GRANVILLE, Ohio – The Wittenberg baseball team dropped a pair of games to Denison Sunday, falling in four straight to the Big Red to move to 12-7 overall and 3-5 in the West Division of the North Coast Athletic Conference.

Denison posted four runs in the first inning and never looked back in game one, cruising to a 7-2 win with two more in the fourth and a single run in the fifth. The Tigers posted their two runs in the fifth when senior Zach Finke (Maineville, Ohio/St. Xavier) pushed a pair across on a double.

Finke finished the game 2-2, one of two Wittenberg players with a base hit in the game. Junior Tyler Hutchinson (Lebanon, Ohio/Cincinnati Moeller) provided the other on 1-2 hitting.

Senior Kevin Tolle (Englewood, Ohio/Northmont) went all seven innings in the loss, striking out three Denison batters along the way. He was charged with seven earned runs on 10 hits and two walks.

Denison again jumped out to a big lead in the nightcap, scoring five in the second and two in the third. They went on to score two more in the fifth before Wittenberg responded with a four-run sixth inning. Denison added two more in the seventh and four in the eight to finish off a 16-4 game.

Wittenberg was again limited to just one inning of scoring. Junior David Moore (Tipp City, Ohio/Tippecanoe) and junior Brandon Jordan (Ithaca, NY/Ithaca) each doubled in a run while Finke had an RBI single and Hutchinson scored on a wild pitch.

Senior Grant Goodwin (Hilliard, Ohio/Davidson) led the lineup with a 2-4 outing. On the mound, the Tigers threw a total of seven pitchers in the game. Sophomore Mike Burgher (Birmingham, Mich./Seaholm) took the loss.

Wittenberg returns to the friendly confines of Carleton Davidson Stadium for a 6 p.m. engagement with Thomas More on Tuesday before heading to Mount Union on Thursday at 4 p.m.

John Strawn '07