Having momentum on your side usually means good things.
After dropping their season opener, the Denison men’s baseball team has won four games in a row, including sweeping a doubleheader against Alfred State this past weekend.
The team was paced by the top of their order in game one of the doubleheader. Each of the top five hitters recorded a hit. Most notably, Ty Robinson ‘21 hit his first career home run to lead off the game.
Grady Paine ‘19 also had a strong game, tallying three runs in the number two hole after reaching base via a hit, a walk, and an error.
Down at number five, Max Lahn ‘21 continued what has been a hot start to the year for him. He reached base three times during the contest, tallying one hit and walking two more times. So far on the year he is leading the team, hitting .471 with an on base percentage of .524.
Classic to this Denison team, Lahn deflected attention back to the whole team when asked about his hot start.
“We work extremely hard in the offseason as a team to put us in the best position to compete at a high level every game. Our pitching staff deserves a lot of credit as well. I don’t know the exact numbers but this group has done an outstanding job limiting runs so far this season,” he told me.”
Game two went even better for the Big Red. They took that one by a final score of 7-2.
Kenny Lippman ‘22 picked up the first win of his collegiate career after tossing 3.1 hitless innings and striking out five in relief. Cam Farren ‘22 also had a strong day, finishing with a triple and both an RBI and a run scored. Will Krushena ‘20 added three RBIs out of the cleanup spot.
Lahn also spoke to sweeping the double header and how the team will use it for the rest of the year.
“Obviously a sweep is nice. We learned a lot this weekend on what team we are going to be. We have to use this momentum as we head down to Florida and into NCAC play.”
It has been a strong start to the season after the team lost a lot of key contributors from last year, most notably their starting catcher, shortstop, and center fielder. The losses have paved the way for a lot of underclassmen to step up. Lahn spoke to the impact some of the young guys have had.
“We knew we were going to be a younger team. The freshman make up over half of our team. We knew they were going to have to come in and make an impact right away given all of the seniors we lost last year. They are doing a great job I’m excited to see the impact they have the rest of the year,” Lahn said.
One of the notable freshmen has been Lippman, who has stepped into a relief pitcher role. He’s tallied 5.1 innings pitched, striking out six. He’s yet to allow a run.
As for the future, the team has some lofty goals, and rightfully so after making an NCAA Tournament appearance last year.
“Our goal is to win a National Championship. We want to get back to a regional and take care of business this time around. It all starts by playing together and working hard to achieve our goal,” Lahn said.
The team is back in action on Saturday, March 9 when they will take on Wilmington College at home from Big Red Field.