Granville, Ohio- The No. 2 Denison Big Red baseball team kicked off action in the Granville Regional Friday morning against the HCAC champion, Manchester. The Spartans of Manchester came into Granville as the 4-seed, facing a tall task against the 35-5 Big Red. Following a breakout second inning, the Big Red were able to pull away in an 8-2 victory, placing them into the winner's bracket. The Spartans fall to their final life and will play in an elimination game tomorrow morning against the loser of Penn State-Behrend and Keystone. With the victory, Denison moves to 36-5 while Manchester falls to 29-13 on the season.

Up Next: The Big Red will be back in action Saturday afternoon and will play the winner of Penn State-Behrend and Keystone at 3:30.

As the sun rose in Granville, the weather screamed that it was a beautiful day to play baseball. As the sun beat down on the turf at Big Red Field and the sounds of pregame music and applause echoed off of the new fence that lined the outfield, the Big Red and the Spartans faced off in an exciting opening game to the Granville Regional. 

Both teams donned stellar pitching performances. Senior righty Nick Falter collected his 11th win of the season, moving to a perfect 11-0, while the Manchester hurler, Rocco Hanes, tossed his fourth complete game of the season. The Big Red offense was too much for the Spartans, driving in eight runs over eight innings' worth of at-bats

The scoreless first inning insinuated the possibility of a low-scoring defensive showcase. However, in the bottom of the second inning, Denison was able to tack on five runs courtesy of doubles from Max Fishbein and Eron Vega, coupled with RBIs from Eric Colaco and Jake Blozy.

The Spartans struck back in the fourth inning, collecting their first and only runs of the game before Falter and the defense were able to escape the jam. After a failed bunt attempt, Jack Lutte gunned the ball down to Fishbein at first to double off the Spartans, ending their momentum. The offense responded in the bottom of the frame with two runs of their own after Erik Sundgren laced a ball into left field for a double, scoring Jack Lutte, and a pop fly from Cade Nowik that scored Sundgren.

The final run came off the bat of Max Fishbein. Fishbein launched a ball high out into left center, falling just short of a home run. The collective groan of the crowd was immediately flipped to thunderous cheers as Fishbein turned second, sliding into third for a triple, scoring Jack Rollo in the process.

The final frames went quickly, with both teams' defense making quick work in the field. The Big Red offense was led by Fishbein and Rollo, who both went 3-4 at the plate. Fishbein led the game with three RBIs.

On the mound, Falter lasted 7.0 innings, followed by Ryan Starr and Jack Rollo each picking up 1.0 inning in relief. The trio sat down 10 Spartan batters. The defense was perfect in support, recording zero errors and turning one double play.