Chillicothe, Ohio- The 34-5, No. 2 Big Red baseball team hunted for their sixth straight North Coast Athletic Conference tournament title on Saturday against the Fighting Scots from Wooster. This is the fourth matchup between the two foes this season and the second of the tournament. The Fighting Scots have the most all-time NCAC tournament victories with 13. On Thursday, Wooster took Denison down to the wire, lasting 12 innings before the Big Red came out in a 6-5 victory. Wooster was able to navigate the losers' bracket and send Wittenberg and Wabash packing home before the rematch with the Big Red. One game is all the Big Red needed, toppling the Fighting Scots in a 10-5 decision to earn their sixth straight NCAC Title. With the win, the Big Red earned the automatic-bid into the NCAA tournament and will wait to see where they end up in the Regional Tournament.
Up Next: The Big Red will return to Granville and await the NCAA Tournament draw. The regional round will take place from May 16-18.
NCAC Championship (Denison 10, Wooster 5)
After a brisk Saturday morning, the sun broke the clouds and brought light to the new turf at VA Memorial Stadium. The Big Red, rolling as the one seed, faced off against the fourth-seeded Fighting Scots from Wooster. Wooster scrapped and clawed its way through the losers bracket, ending Wittenberg and Wabash's seasons, following the extra-inning thriller on Thursday.
Denison was able to plate two runs early following a spinner off the cap of Erik Sundgren's bat in the bottom of the first and a sac fly from Jack Lutte in the second inning. Denison was able to pull away in the bottom of the fourth inning, posting four runs. Alex Vasquez wore a pitch to give the Big Red their first runner of the inning. After a sacrifice bunt from Andrew Fazio, Eron Vega electrified the Denison fans with a triple down the right field line. Jack Lutte scored Vega in the following at bat with a double into right center. A string of base hits from Eric Colaco and Erik Sundgren and a fly ball from Jake Blozy helped Denison pick up two more runs in the inning.
In the top of the fifth inning, Wooster was able to drive in one after the first two batters were retired. However, with runners at first and second, Sam Larson was able to strike out his final batter on a 3-2 fastball. Denison brought their lead back up to six following a sac fly from Andrew Fazio.
In the sixth inning, the Fighting Scots were able to pull their efforts together to land a few punches on the Big Red pitching staff. A brief hit parade was able to score two, cutting the Denison lead to 7-3. In response, Erik Sundgren was able to reach on a fielder's choice and move to third base. With two strikes against him, Cade Nowik took an outside pitch over the right field wall to bring the lead to 9-3, giving Denison momentum to slam the door shut in the following innings.
After Michael Gray was able to record a scoreless seventh inning, the Big Red found their final run of the day courtesy of Eron Vega. Ryan Starr posted another zero on the scoreboard in the eighth, but the Fighting Scots were able to keep the Big Red at bay, sending the game into the final frame.
Not going down without a fight, the Fighting Scots gave one final push to overcome the Denison lead. After a rocket up the middle and a two-run bomb, the Fighting Scots were able to cut the Denison lead to five, but the Big Red defense was too much. Ryan Paganelis was able to draw back to back fly balls to right fielder Jake Blozy. As Blozy camped under the final out, the Big Red fans erupted in celebration.
Sophomore Sam Larson got the start and win for the Big Red, lasting 5.0 innings. Michael Gray, Ryan Starr, Manny Nager, and Ryan Paganelis made appearances out of the bullpen. Together, the Big Red accounted for nine strikeouts.
In the box, the Big Red had numerous big-time performances. The offense was led by Eron Vega who went 4-4 on the day with three RBIs and a triple. Erik Sundgren racked in two RBIs on a 2-5 showcase, moving his season total to 66 RBIs. Jack Lutte went 2-3 with two RBIs. Lastly, Cade Nowik launched the homer that solidified the win for the Big Red.
The win earned the Big Red their sixth consecutive NCAC Tournament victory. In addition to the team accomplishment, multiple Denison players were named to the all-tournament team. Jack Lutte was named MVP, while Jake Blozy, Eron Vega, Will Rettig, and Nick Falter also received recognition. The full team is listed below.
2025 NCAC All-Tournament Team:
MVP: Jack Lutte, Denison
Jake Blozy, Denison
Eron Vega, Denison
Will Rettig, Denison
Nick Falter, Denison
DJ Mendez, Wabash
Rocco Royer, Wittenberg
Thatcher Dietz, Wittenberg
Luke Rizzo, Wooster
Nick Pett, Wooster
Maanav Bhatt, Wooster
Jack Spring, Wooster
