Granville, Ohio- In a battle between two blue-blood programs, the No. 4 Denison Big Red baseball team hosted Marietta College for a Sunday doubleheader at Big Red Field. The two programs have faced each other 25 times, with Marietta leading the series 15-10. In game one, Denison came out with a methodical 3-1 victory. In game two, Marietta was able to pull away in a 5-3 decision. The two squads will play a rubber match on Tuesday, April 22, at Marietta. 

Up Next: The Big Red will travel to Greencastle, Ind. to take on the Tigers from DePauw in a NCAC doubleheader.

Game 1 (Denison 3, Marietta 1)
Game one was a slow paced defensive battle at Big Red Field. Senior Manny Nager picked up the start and the win for the Big Red. Michael Gray and Jack Rollo made appearances out of the bullpen to aid in securing the victory. The staff combined for eight strikeouts and just one walk. The Marietta staff used two arms in the showdown.

At the dish, the offense was able to get on the board following an infield single from Alex Vasquez. Eron Vega crossed home plate to give the Big Red the first run of the day. Later in the sixth inning, Cade Nowik scored Jack Lutte and Max Fishbein with a double down the right field line. Marietta was able to respond with a run of their own in eighth inning, but it was not enough to take the lead.

Game 2 (Denison 3, Marietta 5)
Game two took a different identity than game one. Marietta tacked on five unanswered runs throughout their nine plate appearances. The Denison bullpen saw multiple arms in the loss. Eron Vega got the start, followed by Ryan Starr, Ryan Paganelis, Mahoney Daunic, and Andrew Clifford. The staff struck out four and walked five in the loss.

It wasn't until the bottom of the ninth that Denison responded. With one out and the bases juiced, Kuyper Lashutka took a ball off the body to score Erik Sundgren. The following play, Jack Steel advanced home on a wild pitch, moving runners to second and third. Jack Rollo got called to pinch hit and drove in a run on a sacrifice ground ball to shortstop. In a heartbreaking finish, a bang-bang play at first closed game two in a 5-3 decision in favor of the visitors