GRANVILLE, Ohio (May 19, 2024) – A historic season for the No. 2 nationally-ranked Denison University baseball team continued on Sunday as the Big Red captured the 2024 NCAA Granville Regional Championship following a dominant 13-0 victory over No. 23-ranked Rowan University on the Big Red Baseball Field. With its 42nd win of the season, Denison will now head to the NCAA Super Regionals for the first time in program history.

Simply put, this one was a clinic in all aspects of the game by the Big Red, who showed their superiority in hitting, pitching and fielding over their opponent all regional long.

Just as they have done so often this season, especially this postseason, Denison scored in the opening inning as walks by Eric Colaco and Noah Leib and a hit by pitch by Jake Welsch loaded the bases with one out, and then a squib hit off the bat of Erik Sundgren forced a tough play by the Rowan pitcher, Matt Choi (3-3), to try and get Colaco out at home, but Colaco's speed made it too difficult of a play for the Profs to get the out as he made it 1-0.

Self-imposed mistakes continued to haunt Rowan as RBI's on a hit by pitch by Cade Nowik and a walk by Owen Wilson on a pitch clock violation made it 3-0, but a 6-4-3 double play to end the opening inning kept Denison from adding to its lead for the time being. Choi finished with just 13 strikes on 32 pitches and issued three walks and two hit by pitches in a first inning in which Denison scored its three runs without getting a single hit.

After a one-out single for Rowan in the top of the third inning, a great defensive play by Wilson at shortstop saw him somehow step on the bag just as he was grabbing the ball and then fire the ball over to Leib at first base for the inning-ending double play.

Wilson then ended the top of the fourth inning with another standout play as he fielded a backhand deep in the hole at short and threw across his body on one hop to Leib to stand a leadoff single for Rowan.

In the bottom of the fourth, the fourth hit by pitch of the game by Choi put the ever-dangerous Colaco on base with two outs, and the mistakes again came back to bite Choi as Colaco stole second base and then scored on an RBI-double to right center field by Leib.

That kept the inning going for Welsch, who delivered with an RBI-single up the middle to score Leib and make it 5-0 Big Red after four innings.

Denison's freshman pitcher, Peter Lemke (9-0), allowed a single in each of the first five innings, but got out of the fifth with a 6-4-3 double play started by Wilson.

It was then Wilson who came up with a one-out triple to right center field in the bottom of the fifth before scoring on a standup RBI-double, also to right center, by Colin Ravin.

A two-out RBI-double down the right field line by Jack Lutte scored Ravin and was the third extra-base hit of the fifth inning for the Big Red against the new Rowan pitcher, Sean Colbert.

That made it 7-0 Big Red, and then an error at third base on the potential final out of the sixth inning led to three unearned runs for Denison.

That gave Lemke a 10-0 lead to work with, and after giving up a single in each of the first six innings, Lemke's first walk came on a pinch clock violation with one out in the seventh. Fortunately, Alex Vasquez was able to start a 4-6-3 double play to end the inning, the third double play of the game turned by the Big Red defense.

Denison scored three more runs in the bottom of the seventh as Colaco and Leib hit back-to-back doubles before RBI's on a walk by Wilson and a hit by pitch by Ravin. It was one of three hit by pitches drawn by the Big Red in the inning, and was the seventh of the game by Rowan pitching.

George Viebrock came in to pitch to start the eighth inning as Lemke exited with seven innings pitched allowing six hits, no runs, one walk and three strikeouts.

Rowan did not get two baserunners on in the same inning until the ninth inning, but a swinging strikeout thrown by Viebrock followed by a groundout to Wilson at short sent the Big Red to their first-ever regional championship.

Leading the Big Red offensively was Leib, who went 4-for-5 with four runs scored and two RBI-doubles.

Lutte, Welsch and Ravin each finished with two hits while Ravin also drove in three RBI's.

Lastly, Wilson finished with two runs scored and two RBI-walks while Welsch and Nowik were both hit by a pitch twice.

In addition to winning the first Regional Championship in program history, Denison improved to 42-6 on the season, extending its program record for wins in a single season, and will now advance to the NCAA Division III Super Regionals set to take place on Friday, May 24, and Saturday, May 25. Both the opponent and location for Denison's Super Regional are still to be announced.