Preparation.

The Denison softball team sure looked ready when they swept two doubleheaders last week.

The first of the two double headers came against the Hiram College Terriers, the Big Red’s first conference games of the year. Both games were an offensive onslaught for the Big Red, as they tallied a whopping 28 runs across the two games.

The offense was led by Emily Desheles ‘21, who had two hits including a home run to go along with five runs batted in.

It was also a strong day in the circle for Taryn Welch ‘20, who tallied her fourth win of the year to improve her record to 4-2. She threw 5.0 innings, allowing one run and three hits while striking out five. Behind Welch and Desheles, Denison took game one by a final score of 13-1.

Game two was more of the same for the Big Red, as they topped Hiram 15-7.

Lindsay Clemson ‘20 had 5 runs batted in and was one of four Big Red players with three hits. The others were Emelie Fisher ‘20, Brennah Dutcher ‘20, and Amanda Howell ‘19. Howell also had three runs batted in.

In the second doubleheader, it was the arms on the mound that clinched it for the Big Red, as Capital did not score a run in either of the two games.

Game one was once again thrown by Welch, who picked up her fifth win across seven shutout innings. Welch also struck out four. The Big Red won by a score of 6-0.

In game two, Colleen Hoffman ‘19 threw five shutout innings and striking out one in the process. Game two was won 9-0.

As the Big Red enter conference play, Gabi Dufresne ‘21 credits some of the early season tests for their wins.

“Starting our season playing a few ranked teams has been a good test for us. It has shown us what we are capable of and that we can compete with these nationally recognized teams. Those games build character because they weren’t always pretty. However, when we played our best softball and were able to leave a mark on these teams, that built confidence. Both of these things are important for our team to have going into conference play because we know what we are capable of,” Dufresne said.

Dufresne also credits the seniors for their hard work and leadership.

“We have five seniors this year. They have all been crucial in making sure our team meshed together and have promoted a good team culture. Having been here for four years they have put so much dedication into this program and it has shown. They have been great role models and really push the underclassmen to bring their best, including myself,” Dufresne said.

As for the rest of the year, Dufresne is trying not to look too far ahead, but does acknowledge they have same long term goals.

“As a team we have many small goals we want to accomplish each game. We always focus on one game at a time. One of our larger season goals is to take conference this year. We have been so close in the last couple of years. It has come down to one close game,” Dufresne said.

Denison improved to 10-6 (2-0 NCAC) on the season with the four road wins over the course of the week.

The Big Red will stay on the road to play the Depauw Tigers in Greencastle, Indiana on Tuesday, April 9 at 4 p.m before returning home for a pair of weekend conference doubleheaders against Wooster and Allegheny.