Women's Softball
Softball: Denison utilizes the long ball to sweep Wooster
Alex Murray hit three home runs and drove in seven RBIs as Denison swept The College of Wooster.
Date: April 12, 2008
Location: WOOSTER, Ohio
The Big Red blasted six home runs, with three coming off the bat of Alex Murray (Mayfield Heights, Ohio/NDCL), resulting in a sweep of The College of Wooster on Saturday afternoon.
Denison took the first game 5-4 behind two Murray blasts and a strong outing on the mound by Bri Scrofano (Longs, S.C./McDowell). Denison would get on the board first, in the third inning, when Aly Clark (Blacklick, Ohio/Gahanna) led off with a single to center field. Murray followed with a two-run homer down the left field line. Mary Beth Krolikowski (Brunswick, Ohio/Holy Name) laced a two-out double to the gap in left-center and Ali Sliver (Baltimore, Md./Kenwood) followed with a double of her own, giving DU a 3-0 lead.
Two Denison errors in the bottom of the fourth would allow the Scots to tie the game at 3-3, but DU would respond in the top of the fifth with back-to-back solo homers by Murray and Erica Evans (Worthington, Ohio/Thomas Worthington).
The five runs would be all Scrofano would need as she kept the Scots at bay over the final three innings to pull off the one-run victory. Scrofano gave up six hits and just one of the four runs scored by Wooster was earned. She struck out one and did not walk a batter.
In the second half of the twinbill, DU scored four runs in the top of the fourth and fifth innings to come away with a 10-6 win.
Trailing 1-0 after one, Denison's Brie Berkopec (Mars, Pa./Mars) hit a solo homer to left and after a Rachel Cotterman (New Lexington, Ohio/Fisher Catholic) fly out to right, Claire Kopko (Washington, Pa./Trinity) went deep for the third time this season and the seventh time in her career.
With the score tied 2-2 in the fourth, Murray came to the plate with the bases loaded and no one out. Murray would clear the bases with one swing, sending a shot over the wall in left center for her third home run and seventh RBI of the day. Murray had two career home runs to her credit heading into the day. She left with five and is now third on Denison's career home run list.
Despite Denison's big four inning, The Scots would respond in the home half with three runs to cut the DU lead to 6-5. In the top of the fifth a Clark RBI single and a three-run double by Evans would give Denison enough cushion to complete the sweep.
Leslie Brenner (Deerfield, Ill./Deerfield) got the start and pitched three innings, allowing two runs off four hits. Mandy Krutzler (Geneva, Ill./Hudson) pitched one inning of relief and got the win. Junior Sam Rumschlag (Carmel, Ind./Cathedral) worked the final three innings and allowed just one run off two hits. She struck out two and picked up her first save of the season.
Denison pounded out 12 hits in game two, led by Clark's 3-for-4 performance. In two games Murray was 4-for-5 with three home runs, seven RBIs, four runs scored and two walks. She raised her batting average 36 points to .393 and is now leading the team in slugging (.689).
Denison's record improves to 15-7 overall and 3-3 in the North Coast Athletic Conference. They will host Hiram College on Monday (April 14) at 3:30 p.m.