GRANVILLE, Ohio (April 2, 2023) – The start of North Coast Athletic Conference action for the Denison University softball team saw the Big Red combine great starting pitching with effective hitting throughout the lineup in both games as Denison rolled to wins of 9-3 and 9-0 over Oberlin College on Sunday.
 
Game 1 (Denison 9, Oberlin 3):

• Denison put up four runs before the first out was recorded in the bottom of the first inning as Maggie Ballentine led off with a single through the left side and scored on a single to center by Brianna Gonzalez. Jacqui Abogado then singled through the right side to set up a double steal that saw Gonzalez steal home to make it 2-0, all before a big two-run home run to right field by Annabelle Calderon to make it 4-0.
• Then after a two-out rally for Oberlin resulted in three runs in the top of the fourth inning, the Big Red answered with a five-run bottom of the fourth that started with a leadoff double to right field by Clara Wolff and later featured an RBI-double to center by Indy Workman and a two-RBI single up the middle by Charlotte Doulette.
• From there, Sydney Silverstein (5-3) allowed just two hits the rest of the way en route to finishing with her fourth complete game of the season.
• Each of Denison's top three hitters in the lineup (Ballentine, Gonzalez, Abogado) finished with two hits.

 
Game 2 (Denison 9, Oberlin 0):

• Ballentine led off the bottom of the first inning with a double down the left field line to start a two-run inning that also saw a double to right center field by Calderon.
• Ballentine then led off the bottom of the third inning with another double down the left field line, this time kicking off a big seven-run frame that featured a sacrifice fly to center by Calderon, an RBI-single to right field by Brooke Surbaugh and a two-run double down the left field line by Wolff. All of that before the Big Red batted around and got a two-run single to center field by Ballentine to cap off the scoring.
• Ballentine finished 3-for-3 with two runs scored, two RBI's and two doubles while Doulette also added two hits.
• Surbaugh (4-3), meanwhile, tossed a one-hitter and did not walk a single batter as she earned her third complete game and second shutout of the season.

 
Records:

• Denison improved to 9-7 overall and 2-0 in the North Coast Athletic Conference while Oberlin fell to 4-12 and 0-2 in the NCAC.

 
Next Up: Denison will travel to Capital University for nonconference action starting at 3:30 p.m. on Wednesday, April 5.