Granville, Ohio- The No. 2 Denison Big Red continued their run in the Granville Regional with a battle against the Keystone Giants. The Giants, boasting a 36-9 record coupled with a UEC championship, moved into the winner's bracket following a 13-1 win over PSU-Behrend on Friday. The Big Red shared the number of wins with a 36-5 record and found there way into the winner's bracket following an 8-2 decision over Manchester. In a fantastic fight, the Big Red were able to defend their home field with a 10-4 victory over Keystone. With the victory, Denison moves to 37-5 and earns a spot in the 

Up Next: Denison will play in the Regional Championship tomorrow against the winner of Keystone and PSU-Behrend. Denison will need only one victory to move to the super regional round, while their opponent will need to take down the Big Red twice.

Winner's Bracket (Denison 10, Keystone 4)

As the crowds from the loser's bracket game exited Big Red Field, the hometown Denison Big Red filed into the home dugout while the Giants, reigning from Factoryville, Pennsylvania, took the outfield to get loose. Both teams crafted convincing wins in the opening round of the regional. Being the only two ranked teams in the Granville Regional, the two squads were destined to collide at some point on the weekend.

With a trip to the regional championship on the line, both teams trotted out undefeated arms in order to extinguish the opposing bats. For the Giants, senior Sean Brennan took the mound with a 9-0 record dueled against sophomore Peter Lemke, who carried a perfect 7-0 record.

In the top of the first, Keystone ripped a ball up the middle for a base hit, but runners were retired straight to give Denison their first at bat. Brennan retired the side, striking out two.

Lemke fired back with a three-up, three-down inning, which allowed the offense to explode for four runs. Following a base hit from Cade Nowik, Jake Blozy uncorked on a pitch over his pull-side fence, clearing the wall for a two-run shot. Following a string of pokes, Eron Vega and Jack Lutte each collected an RBI.

Through the third and fourth, pitchers were trading blows and keeping the opposing offense at bay. Denison was able to squeak a run in the bottom of the fourth and in the bottom of the fifth thanks to RBIs from Eron Vega and Erik Sundgren. 

The Giants were yet to quit, and were able to load the bags in Lemke's final inning on the bump. With the bases juiced and a six-run deficit, Carlos Pascual launched a grand slam over the right field fence, injecting energy and momentum into the Keystone dugout and stands. 

After Keystone held the Denison offense to zero runs in the bottom of the sixth, junior righty Will Rettig took over on the mound for Lemke. The Giant's followed suit to the opening inning, recording a base hit in the first at bat of the new arm. However, Rettig fired back with three straight strikeouts, slamming the door shut on any momentum that Keystone was feeding from.

The rest of the matchup was all in favor of the Big Red. In the bottom of the seventh, Jack Lutte, Erik Sundgren, and Max Fishbein each recorded doubles to help in the three-run inning. Sundgren, Blozy, and Fishbein each collected an RBI in the inning. For the final Big Red at bat, Jack Lutte put the cherry on top of the victory, blasting a solo home run to score the final run of the game. 

In the ninth inning, the Giants were able to get a runner on with a base hit but also got their first out via a fielder's choice. Will Rettig electrified the stands with a looking strike three. For the final out of the game, Keystone sent a ball high into the Granville sky in right field before it fell into the glove of Jake Blozy.

Together, the duo of Rettig and Lemke combined for nine strikeouts. Lemke was credited with the win while Rettig picked up the save.

The offense handed Brennan his first loss of the season. The Big Red were led by Erik Sundgren, Jack Lutte, Max Fishbein, and Eric Colaco, each who collected multiple hits in the win. Jake Blozy, Sundgren, and Lutte each had multiple RBIs. Additionally, Colaco picked up a triple on the day while Sundgren stole two bags.