TIFFIN, Ohio (April 24, 2024) – The No. 2 Denison University baseball team scored three runs in the top of the ninth inning to earn a 6-3 nonconference win at Heidelberg University on a cold Wednesday evening.

Tied 3-3 in the ninth inning, Jake Blozy reached on a throwing error by the Heidelberg third baseman and then Jack Lutte followed with a bunt single to put two runners on with nobody out.

Both runners moved up 90 feet after a wild pitch, and that would prove to be important as the next Big Red batter grounded out to second base for the first out of the inning.

That led to a big time sacrifice fly to center field by Noah Leib, scoring the go-ahead run in Blozy.

The Big Red would add two more runs in the ninth inning on an infield single by Colin Ravin and a bases-loaded walk by Owen Wilson, the 10th walk of the game drawn by the Big Red.

Denison was also the beneficiary of three hit by pitches by the Heidelberg pitching staff.

In the end, the Big Red finished with six runs on six hits, three of which came from Lutte with a 3-for-4 effort featuring two runs scored.

Jake Welsch and Wilson both finished with three walks in the game while Wilson added two runs batted in.

To get the scoring started, Denison loaded the bases with no outs in the fourth inning after a leadoff single to left field by Lutte, a hit by pitch by Eric Colaco and a single to right field by Leib.

That was followed by an RBI-walk by Welsch and a sacrifice fly to left field by Cade Nowik.

Then with two outs and runners on first and second, Wilson battled to a full count and with the runners in motion, singled through the left side to score Leib from second base and make it 3-0 Big Red.

After a 1-2-3 bottom of the fifth inning by Manny Nager, his fourth 1-2-3 inning in the first five innings of the game, Heidelberg got on the board in the bottom of the sixth when back-to-back one-out singles were followed by a hit by a pitch to load the bases with two outs and a then an RBI-walk.

Nager made his first start of the season and set down the first 11 batters he faced before ultimately finishing with seven innings pitched allowing four hits, one run, one walk and six strikeouts, but he would not end up getting the win as Heidelberg tied it in the eighth.

After Denison left a runner in scoring position in the top of the eighth inning, Heidelberg started off the bottom half with a double to left field and a single to shortstop to put runners at the corners with nobody out.

A single through the left side brought in one run before an error on a sacrifice bunt attempt loaded the bases with still no outs in the inning.

After walking in the tying run, however, Michael Gray (2-0) dug down deep and got back-to-back strikeouts to leave the bases loaded and keep it a tied game heading into the ninth inning.

In addition to improving to 29-4 overall on the season, the Big Red are now 11-0 on the road and have earned 12 straight wins against nonconference opponents.

Denison returns home tomorrow to host Marietta College in another single nonconference game starting at 6 p.m. on Thursday, April 25. Earlier this season, the Big Red got a sixth-inning grand slam from Nowik to help beat the Pioneers by a score of 11-2 in Marietta, Ohio. Then this weekend, a big North Coast Athletic Conference series against Wittenberg University (20-12 overall, 9-1 NCAC) looms as the Big Red face the Tigers starting at 12 p.m. on Saturday, April 27, in Springfield, Ohio.