GRANVILLE, Ohio (March 25, 2024) – The Denison University softball team concluded its season-long stretch of three straight doubleheaders at home by battling to a split against Mount St. Joseph University on Monday at the Big Red Softball Field. Denison dropped game one by a score of 6-3 before the two teams combined for 18 runs and 27 hits in a 10-8 win for the Big Red in game number two.
 
Game 1 (Denison 3, Mount St. Joseph 6):

• MSJU scored after a leadoff single to shortstop and a one-out double to left center field in the top of the first inning.
• The inning that came back to haunt Denison was the fourth as the Lions hit a solo home run before back-to-back errors by the Big Red allowed another run to score and were followed by a three-run double again to left center to cap a five-run inning that made it 6-0.
• Denison, meanwhile, did not get its first hit of the game until a one-out single by Indy Workman in the bottom of the fifth, and then in the sixth, back-to-back two-out hits by Brooke Surbaugh and Madilyn Moffitt allowed the Big Red to put three runs on the board, but it was too little too late as a throw out at home plate ended the inning.
• The biggest hit of the sixth inning for Denison was a two-run double to left field by Moffitt, who after entering to pitch with two outs in the top of the fourth, recorded 10 straight outs to get the Big Red to the bottom of the seventh with a three-run deficit.
• Unfortunately, it was a 1-2-3 bottom of the seventh by Denison.

 
Game 2 (Denison 10, Mount St. Joseph 8):

• Game two was all about offense.
• After four runs for the Lions in the top of the second, the Big Red answered back in a big way with seven runs in its half of the inning. Denison got RBI hits by Jacqui Abogado, Brianna Gonzalez, Clara Wolff and Jordyn Maurer before a three-run home run by Leilah Ferrari put the home team ahead for the first time on the day.
• In all, the Big Red sent 11 batters to the plate in the second inning.
• Then after MSJU cut it deficit to one (7-6) in the third inning, it was Ferrari again making her impact felt in the bottom half as she hit a two-out, two-run double to make it a three-run lead again (9-6) for the Big Red.
• The Lions again made it a one-run game (9-8) after two more runs in the fourth inning before a leadoff single to left field by Annabelle Calderon was followed by an RBI-double to center field by Surbaugh to make it 10-8 Big Red.
• After reentering the game to record the final out of the top of the fourth, Sydney Silverstein (3-1) pitched a 1-2-3 top of the fifth inning, the first scoreless inning since the first.
• Silverstein would later set the Lions down 1-2-3 in the seventh inning.
• Calderon finished game two 3-for-3 while Maurer, Ferrari, Abogado and Gonzalez each had two hits.
• Ferrari finished 2-for-4 with five RBI's, a home run and a double while Abogado and Gonzalez both scored twice.

 
Records:

• Denison moved to 9-5 on the season while MSJU is now 8-8.

 
Next Up: If the weather holds up, Denison will play at Otterbein University beginning at 3:30 p.m. on Wednesday, March 27.