PORT CHARLOTTE, Fla. (March 10, 2024) – The No. 7 nationally-ranked Denison University baseball team split its two games on Sunday at the Snowbird Classic at Centennial Park in Port Charlotte, Florida. The Big Red dominated in an 18-3 win against the United States Merchant Marine Academy in game one, but then came up just short, 7-6, against Kean University in game two.
 
Game 1 (No. 7 Denison 18, United States Marine Merchant Academy 3):

• Denison scored five runs in the bottom of the first, all unearned, and led 9-0 after scoring four times in the third inning. The big inning to put the game away was a seven-run bottom of the sixth inning that came on just three hits for the Big Red.
• Owen Wilson was 4-for-5 with three RBI's and three runs scored and Jack Lutte 3-for-4 with five RBI's to lead the way.
• Starting pitcher Peter Lemke (2-0) threw five innings allowing a pair of unearned runs on two hits, four walks and five strikeouts.

 
Game 2 (No. 7 Denison 5, Kean 6):

• Denison loaded the bases with nobody out in the top of the first inning but was unable to score after three straight strikeouts.
• Then trailing 2-0 in the top of the fourth inning, four straight walks started off the inning to get the Big Red on the scoreboard, but then it looked like Denison might squander its chance to take the lead after a double play ball to shortstop for the first two outs of the inning. Fortunately, a hit by pitch put two runners on for Jake Welsch, who deposited a two-run double into left center field to give the Big Red a 4-2 lead.
• Kean, however, hit a solo home run to left field in the bottom half of the fourth, and then a two-out, two run double to right center field in the bottom of the sixth put the Cougars back in front by a score of 5-4.
• The Big Red then missed two chances to tie it in the top of the seventh as Noah Leib was out at home trying to score on a sacrifice bunt attempt by Wilson with nobody out, and then with the bases loaded, a popup to third base ended another Denison scoring threat.
• Kean loaded the bases with one out in the bottom of the seventh and then put some separation between itself and Denison with a two-run single down the left field line.
• The Big Red tried to get back into it in the top of the eighth when an RBI-single to left field by Cade Nowik was followed by a single through the left side by Welsch and a groundout by Leib to put two runners into scoring position and put the tying run at second base with two outs, but again, Denison came up short as a flyout to center field retired the side.
• After Kean left the bases loaded in the bottom of the eighth, Denison cut its deficit to just one run in the top of the ninth thanks to an RBI-single up the middle with two outs by Lutte. On the following at bat by Eric Colaco, a throwing error by the Cougar's third baseman allowed Lutte to advance to third.
• Lastly, after Colaco stole second to put the go-ahead run on second and Nowik was hit by a hit to load the bases yet again, a flyout to right field by Welsch was all she wrote.
• In the end, Denison had 15 runners left on base while Kean had 11. The Big Red left the bases loaded three times while the Cougars did so twice.
• Welsch and Colaco both finished 3-for-6 to lead the Big Red offense while Kean had three players with three hits.
• Starter pitching George Viebrock pitched five innings allowing seven hits, three runs, no walks and five strikeouts, and left with the lead.

 
Records:

• It was the first-ever meeting between Denison (7-2 overall) and the USMMA (1-4) while the game against Kean (9-5), which is currently the fifth team receiving votes in the 2024 D3baseball.com/NCBWA Top 25 poll, was Denison's first game against the Cougars since their first-ever meeting in 2011, a 7-6 loss for the Big Red in California.

 
Next Up: Day three from Port Charlotte, Florida, will see the Big Red take on the Stevens Institute of Technology at 10 a.m. on Monday, March 11.