Box Score 1 | Box Score 2

Gambier, Ohio: The No. 1 Denison Big Red baseball team kicked off NCAC play on the road in Gambier, Ohio, against the Owls of Kenyon College. The Big Red rode a 14-game season and a 19-game series win into Kenyon. After a 13-4 decision in game one and a 9-1 victory in game two, the Big Red rattled off 16 in a row to start the season and 21 over the Owls. Will Rettig and Robbie Lee remained undefeated on the season, moving to 6-0 and 4-0 respectively. At the plate, 

 

Game 1 (No. 1 Denison 13, Kenyon 4)

Braving the cold, the offense wasted no time getting hot early. A solo homer from Jack Rollo gave the Big Red a 1-0 lead. The string of Erik Sundgren, Andrew Fazio, Kelly Crittenberger, and Max Fishbein all reached base and plated two more runs before the Owls would make a change on the mound. Nate Lloyd and Cade Nowik tacked on the final RBIs of the opening inning to cap off the 5-0 opening at bat.

Senior Will Rettig got his sixth start of the season on the mound. The defense would record three putouts behind Rettig for a three-up, three-down inning. After a scoreless top of the second, the Owls would take advantage of three walks and plate two runs to cut the lead to 5-2 heading into the third inning.

The Big Red were quick to respond, as a pair of doubles from Fishbein and Nowik added two more runs to the total bringing the game to 7-2. Rettig would respond in the bottom of the frame with a scoreless showing.

In the top of the fourth inning, the offense continued to grow the lead, plating two runs on one hit and two errors to take a 9-2 advantage over Kenyon. The senior righty found his groove, earning back to back shutout innings.

Following a scoreless fifth frame, Rettig would retire after 5.0 innings on the bump. Max Mullen came out of the bullpen and kept pace with the starter and kept the Owl lineup scoreless in the sixth. 

In the bottom of the seventh, Connor Remley and Evan Cerretani made appearances out of the bullpen. The Owls would find two runs late in the inning but would not be enough to overcome the Denison lead. Mahoney Daunic would close the game on the mound for the Big Red. The final Denison runs of game one would come in the final at bat, as Rollo and Fazio would both pick up two RBIs to push the lead to 13-4 in favor of the Big Red.

Rettig earned his sixth win of the year to move to 6-0 on the season after a 5.0 inning performance. Out of the bullpen, Mullen, Remley, Cerretani, and Daunic would combine for the final 4.0 innings. The staff would combine for seven strikeouts and allow three earned runs. 

At the plate, the lineup collected 18 total hits with seven players notching multiple hits. Crittenberger led the way with a 4-5 performance while Rollo led the team with three RBIs and the lone home run. The offense forced its way through seven arms out of the Kenyon bullpen.

 

Game 2 (No. 1 Denison 9, Kenyon 1)

After an 18 hit performance in game one, the offense stayed hot at the start of game two, snagging an early 1-0 lead after a double from Jack Steel scored Eron Vega. Senior Robbie Lee got his fifth start of the year on the mound. The righty struck out three in the first frame.

In the second frame, the offense got right back to work, loading the bases with just one out. Eron Vega and Jack Rollo both picked up RBIs to extend the lead to 3-0. Lee protected the lead with a three-up, three-down inning.

 

The Owls would plate their lone run of game two in the bottom of the third following a RBI single into center field. However, the Denison offense wasted no time getting it back, as Jack Rollo belted his second homer of the day in the top of the fourth to score two and take a 5-1 lead. Following the homer, Lee and a handful of Kenyon arms entered a pitcher's duel. The two teams would trade scoreless fifth and sixth frames as the Big Red held tight to the 5-1 lead.

The scoring drought was ended by Bobby Haarde, who scored Kuyper Lashutka on an infield single to extend the lead to 6-1. Lee would toss his final inning of work in the bottom of the seventh, capping off a great outing with yet another scoreless frame.

Devin Parker would come out of the bullpen for Lee. The first-year tossed a scoreless eighth inning before the teams would enter the final frame of the doubleheader.

Denison would strike hard in its final at bat, posting three runs courtesy of a two-run home run from Vega and an RBI single from Erik Sundgren to take a 9-1 lead. Parker would slam the door shut in the bottom of the ninth to secure the victory and keep the Big Red rolling.

Defensively, the duo of Lee and Parker had a dominant outing. Lee fanned 12 and walked one over 7.0 innings while Parker sat down four over 2.0 innings. The defense was perfect in support, recording zero errors.

At the plate, the offense tallied 15 hits with five batters collecting multiple. The leadoff duo of Vega and Rollo collected 3 RBIs a piece.

Up Next: The Big Red will be back at home on Friday, April 3rd, for a doubleheader against the Capital Comets.