PORT CHARLOTTE, Fla. (March 12, 2023) – The No. 11 Denison University baseball team fell for the second time in two days as the Big Red rallied from a 4-0 deficit entering the seventh inning to tie the game before giving up the winning run in the bottom of the eighth inning in a 5-4 loss against No. 22 North Central College in their third game of the Snowbird Baseball Classic.

Denison (6-2 overall) starting pitcher Nick Falter struck out six batters and gave up two just hits through the first four innings before North Central (7-2) started off the bottom of the fifth inning with a bunt single and later scored the first run of the game on an RBI-double down the left field line.

Falter finished with five innings pitched and had eight strikeouts, four hits, three walks and one run allowed.

After a strike-him-out, throw-him out for the North Central defense in the top of the sixth inning, the third caught stealing of the game against the Big Red, the Cardinals put up three runs in the bottom half of the sixth after a two-out, two-RBI triple to right center field followed by a run on a wild pitch.

Down 4-0 entering the seventh inning, the Big Red used a two-out, two-RBI single up the middle by Owen Wilson to cut NCC's lead in half (4-2) with two innings to go.

Both of those runs for Denison were unearned after an error at first base two batters earlier extended the inning, and then the Big Red added two more unearned runs in the top of the eighth inning to tie it up when an error in left field off the bat of Jake Welsch allowed two more two-out runs to score and make it 4-4.

However, after two quick outs by Patrick Neenan (1-1) in the bottom of the eighth, a double to right field was followed two batters later by a single to left to score what would go on to be the winning run from second base.

Denison then went down 1-2-3 in the ninth inning to wrap up an all-around good pitching performance for the Cardinals allowing just four hits and no earned runs.

Next up for the Big Red in Florida will be Arcadia University at 11 a.m. on Monday, March 13.