GRANVILLE, Ohio (April 21, 2024) – In a matchup between two of the three teams tied atop the North Coast Athletic Conference baseball standings with just one loss in conference play so far this season, the No. 2 Denison University baseball team settled for a two-game split against DePauw University on Sunday at the Big Red Baseball Field. After falling by one run (7-6) in game one, the Big Red won 7-1 in a crucial game two to keep pace in the conference standings.
 
Game 1 (Denison 6, DePauw 7):

• It was 4-4 after four innings and 5-5 after six, but in the seventh inning, DePauw got a leadoff single to left field followed by a walk and a single to right center to load the bases with nobody out, setting up a two-run single up the middle.
• From there, Michael Gray got three straight outs to leave two more potential runs on base, and then Denison was able to make it a one-run game in the bottom half when a balk scored Eric Colaco.
• With two innings left to get just one run to tie it, the Big Red had a chance after a two-out double down the right field line by Owen Wilson in the bottom of the eighth, but a swinging strikeout ended that opportunity.
• Then in the ninth inning, Denison strung together back-to-back two-out singles up the middle by Jack Lutte and Noah Leib, the latter of which allowed the pinch runner, Kuyper Lashutka, to run all the way to third base, but a flyout to center field gave Denison its second conference defeat over the last two weeks.
• Jake Blozy was 2-for-3 with two runs scored while Wilson was 2-for-3 with two runs batted in.

 
Game 2 (Denison 7, DePauw 1):

• Denison scored two runs in the first inning on a sacrifice fly to right field by Leib and a two-out single through the right side by Jake Welsch.
• Welsch then doubled Denison's lead with a two-run single up the middle in the fourth inning.
• Freshman Peter Lemke improved to 6-0 on the mound with a strong outing featuring three hits, one run and two walks allowed to go along with five strikeouts in six innings pitched.
• Fellow-freshman Jack Rollo then came on to start the seventh inning and allowed just one hit, no runs and one walk over the final three innings to earn his second save of the season.
• It was only a 4-1 Denison lead in the bottom of the seventh before a trio of unearned runs by the Big Red broke it open a little bit.
• Lutte was 3-for-4 while Leib, Welsch and Colin Ravin each added two hits.

 
Records:

• Denison (28-4 overall, 10-2 NCAC) and DePauw (18-11, 8-2) now both drop to second place in the conference standings behind Wittenberg University (20-12, 9-1).

 
Next Up: Denison will play a pair of midweek nonconference games next week, beginning with one game at Heidelberg University starting at 4 p.m. on Tuesday, April 23, before hosting Marietta College for one game starting at 6 p.m. on Thursday, April 25.