Granville, OH- The No. 2 Denison Big Red earned their way to a championship game performance on Sunday following back-to-back wins in the early rounds of the Granville Regional. After taking down Keystone in the winner's bracket, the Giants willed their way back into action, taking out PSU-Behrend in last night's elimination game. After an early run from Keystone in the first frame, the rest of the game was all Denison, claiming a 13-2 victory to move to the Super Regional round next weekend.

Up Next: Denison will play Belhaven from Jackson, Mississippi in a three-game series in the Super Regional. Both teams await the announcement of the location.

Regional Championship (Denison 13, Keystone 2)

On championship Sunday, the Big Red took the field on their home turf in pursuit of their second straight regional championship and second straight berth to the Super Regional Round. 

The Keystone Giants struck first, earning a run off an oddity on the base path; however, the play ended in an out at second base. In the bottom of the inning, the Giants were able to retire the side with two strikeouts and an infield pop-up to post a zero on the scoreboard.

Max Fishbein was able to score Cade Nowik for the first run of the Denison offensive onslaught. After a scoreless third inning, the Big Red offense exploded for seven runs. Alex Vasquez and Eron Vega paced the offense with back-to-back walks, each of which forced a run home. With the bases juiced, Jack Lutte sent a ball into the sky for a sacrifice fly. Eric Colaco cleared the bags with a powerful double to score two more. Lastly, junior Erik Sundgren rewrote the Denison record book, launching a homer to his pull side, scoring two, and breaking the single home run record set by Brian McAuliffe in 2021. This marks Sundgren's 14th shot of the season.

The score remained in favor of the Big Red. The Giants were able to score their final run in the top of the sixth inning after drawing a walk with the bases loaded however they would not be able to cross home plate again.

In the bottom of the sixth, the Big Red continued to lay it on thick, taking advantage of errors and scoring three runs. Jake Blozy was able to pick up an RBI. The final runs of the game came in the bottom of the seventh, where Jack Lutte cleared the bags with a line drive single into right field, scoring two and extending the lead to 13-2.

The Giants stranded two runners in the top of the eighth, giving a glimpse of hope before the Big Red were able to put the game to rest. Down to their final three outs, out trotted lefty Michael Gray to close the game for Denison. Cade Nowik flashed his leather at third base, snagging a line drive to record the first out of the ninth inning. Gray took the final two batters on his own. Getting ahead 0-2, Gray had Keystone down to their final out, and what would end up being the final strike of the season. Gray delivered a breaking ball on the outside half of the dish and as the Keystone batter swung and missed, threw his fists in the air in celebration before being swarmed by his teammates at the mound.

Sophomore Sam Larson earned the win for the Big Red, lasting 5.2 innings letting up the lone two runs and striking out nine. Ryan Starr, Jack Rollo, and Michael Gray made appearances in relief. Together, the group collected 13 strikeouts in the win.

Andrew Fazio and Jack Lutte picked up multiple hits for the Big Red. The three headed monster of Lutte, Sundgren, and Colaco each had multiple RBIs to lead the offense at the top of the order. Colaco, Blozy, and Vega knocked in doubles, but the offense was highlighted by Sundgren's record breaking home run.

The victory marks Denison's second straight regional championship and third Super Regional appearance in program history. The Big Red will take on Belhaven Blazers from the Collegiate Conference of the South next weekend. The Blazers won the Webster Regional in straight games and carry a 34-13 record.