University.
 
Game 1 (Denison 12, Wittenberg 6)

• Denison scored its first run of the game on a two-out hit by pitch by Clara Wolff to score Caitlin Ellwanger and tie the game at 1-1 in the top of the second.
• Down 4-1 in the top of the sixth inning, the Big Red got a leadoff home run by Annabelle Calderon and then loaded the bases with nobody out to bring about the first pitching change of the day.
• Two batters later, Wolff sent a ball deep to the warning track in center field to score both Jacqui Abogado and Sam Kline to tie the game with a two-RBI double.
• Then two batters after that, another two-RBI hit to center, this time off the bat of Maggie Ballentine scored both Macie Harkovich and Wolff to give the Big Red their first lead of the game.
• With two outs in the top of the seventh inning, a single to left field by Wolff, her second RBI-hit in two innings, scored Abogado before an RBI-single to left field by Claire Powell scored Kline to make it 8-4.
• Then the big blow of the game was a grand slam by Ballentine to effectively put the game out of reach.
• Ballentine finished 4-for-5 with six RBI's while Powell was 3-for-5.

 
Game 2 (Denison 1, Wittenberg 7)

• Denison fell behind after a four-run first inning for Wittenberg that featured a two-run triple to start off the scoring, and the Big Red were never able to recover after leaving two runners in scoring position in the second and again in the fourth inning.
• In the fifth, a one-out triple for Powell followed by a hit by pitch by Ballentine set up the only run of the game for Denison on a steal of home by Powell.
• Unfortunately, the Tigers answer right back to two more runs in the bottom of the fifth before adding an RBI-double in the sixth and then getting around back-to-back singles by Wolff and Powell to lead off the seventh.
• Powell and Kline were both 2-for-3 in game two.

 
Records:

• Denison moves to 16-19 overall 7-7 in the NCAC while Wittenberg moved to 13-16 and 4-8.
• Entering the final weekend of the regular season and still with two spots in the NCAC Tournament up for grabs, Denison, the College of Wooster, and Allegheny College are each tied for third place in the NCAC standings. Wooster finished 8-8 in the conference with Denison one game behind them in the win column and with one conference doubleheader remaining. Allegheny is then two games behind the Big Red in the win column at 5-5, but still has three conference doubleheaders to go before wrapping up its regular season.

 
Next Up: The Big Red will play their final two home games of the season as they welcome Muskingum University to the Denison Softball Field for a doubleheader starting at 5 p.m. on Thursday, April 28. Then, Denison's final two games of the regular season will be at Ohio Wesleyan University starting at 1 p.m. on Saturday, April 30.