PORT CHARLOTTE, Fla. (March 11, 2023) – The No. 11 nationally-ranked Denison University baseball team came up short in its first game of the Snowbird Classic as the Big Red fell 7-4 against Babson College in game one at Centennial Park in Port Charlotte, Florida. Then in game two on Saturday, Denison defeated Mitchell College by a final score of 10-6.

Game 1 (No. 11 Denison 4, Babson 7):

• Back-to-back doubles by Eric Colaco and Charlie Glennon got Denison on the board in the bottom of the first inning. Glennon would then come around and score an unearned run after Jake Welsch reached base via an error to make it 2-0 Big Red in the first inning.
• Starting pitcher Charlie Fleming (2-1) did not give up any hits and allowed one walk while striking out three batters in the first two innings, but in the third inning, Babson pushed across four unearned runs to take the lead.
• The Beavers took a 5-2 lead with their second two-out RBI-double of the game in the top of the seventh inning, and then Denison answered in the bottom half with their second string of back-to-back doubles, this time coming from Owen Wilson and Colin Ravin to make it 5-3.
• The Big Red put two runners into scoring position with one out and then had the bases loaded with two outs in the bottom of the eighth inning but were unable to cash in before a flyout to center field, and then the Beavers all but put the game out of reach when a hit by pitch with two outs was followed by a two-run home run to right field to make it 7-3 in the ninth inning.
• For the second inning in a row, Denison loaded the bases, this time with only one out in the ninth after back-to-back singles by Colaco and Glennon followed by a walk to Ari Fierer.
• A sacrifice fly to left field by Welsch scored Colaco and made it 7-4, and then the Big Red loaded the bases again to put the tying run on first base, but another flyout to center was all she wrote.
• Glennon finished the game 3-for-5 while Colaco was the only other Big Red player with a multi-hit game, finishing 2-for-4 with two runs scored.
• Manny Nager did a great job pitching in relief for Fleming, allowing just two hits, one run and three walks while striking out six in four innings. Michael Gray then limited the Beavers to just one walk in his 1.2 innings.
• However, for Babson, Anthony St. John (1-0) pitched eight innings to earn the win and limited the Big Red to seven hits, three total runs and two earned runs while walking just one batter.

 
Game 2 (No. 11 Denison 10, Mitchell 6):

• Denison took a 3-0 lead in the bottom of the third inning as Kuyper Lashutka led off with a single up the middle for the first hit of the game for the Big Red before three straight RBI's on a single by Welsch, a double by Fierer and a groundout by Noah Leib.
• The Big Red then made it 5-0 in the bottom of the fifth inning as Erik Sundgren led off with a double down the right field line and was followed by a triple to right center by Colaco, who later scored on a fielder's choice by Fierer.
• Unfortunately, Mitchell tied it with a five-run top of the sixth inning that featured just three hits but had two Big Red errors.
• Denison would connect on a solo home run in each of the next two innings, first by Josh Bohn to left field with two outs in the bottom of the sixth inning and then by Colaco to center field with one out in the seventh inning to take a 7-5 advantage.
• Then after George Viebrock (1-0) struck out the side in a 1-2-3 top of the eighth inning, the Big Red would add three insurance runs in the bottom half of the inning as Ravin led off with a double down the right field line before a pair of RBI-singles by Bohn and Sundgren. The final run then came courtesy of a wild pitch to score Glennon from third base.
• Mitchell used a leadoff double followed by a two-out triple to make it 10-6 in the top of the ninth inning before Fierer came in to pitch from third base and earned his second save of the season.
• Colaco was 2-for-5 with three runs scored, two RBI's, a home run and a triple while Bohn was 2-for-4 with two runs, two RBI's and a home run; Sundgren was 2-for-4 with two runs, one RBI and a double; and Welsch was 2-for-5 with a run and an RBI.

 
Records:

• It was the first-ever meeting between Denison (6-1 overall) and Mitchell (4-1) while the game against Babson (2-4) was Denison's third against the Beavers in Florida over the last two seasons.

 
Next Up: Day two from Port Charlotte, Florida, for Denison will see the Big Red take on No. 22-ranked North Central College at 10 a.m. on Sunday, March 12. It will be the second meeting this season between Denison and North Central after a 13-0 win in seven innings for the Big Red back on March 4 at the Derby City Classic.