GRANVILLE, Ohio (April 15, 2023) – Denison University senior Maggie Ballentine logged four hits and scored in both games while fellow-senior Sophia Parpala earned her first win of the season in the Big Red's sweep of North Coast Athletic Conference foe Hiram College on Senior Day in Granville. DU won the opener 8-3 and held on for an 8-7 victory in game two.

Prior to the start of game one, seniors Abby Arabia, Ballentine and Parpala were honored for their four years of commitment and dedication to the Denison softball program.
 
Game 1 (Denison 8, Hiram 3):

• After Sydney Silverstein (7-4) got a groundout to second base to strand the bases loaded in the top of the first inning, Denison struck first in the bottom half as Ballentine led off her Senior Day with a single to left field and later scored on a two-out single also to left field by Annabelle Calderon.
• The Big Red then answered a two-run top of the second inning by Hiram with a three-run bottom half of the second as Alessandra Groome walked with one out, stole second base and then scored on a single up the middle by Brianna Gonzalez to tie it.
• Clara Wolff followed with an RBI-single up the middle as well before Ballentine doubled to left center field to score Wolff and make it a 4-2 Denison lead.
• Yet again, Denison answered a run by Hiram as after back-to-back sacrifice bunts by the Terriers scored a run to make it just a 4-3 margin in the fourth inning, the bottom half of the inning saw Gonzalez lead it off with a single up the middle before stealing second and then scoring on the ensuring single to right field by Wolff.
• Denison was then able to put some separation between itself and Hiram with three runs in the bottom of the fifth inning thanks to back-to-backs walks by Jacqui Abogado and Erika Gustafson to start the inning before back-to-back RBI-doubles by Indy Workman and Brooke Surbaugh.
• Ballentine got her Senior Day off to a great start with a 3-for-4 effort during game one while Wolff was 2-for-3 with two RBI's, Gonzalez was 2-for-3 with two runs scored, and Workman was 2-for-4 with two RBI's and two doubles.
• Silverstein finished with six hits, three total runs, two earned runs and four walks allowed while earning her seventh complete game of the season.

 
Game 2 (Denison 8, Hiram 7):

• Surbaugh shut the Terriers down 1-2-3 in each of the first two innings, but a leadoff double led to two runs for Hiram to take a 2-1 lead in the third inning.
• In the bottom of the fourth, Denison put together a big six-hit, seven-run inning featuring an RBI walk by Abogado followed by back-to-back RBI-singles by Workman and Surbaugh, back-to-back RBI walks by Groome and Gonzalez, and a two-run single by Wolff.
• That made it 8-3 before Hiram added two runs on a home run to left field in the fifth inning and then followed a wild pitch with an RBI-single to make it 8-6 in the sixth inning.
• Parpala (1-1) finished with three runs allowed in her 2.1 innings pitched to earn the win before Silverstein entered in relief of Parpala with one out and the tying run at the plate in the sixth inning.
• Silverstein allowed a sacrifice fly in the seventh inning but then never let the tying run get on base as she earned her second save of the season.
• Wolff, Surbaugh and Macie Harkovich were each 3-for-4 in game two while Wolff had two RBI's for the second game in a row.

 
Senior Day Recap:

• Abby Arabia has started in 34 out of 42 games and has recorded 20 hits, nine runs, nine RBI's, five doubles and one home run in her career. She started in 19 of 20 games as a sophomore and hit four doubles and one home run before starting in 13 of 19 games as a junior and recording a career-best 10 hits in the season. A two-time member of the NCAC Academic Honor Roll, Arabia was also a 2021-22 Denison Chi Alpha Sigma Inductee.
• Maggie Ballentine combined for four hits on her Senior Day and scored in both games against Hiram. She is a career .312 hitter who has started in all 99 games she has appeared in through her four years. She has recorded 108 hits, 73 runs, 54 RBI's, 27 doubles and 11 home runs. As a senior, Ballentine is currently hitting .357 with 30 hits, 18 runs, 13 RBI's, eight doubles and three home runs. Just last Saturday, Ballentine recorded her 100th career hit in Denison's 8-0 win at Capital. In 2022, Ballentine hit .331 and was second on the Big Red with 48 hits, 33 runs scored, seven home runs. Ballentine is a two-time member of the NCAC Academic Honor Roll, is a two-time Easton/NFCA All-America Scholar-Athlete, and was also a 2021-22 Denison Chi Alpha Sigma Inductee.
• Sophia Parpala earned her first win of the season in game two against Hiram. She has pitched 164.2 innings in her career while recording 93 strikeouts and 14 wins. Earlier this season she recorded her first career save in Denison's win vs. Mary Baldwin in the Grand Slam Triangle Softball Classic. As a junior in 2022, Parpala made 27 appearances with nine starts and set career-highs with eight wins, 45 strikeouts and 91 innings pitched. As a sophomore in 2021, Parpala was named the NCAC Pitcher of the Week on April 5 after earning three wins in one week. In 2021-22, she was inducted into Denison's Chi Alpha Sigma class.
• The Denison softball team also recognized one of their graduating student managers, Ellie Laird. Laird is from Hamilton, Scotland, and on campus she has been a part of the Burpees Seedy Theatrical Company for the last four years. She also runs the Deer Denison Podcast, a podcast on Spotify and YouTube talking all about Denison. She is an actress in the new Denison advertisement, is a member of the French Honors Society, and recently worked on Murder Mystery 2 and Emily in Paris season 3. Her name is on the credits for Murder Mystery 2. Lastly, she is a recipient of The Michele Myers Fellowship in the Art Scholarship and of The Suzanne Boeldt Kriscunas '72 & Robert A. Kriscunas Endowed Scholarship for French.

 
Records:

• With the sweep over a Hiram team that was receiving votes in the first two NFCA Division III Top-25 Coaches Polls of the season, Denison now improves to 12-10 overall and 4-0 in the NCAC, making the Big Red the last team still undefeated in NCAC action.
• Hiram falls to 13-11 and 1-5 in the NCAC.

 
Next Up: Denison will remain at home to host Ohio Wesleyan University starting at 3:30 p.m. on Tuesday, April 18. The Battling Bishops are currently 4-2 in the NCAC and swept Hiram by scores of 10-8 and 7-4 on the road back on April 8.