Eastlake, OH- The No. 2 Denison Big Red kicked off their first ever appearance in the NCAA Division III World Series with a nine inning battle with the Profs of Rowan University. Last season, Rowan was a part of the Granville Regional and fell to the Big Red twice. It was evident that the Profs were hungry to avenge the season-ending loss, however, Denison was able to escape in an exciting 12-10 victory.

Up Next: The Big Red advanced into the winner's bracket and will take on the winner of UW-Whitewater and Trinity(TX) Saturday night at 8:00 PM.

CWS Bracket 2 Game 1 (Denison 12, Rowan 10)

As the crowds from the opening games made their way out of the stands at Classic Park, the Big Red took the field as family, friends, and alumni from all over America packed the seats to cheer on Denison in their first ever College World Series appearance. 

The game as a whole was a high octane performance by both teams with balls being punished over the fence, pitches running wild from the rain, and both defenses making stellar plays.

After a one-two-three top of the first inning, the Big Red were able to plate their first run of the game following a stolen base by Erik Sundgren and an RBI single from Jake Blozy. 

The Profs made quick work of responding in the second inning. Following a strikeout courtesy of Nick Falter and a flyout, Rowan's sophomore third baseman Brayden Davis launched a no-doubt shot out of the park in left center to knot things up at one all. In the bottom of the frame, Cade Nowik electrified the crowd with a triple off of the right field wall and was scored in the next at bat by Max Fishbein.

Rowan grabbed two runs in the top of the third to take the lead at 3-2. After a string of hits from Erik Sundgren, Eric Colaco, and an RBI single from Jake Blozy, sophomore Jack Rollo smacked a three-run homer over the left-center wall to put the Big Red up 6-3 heading into the fourth inning.

The Profs showed no quit and were able to take advantage of the uncharacteristic errors from the Denison defense, bringing the game within one run in the top of the inning. Sundgren added to his season total with an RBI and later scored after Blozy reached on an error by shortstop Marco Mannino.

A quick, six batter fifth inning was an appetizer to the crowd for what was soon to be a intense sixth inning. The Profs were able to load the bags following an error and two walks. Junior shortstop Alex Vasquez made an unbelievable jumping stop at shortstop to keep all runners at bay for the second out of the inning. To close it off and extinguish the Rowan momentum, junior righty Will Rettig delivered a 1-2 pitch that froze the Rowan batter for a looking strike three as the crowd's cheers thundered through the stadium to send the Big Red up to bat. 

Denison was able to tack on three runs to strike on offense for the final time in the bottom of the inning. Sundgren racked up another hit and Colaco picked up a base as well; however, a throwing error by the Profs moved both runners into scoring position. Sundgren would go on to score on a past ball and Colaco was scored by Blozy. Jack Rollo was able to drop a fly ball into left field and put pressure on the Profs by taking second. Cade Nowik drove in the final two runs with a single into left field, moving the score to 12-5 in favor of the Big Red.

The final innings were a story of defense and grit for Denison. As the lakeside raindrops bore down on the field, both pitchers found trouble with the wet conditions. After a handful of walks and base hits, Rowan was able to grab two runs to cut the lead to five.

After a scoreless eighth inning, the Big Red needed three outs to advance, but the Profs were able to muster up one final attempt at a haymaker to take out the Big Red. Denison was able to put away two outs quickly, but responded with an RBI single and a base-clearing triple into right field to make it 12-9. Jack Rollo came in to pitch for Rettig, but the Profs were able to snag one final run. With the tying run at the plate and a 2-1 count, Rollo's pitch was hit into deep right center. Sundgren camped under it to record the final out, sending the Profs into the elimination bracket and moving their win streak to 20.

The Big Red offense collected 19 hits in the victory.  Sundgren, Blozy, Rollo, and Nowik each went 3-5, with Blozy and Rollo each collecting three RBIs. The offense forced Rowan into using four arms.

Senior Nick Falter got the start for the Big Red. Falter lasted 3.2 innings before Will Rettig took over on the mound. Rettig would go on to throw 104 pitches in his 5.0-inning showcase. Jack Rollo recorded the final out for the Big Red, throwing only 0.1 inning. Together, the trio struck out five batters and allowed only five earned runs. Rettig notched the win, moving to 6-1 on the year, and Rollo snagged his third save.