GREENSBORO, N.C. (February 23, 2024) – The No. 16 Denison University baseball team lost 17-1 in its first game of the 2024 season against No. 20 Christiopher Newport University on Friday at the D3 Showcase in Greensboro, North Carolina.

It looked like a promising start as Denison (0-1 overall) scored first in the bottom of the first as Erik Sundgren led off with a single to third base, stole second, moved to third on a flyout to deep right center field by Eric Colaco, and then scored on a groundout to first base by Jake Welsch.

CNU (5-1), however, put up a three-run top of the third inning after a leadoff single and a pair of walks led to a two-run double down the left field line to chase Denison starter Robbie Lee (0-1) from the ballgame.

The Big Red proceeded to stand a pair of runners in scoring position in the bottom of the third as a two-out single to right field by Sundgren was followed by a double to right field by Colaco, putting the tying run on second base, but a groundout to third ended the scoring threat.

The Captains put the game out of reach after scoring seven runs, all with two outs, in the top of the fifth inning, ending the frame with a three-run home run to left field. CNU later added a grand slam to right center field in the sixth inning.

CNU ended the game with 17 runs on 13 hits and 11 walks while Sundgren accounted for three of Denison's four hits from his spot at the top of the lineup.

CNU is starting its season in the top-20 nationally for the first time since 2020 and returns seven starters from last year's dominant Captains' lineup. Starting pitcher Dylan Weber, who limited the Big Red to six base runners in his six innings pitched, is the reigning Coast-To-Coast Athletic Conference Pitcher of the Year. In addition, junior transfer and catcher Lincoln Lubsen added a home run, two hits and six runs batted in to his torrid offensive start.

It was the third matchup all-time between Denison and CNU after the two teams split the first two meetings in the series. The Captains won the inaugural matchup, 5-1, in the 2018 NCAA Regional before Denison won 8-3 in last year's D3 Showcase in Charlotte, North Carolina.

Day two of the D3 College Showcase will see Denison take on one of the top teams in NCAA Division III in No. 2 nationally-ranked Salisbury University. The Big Red and the Sea Gulls will square off starting at 6 p.m. on Saturday, February 24. It will be the first meeting between the two teams since battling in the championship game of the 2022 Granville Regional in which Salisbury won 3-1.