Granville, OH- The No. 4 Denison Big Red baseball team hosted the Tigers from Wittenberg University for their final in-conference action before the North Coast Athletic Conference Tournament at VA Memorial Stadium in Chillicothe next weekend. Prior to game one, the Denison baseball class of 2025 was honored for their hard work and dedication to the program over their careers in Granville.

In game one, Denison held onto a 7-0 lead heading into the bottom of the eighth inning before a severe thunderstorm rolled into Granville. Following an hour-long delay, the two head coaches met at home plate and agreed to call the end of game one and cancel game two. With the win, Denison secures the top seed in the NCAC with a 14-1 record in conference play. Wittenberg awaits the final games to finish to determine their seeding in the tournament. 

Up Next: The Big Red will await weather to see if any games are rescheduled in the final days before the conference tournament. The tournament will be hosted from Thursday to Saturday at VA Memorial Stadium in Chillicothe, Ohio.

Game 1 (Denison 7, Wittenberg 0) 8 Innings

The Big Red continued their win streak and secured the regular season conference championship in an irregular Sunday game against the Tigers from Wittenberg. The Denison baseball class of 2025 was honored while the sun shined over Big Red Field. Senior Nick Falter picked up his ninth win of the season, lasting 7.0 innings and striking out 10 Wittenberg batters. In the final inning (8th), senior Ryan Starr closed the game facing three batters and retiring all, keeping the shutout intact. Together, the senior duo allowed just two hits, forcing Wittenberg batters into a 2-26 performance at the plate. 

Behind the arms, the defense was bulletproof, recording zero errors. The three-headed monster of Eric Colaco, Erik Sundgren, and Jake Blozy in the outfield made multiple plays covering ground to keep runners off the bags. Blozy had an electrifying diving catch against the wall in right field. In the infield, Cade Nowik and Alex Vasquez were able to flash the leather and send rockets to Max Fishbein to keep the infield locked down for the pitchers. 

In the box, the Big Red were able to get up early with an RBI off the bat of Cade Nowik. Jack Steel, Jack Lutte, Eric Colaco, and Nowik all tacked on more runs in the second inning to bring the Big Red to a 5-0 lead. Later in the fifth inning, Steel and Vasquez added the final two runs.

As the top of the eighth inning came to a close, the storms rolled into Granville, stopping play with just a few outs left to go in game one. As the rain continued to pour on, the two coaches agreed to finalize game one and axe game two. Denison moved their all-time series lead to 46-12 over the Tigers.

Game 2 CANCELED