PORT CHARLOTTE, Fla.—Denison University rallied for four runs in the top of the eighth inning to break a 5-5 tie and defeated the Heidelberg University baseball team, 9-5, today at the Snowbird Baseball Classic in Port Charlotte, Fla. The win snapped the Berg's three-game winning streak.
An run batted-in single by sophomore second baseman Joe Staab (Bellville/Clearfork) in the bottom of the second inning put the Berg ahead, 1-0, but errors in the fourth and fifth innings allowed Denison to take a 5-1 lead, scoring two runs in the fourth and three more in the fifth.
Sophomore right fielder Arneal Squibb (Mishawaka, Ind./Mishawaka) led off the Student Prince fifth with a triple and scored on a wild pitch to close the gap to 5-2.
The Berg rallied for three runs in the seventh to knot the score, 5-5. Sophomore shortstop Andrew Zenzcak (Brunswick) drew a one-out walk and wild pitches sandwiched around freshman first baseman Steve Morse's (Scottsdale, Ariz./St. Mary's) ground out to first base scored Zenzcak. A two-out walk by freshman third baseman Steve Kisan (Lakewood/St. Edward) and consecutive singles by freshman designated hitter Austin Fleming (Clinton Township, Mich./De La Salle) and senior left fielder Ross Pruitt (Elletsville, Ind./Edgewood) took freshman right hander Bryan Peters (Cuyahoga Falls/Woodridge) off the hook for the decision.
Junior righty Teddy Lowe (Fort Wayne, Ind./Carroll), working in relief of Peters, surrendered four singles in the eighth inning before senior right hander Daniel Brannum (Jamestown/Greenview) relieved Lowe and Denison moved four runners across the plate to break the tie.
Fleming finished the day 3-for-5 at the plate with a pair of runs scored and Squibb was 2-for-5 with a run scored. Pruitt and Staab each had an RBI.
Peters started and work five innings, surrendering five runs (two earned) on five hits while striking out three and issuing a pair of walks. Lowe worked 2.1 innings in relief and gave up four runs on four hits and fanned three, but was tagged with the loss. Brannum finished 1.2 innings on the hill without giving up a run and recorded a strikeout.
The Student Princes will play a doubleheader tomorrow, opening with Montclair State (N.J.) University at 11 a.m. and facing Ohio Wesleyan University at 3 p.m.