GRANVILLE, Ohio - An eighth-inning rally lifted host Denison to a 7-2 victory over the Gators in the opening game of the 2017 North Coast Athletic Conference Crossover Series.

The day's second game was suspended due to rain in the fifth inning, with Allegheny (22-16) leading Denison (28-9) 3-0.

Game one was a pitcher's duel throughout the first seven and a half innings, before the hosts scored five runs in the bottom of the eighth to break open a 2-2 tie.

Allegheny starter Corey Keenan was sharp throughout, but was saddled with the hard-luck loss.  After surrendering two runs in the bottom of the second, the veteran threw zeroes for the next five frames. After allowing a leadoff double in the bottom of the eighth, Keenan was relieved, and the Gator bullpen was unable to keep the game deadlocked.

In seven-plus innings of work, Keenan allowed three runs on seven hits, striking out four and walking two. Sixty-three of his 101 pitches went for strikes, while he authored four 1-2-3 innings.

Keenan's counterpart, Denison hurler Perley Provost, was just as sharp, as he kept the Gators off the board for the first seven innings, allowing just two hits - leadoff singles from Cullen Flaherty in the first and Brandon Pouch in the second - over the span. 

Allegheny finally got to Provost with two outs in the top of the eighth inning. After Pouch drew a walk to leadoff the inning, Provost quickly retired a pair of Gator pinch hitters. The team's third pinch hitter of the inning, Noah Shannon, singled to left field to move Pouch to second, before Dan Bonnett came off the bench to produce a single to right field, loading the bases and chasing Provost. Shea Beaumont welcomed reliever Andrew Bruss with a single to center to plate Shannon and Pouch and tie the game at 2-all. 

The tie was short-lived, however, as the Big Red responded by sending 10 men to the plate in the bottom of the eighth, scoring five runs on six hits off of a pair of Gator relievers to take a commanding 7-2 lead.  Pouch singled with two outs in the top of the ninth, but the Gators were unable to come back from the late Big Red rally.

Denison out-hit the Gators 12-7, led by 3-for-4 performances from Phil Papaioannou and Evan Flax. Provost took a no-decision on the mound, allowing two runs on four hits with four strikeouts in 7.2 innings of work, while Bruss was credited with the win after recording the final out in the eighth. 

The Gators' seven hits were tallied by seven different players, while Pouch was the lone Allegheny player to reach base twice, with his eighth inning walk and second inning single. 

In game two, the Gators took a 3-0 lead in the top of the second, taking advantage of two hits, two errors, a wild pitch, and a passed ball.  Jacob Shick singled and Austin Bristol doubled in the frame, while Bonnett had an RBI groundout.

Allegheny starter Chase Boyer was sharp on the mound, allowing just one hit with three strikeouts through the first four innings, before the third heavy rain shower of the day moved through Granville, Ohio to force the game's suspension.

The two teams will resume the suspended game on Sunday at 11 a.m., before the Gators will close out the 2017 regular season with the third game of the series immediately after.