CHILLICOTHE, Ohio (May 13, 2022) – After a 10-5 win over fourth-seeded DePauw University to open the tournament on Thursday, the top-seeded and No. 19-ranked Denison University baseball team improved to 2-0 at the North Coast Athletic Conference Tournament with an 11-3 win over the No. 3 seed, the College of Wooster, on Friday. The Big Red will now advance to the NCAC Tournament Championship game on Sunday, and will have to be beaten twice in a row for someone else to raise the trophy.

In addition to getting a great effort on the mound from starting pitcher Taylor Perrett (8-1), the Big Red combined that with clutch two-out hitting all game long as Denison belted out 10 of its 14 hits and 10 of its 11 runs with two outs.

The Big Red also benefited from two home runs on the day by Josh Bohn, and took advantage of seven combined walks by the Wooster pitching staff, five of which came with two outs and including a stretch three straight walks with two outs in the sixth.

In front of a lively crowd, Perrett got back-to-back strikeouts to start the game followed by a groundout to first base for a 1-2-3 top of the first.

However, in the second inning, Wooster got a bloop-double down the right field line to lead it off for the first hit of the game before an RBI-single to left field two batters later made it 1-0 Fighting Scots. Then with two outs, a single to center field allowed a second run to score from second base and make it 2-0 as the Scots finished with four hits in the inning.

In the bottom of the second, a two-out, four-pitch walk drawn by Payton Burch came back to bite Wooster's starting pitcher, Mitchell Reardon, as ahead in the count 2-0, Bohn sent the Big Red's first hit of the game over the wall down the left field line to tie it up at 2-2.

After Perrett got his second 1-2-3 inning of the game in the top of the third, he stranded a Wooster runner on third base in the fourth, and then got two groundouts to second base in the fifth for his third 1-2-3 frame.

Dylan Hunter then came up with a one-out triple down the right field line in the bottom half of the fifth, and that was followed by a sacrifice fly to right field by Ari Fierer to give Perrett and the Big Red their first lead of the game at 3-2.

Denison added to its lead with another run in the bottom of the fifth as another two-out walk by Reardon again came back to bite him. After Danny Alvarez walked, a single to left field by Jake Welsch moved him to third, and then a double down the right field line by Charlie Glennon scored him.

Perrett kept his momentum going with his fourth 1-2-3 inning of the game in the sixth, making it eight straight Wooster hitters in a row that he had set down to that point.

Denison then kept its batting going in the bottom of the sixth as with one out, Owen Wilson hit a bloop-double to shallow left field and Eric Colaco singled through the left side to put runners at the corners. Then with two outs, Head Coach Mike Deegan put on the double steal as Colaco swiped second but drew the throw from the Scots' catcher, and then the throw back to home trying to get Wilson was off target and skipped away from the catcher as Wilson scored to make it 5-2 Big Red.

The sixth inning continued as back-to-back walks by Fierer and Alvarez loaded the bases for Welsch, who drew a walk against the new Wooster pitcher Ryan Sullivan to score Colaco and make it 6-2.

After Perrett made it 10 straight batters retired with two outs to start to the top of the seventh, Wooster got a run back on a two-out solo home run to left center field.

Perrett would come back to get a fly out to right field to end his day with a great line of seven innings pitched allowing six hits, three runs, no walks and four strikeouts.

Denison then got that run back for Perrett in the bottom of the seventh and scored for the third inning in a row as Wilson doubled down the left field line with two outs and then scored with a head-first dive into home plate on the ensuing single through the left side by Colaco.

Denison continued to stack up the two-out runs as back-to-back two-out singles to left field by Fierer and Alvarez plated three more runs in the seventh, and then a two-out solo home run down the left field line in the eighth by Bohn, his second homer of the game, made it 10 two-out runs overall in the game for the Big Red.

Four different Big Red players had at least two hits and two runs scored in this one as Wilson led the way with a 4-for-5 effort.

For Denison (32-8), it was its eighth win in a row as the Big Red have still not lost since a 10-6 decision in game two against Wooster (28-13) on April 30.

Next up, the Big Red will await to see who will join them in the NCAC Tournament Championship game starting at 11 a.m. on Sunday, May 15, with the winner earning the conference's automatic bid to the NCAA Regionals.