GRANVILLE, Ohio -- The Kenyon College baseball team used a solid pitching performance in game one and a late, three-run lead in game two to push No. 13-ranked Denison University to the edge. The Big Red, however, managed to find ways to win and swept the North Coast Athletic Conference (NCAC) doubleheader from the Owls by scores of 2-0 and 9-8.

In game one, Kenyon first-year starting pitcher Theo Canning did all he could to keep the Owls in the game. He ended up firing seven innings and yielding two earned runs on five hits and two walks. He struck out six and only one of the two Denison runs was earned.

Both of those Big Red tallies were scored on sacrifice flies. In the fourth inning, Noah Lieb sacrificed home Eric Colaco and in the sixth, Lieb sacrificed home Matt McClements. That was it for the offense.

Back on the mound, Denison starter Charlie Fleming narrowly out-dueled Canning. Fleming went seven-and-two-thirds. He allowed four hits and struck out a dozen. George Viebrock finished the last inning to earn the save. For Kenyon, Frank Lynch relieved Canning and recorded the final three Denison outs.

Kenyon's five game-one hits included a triple and a double from Edwin Groff. His triple led off the second inning and his double led off the seventh. Fleming, however, left him stranded there by fanning five of the six batters that followed Groff's hits. In all, Kenyon stranded four runners in scoring position.

Those outcomes did not deter Groff in game two. After his two-hit performance in the front end of the doubleheader, Groff's encore included a 3-for-5 showing with another double, two runs scored, and an RBI. On the day, he was 5-for-8, raising his team-best batting average to .471 for the season.

Tripper Capps, who went 2-for-5 with two runs scored and three RBI in game two is not far off Groff's pace. He checked out of the doubleheader with a season-long batting average of .426.

In that second game, pitching took a back seat to offense. Denison scored two in the first and one more in the third. The Big Red held that three-run advantage until the fifth inning, when Kenyon erupted for six runs.

The Owls, buoyed by three Denison errors, mashed five hits in the sixth to take a 6-3 lead. Nate Rosen, Malcolm Gaynor, and Groff put together three straight RBI hits. Capps then singled home both Gaynor and Groff. Later in the inning, Capps came around to score following an outfield error.

Denison then turned the tables in the sixth, scoring off back-to-back hits and then plating another run following a Kenyon error.

In the top of the seventh, clinging to a one-run lead, Kenyon scored twice more. Groff doubled and came around to score on a Capps' single. Capps later scored on a failed pick-off attempt, giving the Owls a 8-5 lead.

In the bottom of the seventh, another miscue--a passed ball--helped the Big Red put one more run on the board. The craziness continued in the bottom of the eighth, as Denison put the game away, using a hit-by-pitch, two walks, a balk, and a two-run single to score three times.

The pair of losses dropped Kenyon to 13-10 overall and 1-5 within NCAC play. Denison escaped with a 19-4 overall record and a 6-0 mark in conference action.