GAMBIER, Ohio – Denison University (14-10, 5-3 NCAC) won both games of a North Coast Athletic Conference doubleheader against Kenyon College on Wednesday. The Big Red took the opener 7-1 before claiming an 8-2 win in the second. Over the course of the contests, Denison accumulated 31 hits compared to just nine for the Ladies.
GAME ONE
Taryn Welch held Kenyon (17-15, 4-4 NCAC) to its lowest hit total in 14 games (3) and struck out a season-high nine batters as the Ladies struggled to get anything going in the opener.
It was not until the fourth inning that Kenyon was able to get a hit. In that time, the visitors found all the run support it needed.
With two out in the top of the second, Claire Powell singled to right field and pushed across teammates Sam Kline and Ricki Asher.
That 2-0 lead ballooned to a 5-0 advantage a frame later. After a Kenyon miscue at third loaded the bases, Asher singled up the middle and plated two more runs. A couple batters later, Gabi Dufresne drove in a run on a fielder's choice.
Down 5-0, the Ladies were able to get a two-out RBI single from
Lauren Graf in the fourth, however, that would be the only scoring of the game for the home team. Denison later added two more runs in the sixth for the final margin.
Kline and Brennah Dutcher led Denison with three hits apiece while Kenyon's
Grace Pilz tallied a pair.
GAME TWO
The Ladies jumped out to a 2-0 lead right from the get-go as they attained three hits off Colleen Hoffman in the first. After
Sara Campagna's hard-hit double,
Britny Patterson's single through the right side gave Kenyon a 1-0 lead. A few batters later,
Emily Pater singled and pushed across Campagna.
A couple innings later, Dutcher tied things up at 2-2 with a two-out, two-run bomb to left field.
Kenyon almost retook the lead in the home half of the third. With Campagna occupying second, Pater singled through the right side, however, catcher Lindsey Clemson corralled a throw home from right fielder Marrae Saucedo and she tagged out Kenyon's freshman.
That defensive momentum carried over the rest of the game as the Ladies put just one base runner in scoring position over the final four frames.
For Denison, it went up for good in the fourth. Hoffman's single to right field came to Kenyon's outfielder who later made an errant throw which allowed a runner to score from third.
The Big Red then blew the game wide open in the fifth with five runs. Howell had a solo homer while Emilie Fisher and Hoffman earned run-scoring singles.
Five different Denison batters recorded multiple hits while Patterson and Pater led the Kenyon attack with two each.
Kenyon will look to bounce back on Saturday when it visits Oberlin College for an NCAC twinbill starting at 1 p.m.
