Hiram, Ohio- After weather claimed the Saturday slate of games, the No. 5 Denison baseball team traveled to Hiram to take on the Terriers for an NCAC doubleheader. With the Terriers leaving the North Coast Athletic Conference for the PAC this fall, this will mark the final matchup between the two schools in conference play. Following a 9-7 and 12-1 victory, Denison commands the all time series between the schools with a 16-1 record. With the pair of wins, Denison moves to 29-5 overall and 11-1 in conference play.
Up Next: Denison will travel to Ohio Wesleyan on Tuesday and will host Wittenberg on Saturday to close out NCAC play with two doubleheaders. On Sunday, Denison will head to Berea, Ohio to take on Baldwin Wallace to make up the game that was canceled in the Granville Tournament earlier this year.
Game 1 (Denison 9, Hiram 7)
The Big Red had their hands full in game one today. Denison jumped out to a 4-0 lead in the fifth following RBIs from Jack Steel and Eron Vega. Eric Colaco drove in his eighth homer of the year, now needing two more to tie the all-time record of 30. In the bottom of the fifth, Hiram responded with three runs of their own to bring the Terriers within one run. A scoreless sixth inning kept the score at 4-3 before the Big Red tacked on three runs in the seventh. Alex Vasquez and Eron Vega were responsible for the runs.Â
In response to the newfound deficit, Hiram tied things up at seven after a handful of base hits and walks allowed the Terriers to cross home four times. It wasn't until the ninth inning for the tie to be broken, where Max Fishbein cleared the left field fence to secure the lead with the two run shot.
On the bump, Nick Falter got the start, followed by Michael Gray and Jack Rollo out of the bullpen. The trio combined for 11 strikeouts through 9.0 innings of work. Rollo was credited with the win, his fourth of the year.
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Game 2 (Denison 12, Hiram 1) 7 Innings
The Big Red turned the tide in game two, thwarting the hopes of the Terriers after a close game one decision. The teams traded single run blows through the first two innings, courtesy of a Max Fishbein RBI. In the following innings, Denison would go on to score 11 unanswered runs. Erik Sundgren, Alex Vasquez, and Andrew Fazio contributed with RBIs. Blozy smashed a home run in to close out the fourth inning. The cherry on top came in the fifth inning, when Sundgren left the yard for the 13th time this year, marking his 62nd RBI of the year. Sundgren and Blozy both had four RBIs a piece.
Sophomore righty Peter Lemke got the start for the Big Red. Lemke went 5.0 innings and picked up his seventh win of the year. Ryan Starr and Manny Nager each got 1.0 innings in relief. The trio combined for 12 strikeouts in the win.
