Salem, Va. -The Denison University baseball team traveled to take on the Roanoke College Maroons for a three-game weekend series. The Big Red, ranked No. 5 by D3baseball.com and No. 4 by ABCA, split the double header winning the first (11-10) and dropping the second (11-12). Denison moves to 4-1 overall while Roanoke moves to 6-4.

The third and final game of the weekend will start at noon, on Sunday, March 2.

Game 1 (Denison 11, Roanoke 10)
A duel of two aces, Denison and Roanoke started game one with a defensive battle. The Big Red were able to get two runners on base in the top of the second inning but first-year righty Owen Wojciechowski was able to extinguish the early flame. Nick Falter followed suit, only allowing one runner on base throughout the opening innings. 

Reigning D3 player of the year, Eric Colaco, opened up the game with a solo shot homerun in the top of the third inning. This homerun officially moves Colaco to second all-time for career home runs (22) in Denison history, trailing only Brian McAuliffe (30).

Falter held Roanoke scoreless until a backside base hit by Hayden Giordano brought in a runner from second base in the fourth inning. Immediately after, the Maroons sent a ball high into the Salem air to score a runner with a sacrifice fly.

After a scoreless fifth inning, Denison was able to load the bases after Colaco recorded a base hit, Cade Nowik reached on error, and Cooper Marrs walked. Jake Blozy scored Colaco with a deep sacrifice fly to center field to tie the score up at two. Sophomore righty Palmer Griffin took over on the mound for the Maroons. With bases loaded, back-to-back-to-back walks drawn by Max Fishbein, Alex Vasquez, and Erik Sundgren gave the Big Red a 5-2 lead. Denison secured four more runs after a two RBI single from Colaco, a double steal from Sundgren and Colaco, and an RBI double from Nowik. Denison finished the inning scoring eight runs on three hits and one error. An eighth inning RBI single from Sundgren and sacrifice fly from Colaco grew the Big Red lead to 11-2 heading into the final frames.

The Maroons found a spark in the bottom of the ninth inning. The Roanoke offense made the most of two walks and two hit by pitch at bats, scoring seven runs after a handful of base hits capped off with a home run into deep left field. Manny Nager came in to throw after the homerun and immediately ended the game after drawing a chopper to Nowik at third.

Falter ended his day hurling six innings, giving up two earned runs on three hits, two walks, and six strikeouts. Nager recorded his second save of the season. The Denison defense was perfect in the field with zero errors in game one. Colaco led the offense going three for four on the day with a home run and four RBIs. 


Game 2 (Roanoke 12, Denison 11)(10 innings)
After a dramatic ending to game one, both squads kept the train rolling with a high-powered ten inning performance that ultimately fell in favor of the Maroons.

Denison kicked off the top of the first inning with a sacrifice fly from Cade Nowik to start with a 1-0 lead. Roanoke picked up right where they left off following the late inning spark in game one to take a 3-1 lead after a parade of base hits.

The Big Red responded by tying it up in the third, immediately followed by taking back the lead in the fourth off of RBIs from Eric Colaco, Cooper Marrs, and Erik Sundgren. The Maroons were able to tie it back up with a sacrifice fly of their own in the 5th inning.

Both teams exploded for four runs a piece in the sixth inning to move the score to 8-8 heading into the final three innings. Alex Vasquez kicked things off with an RBI and was the last to cross the plate in the top of the inning. Roanoke, no stranger to playing from behind on the day, drove in runs via a fielder's choice and a double up the middle.

The Big Red took back the lead after Vasquez and Nowik drove in runs in the 7th. The Maroons, once again finding themselves behind, were able to even the score at 11 in the bottom of the eighth inning. 

A scoreless ninth inning followed as both teams went three up, three down to send the game into extras. Denison was able to get two runners on in the top of the tenth inning. Roanoke righty Trevor Orth was able to slam the door shut on the Big Red after striking out the final batter to leave runners stranded.

Denison was able to record back-to-back outs in the bottom of the tenth inning. After a handful of walks, Roanoke's senior outfielder Parker Stallard found himself with bases loaded, two outs, and a full count. On the final pitch of the game, he roped a ground ball down the third base line to score the winning run.

The game totaled 23 runs on 16 hits. The teams combined for nine errors, 12 walks, and 11 strikeouts. Each team used four arms to get through the 10-inning showdown. Trevor Orth picked up the win for the Maroons while Jack Rollo was handed his first loss.