By: Andrew Korba

HIRAM, Ohio -- The Hiram College softball team came up on the short end in a pair of games against Denison on Sunday afternoon.

The Big Red (17-17, 8-6 NCAC) took Game 1 by a 9-1 score and captured the second game 16-6.

Before the start of the doubleheader, Hiram (8-22, 4-10 NCAC) honored its two seniors, Janie Linger (Akron/Firestone) and Miranda Wright (Richfield/Revere) for their dedication to the program.

In the nighcap, Denison struck for three runs in the first and added a run in the second to jump out to a 4-0 lead.

Hiram answered with a RBI single by junior Danielle Latine (Eastlake/North) to get on the board in the bottom of the second.

The Big Red tacked on a run in the third, but Hiram plated three runs in the bottom half of the inning to pull within 5-4.

Junior Nicole Hoy (Brunswick) hit a RBI double and junior Kali Stover (Akron/Coventry) laced a 2-run single to right.

Denison would expand its lead to 10-4 with a 5-run fourth inning, before the Terriers countered with two runs in the bottom of the frame.

Wright scored on a wild pitch in the inning and junior Meghan Garland (Mineral Ridge) drove in Hoy on a RBI double.

But the Big Red would put the game away, scoring three times each in the fifth and seventh for the 16-6 victory.

Latine and Wright paced the Hiram offense with three hits each, while Garland, Hoy and Stover each collected two.

In the first game, Denison scored a run in the first inning, but the Terriers would tie it in the second when Hoy scored on a wild pitch.

From there it was all Denison, as the Big Red scored eight unanswered runs, sparked by a 4-run fourth inning to record the 9-1 win.

Garland struck out four batters and fired her 13th complete game of the season on the mound.

Hiram will close out the 2015 campaign on Monday with a road doubleheader at Allegheny (Pa.) that is scheduled to begin at 4 p.m.