Lauren Swinehart drove in a run with this bunt in the fifth inning of Wooster's 7-6 setback to Denison.

WOOSTER, Ohio – Jenn Horton struck out 10 batters, including seven in a row at one point, to lead The College of Wooster softball team to a 3-0 game-two victory Tuesday, as the Fighting Scots earned a split in their North Coast Athletic Conference doubleheader with Denison University. The Big Red edged out the Scots 7-6 in the opener.

Horton (8-6, 1.86 ERA) got into a groove right away, as she ended the first inning with a pair of strikeouts, and then fanned the next five batters she faced before forcing a groundout to end the third. Meanwhile, Lauren Swinehart belted her second home run of the season to kick off the second inning, which gave the Scots the lead for good.

Wooster (18-10, 5-5 NCAC) added two more runs in the sixth inning, though, as Horton plated Paige Goldberg, who had singled and stole second, with an RBI single, and later, pinch runner Taylor Thorp took advantage of an error to score an unearned run.

Fittingly, Horton pitched a near-perfect seventh, and struck out the final batter she faced, to notch her third double-digit strikeout game. She reached 11 twice during her freshman year.

The opening game featured some offensive fireworks, as Denison (17-13, 4-4 NCAC) blasted a three-run bomb in the first inning to take a 3-0 lead. Not to be outdone, Gina Pirolozzi mashed her own three-run shot to left field in the fourth that knotted the game at 3-3.

The Big Red hit yet another three-run homer in the fifth inning to retake the lead (6-3), but Wooster responded once again in the bottom of the frame. This time, Swinehart put down a well-placed bunt that allowed Demi Hart to score on a suicide squeeze, and later in the inning, Danielle Grooms drove in two runs with a deep single to center, which once again tied the contest (6-6).

Finally, Denison snuck in an unearned run after a Wooster miscue in the sixth inning, which wound up being the deciding tally in what was a closely-contested, back-and-forth battle.

Swinehart paced the team with three hits and two RBI on the day, while Pirolozzi (3 RBI) and Grooms (2 RBI) added key hits in the second game. Also noteworthy, Wooster's eight hits in the nightcap came off the bats of eight different players.

The Scots will take a break from conference play when they host a doubleheader with Otterbein University Thursday at 3:30 p.m.