Granville, Ohio: The No. 1 Denison Big Red hosted its first home game of the season against fellow Ohio foe, the Muskies of Muskingum University. The Big Red holds a series record of 9-3 over the Muskies, with the last game coming on March 27 of the 2024 season. In the last matchup, the Big Red came out on top in a 12-2 decision. Today, the Big Red extended its series and season win streak with a 17-7 victory, rattling off 10 in a row over Muskingum and 14 in a row for the season. Jack Steel smashed his first career homer with a grand slam to walk it off in the bottom of the eighth inning, and Cooper Marrs collected his second career victory on the mound.

No 1. Denison 17, Muskingum 7 (8 Innings)

Playing in front of a home crowd for the first time all season, the Big Red took the field in Granville against the Muskingum Muskies for the 2026 home opener.

Cooper Marrs got his second start of the year on the mound, holding the Muskies scoreless in the top of the first. The Big Red wasted no time getting on the board in its first at bat. Eron Vega kicked off the game with a base hit up the middle before Jack Lutte cleared the centerfield fence for a two-run shot to take an early 2-0 lead.

The Muskies found home in the second inning, cutting the Denison lead in half before holding the Big Red scoreless in the bottom of the second. Down 2-1, Muskigum shocked the home crowd with a towering two-run homer of its own in the top of the third to take a 3-2 lead over the nation's No. 1 team.

The Big Red responded in due time, plating two unearned runs in the bottom of the frame to take back the lead. Marrs extinguished the Muskingum momentum and recorded three outs in three batters to get Denison back to the plate.

In the bottom of the fourth, Denison tacked on three runs on four hits, courtesy of RBIs from Vega, Erik Sundgren, and Max Fishbein. The Big Red left the bags loaded with a 7-3 lead.

After another scoreless inning from Marrs, the Big Red found another run to methodically grow the lead as Sundgren put the pressure on the bases, lacing a ball down the right field line and scoring Cade Nowik to take an 8-3 lead.

After 5.0 innings on the mound for Marrs, Ryan Paganelis came out of the bullpen for his eighth appearance of the season. The Muskies chipped away at the Big Red lead with a single run, but the Big Red held onto a 8-4 lead.

In the bottom of the sixth, Nowik and Bobby Haarde picked up a pair of RBIs to extend the Denison lead to six with three innings remaining.

Andrew Montero grabbed an inning out of the bullpen in relief for Paganelis. The first-year struck out two and held Muskingum scoreless. Kelly Crittenberger picked up his first RBI of the day in the bottom of the frame to push the lead to seven.

In the top of the eighth inning, the Muskingum squad posted three runs to bring the game within striking distance heading into the bottom of the frame. However, the Big Red lineup had other plans. With two outs and bases loaded, Jack Rollo and Crittenberger drew walks to put the Big Red up 13-7. Following a break for a pitching change, senior Jack Steel launched his first career home run in walkoff fashion, sealing the mercy rule victory with a grand slam off the scoreboard.

Marrs was credited with his second victory of the season after the 5.0 innings start. Out of the bullpen, Paganelis, Montero, and Mahoney Daunic combined for the final 3.0 innings. The staff combined for six strikeouts. The defense did not record an error in the eight-inning victory.

Offensively, the Big Red lineup ignited, tallying 19 hits and notching 17 runs. Seven batters collected multiple hits, with Nowik going a perfect 3-3 at the plate. Steel led the way with four RBIs. Lutte, Sundgren, and Crittenberger all added two RBIs.

Up Next: The Big Red will travel to Gambier, Ohio, on Saturday, March 28, to kick off conference play against the Owls of Kenyon. Game 1 is scheduled for 12 p.m., with game two of the doubleheader to follow.