Chillicothe, Ohio- The No. 2 Denison Big Red baseball team continued its conference tournament run on Friday following their thrilling extra-inning victory over Wooster in the first round. Now in the winner's bracket, Denison took on the Tigers from Wittenberg who are the three seed in the tournament. In the opening round, Wittenberg downed Wabash in a dominant 14-2 victory. This will mark Denison's first "true" matchup with the Tigers on the season. Just last weekend, the two NCAC powerhouses were set to face off in a Sunday doubleheader, only for the Midwestern storms to cut game one short and completely cancel game two. At VA Memorial Stadium, Denison advances to the championship game with an 6-2 victory. Wittenberg will play the winner of Wabash and Wooster tonight for one final chance at a championship berth. 

Winner's Bracket (Denison 6, Wittenberg 2)

After Thursday's thrilling victory over Wooster, Denison squared off against Wittenberg for a spot in the conference championship. Wittenberg took down Wabash late Thursday night after inclement weather delayed the matchup. 

After the gritty performance yesterday, the Big Red were able to get the bats going early at VA Memorial. In the bottom of the first inning, Jake Blozy was able to knock in Jack Lutte with a hard hit infield single. Following a scoreless second inning, Denison jumped to a 5-0 lead following a four run inning. Cade Nowik and Jake Blozy got on base with singles and Max Fishbein loaded the bags after being hit by a pitch. Down in a 1-2 count, Alex Vasquez drove a base clearing triple down the right field line, erupting the Denison dugout. Andrew Fazio kept the momentum high, scoring Vasquez in the following at bat. 

After a speedy fourth inning, the Tigers struck back, loading the bases in the first three batters of the inning. A sacrifice fly cut the Denison lead to 5-1. However, the Big Red scored their final run of the day later that inning following a double into right center from Eron Vega. Wittenberg was able to score another run in the top of the eighth inning, but Cade Nowik was able to pick up the final out after making a diving stop at third base.

On the mound, senior Nick Falter recorded his 10th win of the season following a 6.0 inning performance. Sophomore Jack Rollo took the mound in the seventh inning. Rollo lasted 3.0 innings. The duo allowed two runs and combined for five strikeouts. 

In the box, the offense was led by Vasquez with three RBIs and a triple. Erik Sundgren thundered a ball off the temporary fence of VA Memorial in the sixth inning and Eron Vega drove in the final run to account for Denison's two doubles on the day. Lutte paced the offense, drawing two walks.