ATHENS, Ohio – The Wilmington College baseball team couldn't contain a powerful Denison University offense as the Big Red swept the Fightin' Quakers in a doubleheader winning game one 7-3 and taking game two 16-8 on Saturday.
In game one, Denison opened the game with a solo home run in the first inning, but Wilmington battled back with RBI-singles from Jake Hyatt and Kasey Bottorff in the top of the second. The Big Red regained the lead with a two-run bomb in the bottom half of the inning.
Denison, leading 3-2, had its starter, Danny Brackman, got in a grove and retired 13 consecutive batters. A Nick Silvis single in the top of the seventh ended the streak, but a double play ended the threat. In the bottom of the seventh, the Big Red plated a single run to take a 7-2 lead.
The Quakers plated the game's final run on a Shane Hale RBI-groundout that scored Aaron Burns in the top of the ninth.
Jarett Trautman took the loss for Wilmington allowing six earned runs in 3.2 innings pitched. Jared Ferenchak and Jacob Griewahn combined to allow just a single run on three hits in 4.1 innings pitched in relief. Brackman earned the win scattering five hits with seven strikeouts in eight innings.
Offensively, Silvis led the way going 3-for-4 while Bottorff added a 2-for-3 performance. Hyatt was the other Quaker to tally a hit. Brian McAuliffe, Will Krushena and Nick Pettigrew all hit home runs for Denison.
Both offenses showed up strong in game two as Denison opened the game with five runs in the first inning and plated one in the second to lead 6-0 after two. An RBI-groundout from Luke Kleindl got Wilmington on the board in the top of third, but a bases-loaded walk and a sacrifice fly in the fourth put the Big Red on top 8-1.
The Quakers cut into the deficit in the top of the fifth as a Gage Bley double drove home Gavin Perkins which was followed by an RBI-single from Kleindl. Silvis delivered an RBI-groundout with the bases loaded which preceded an RBI hits from Hyatt and Bottorff. In total, Wilmington batted around tallying five hits while using two Denison errors to score five runs.
Unfortunately, the visitors' bullpen couldn't keep runs from crossing the plate as Denison scored multiple runs in the fifth, sixth and seventh innings to earn the doubleheader sweep.
Kleindl had perhaps his best offensive game in a Quaker uniform going 3-for-5 with four RBIs and two runs scored. Silvis finished 3-for-5 with an RBI while Bley also recorded a multi-hit game.
Pettigrew, Max Lahn and Cam Farren all had three hits for Denison.
Wilmington (1-7) travels to Ferrum College (Virginia) for two games on Monday.
