Springfield, Ohio - Division III baseball's unanimous No. 1 team continued NCAC action against the No. 19 Wittenberg Tigers. The highly awaited showdown between conference foes showcased national caliber competition, as the Big Red leads the nation in ERA and boasts the second highest batting average while Wittenberg leads the nation in batting average. In game one, the Big Red prevailed courtesy of a two RBI knock from Kuyper Lashutka in the top of the ninth to take a 8-7 victory. In the second showdown, the Big Red were able to complete the sweep the Tigers with a 13-12, 11-inning battle. With the pair of wins, Denison moves to 32-1overall and 12-0 in the conference. The record-breaking win streak moves to 31 in a row.

Game 1: No. 1 Denison 8, No. 19 Wittenberg 7

Playing in front of an energetic crowd at Carleton Davidson Stadium in Springfield, Ohio, the No.1 Denison Big Red and the No. 19 Wittenberg Tigers kicked off what would become an instant classic.

The Tigers pounced first, tacking two runs in the bottom of the second inning off an RBI single and sacrifice fly to take a 2-0 lead over Denison. The Big Red were able to cut the lead in half in the third after an Andrew Fazio sacrifice fly scored Max Fishbein.

The scoreboard remained stagnant at 2-1 in favor of the Tigers through the fifth inning, as senior Will Rettig traded frames with Wade Thewes of Wittenberg to show hints of a pitcher's duel. However, the nation's two leaders in batting averages broke the game open in the sixth inning. A string of singles from Nate Lloyd, Jack Rollo, and Max Fishbein plated four runs for the Big Red to take a 5-2 lead. The Tigers were quick to defend their home turf, tallying three runs of their own in the bottom of the frame to make it a 5-4 ballgame.

In the bottom of the seventh inning, the Wittenberg squad took a 7-5 lead when a bases-loaded single and error scored three runs. In the top of the eighth, first-year Brady Olsen pinch ran for Rollo after a base hit to left field. In the following at bat, Fazio laced a base hit to center which allowed Olsen to turn on the jets and force a throwing error which brought the Big Red within one run.

In relief for Rettig, first-year Devin Parker was able to rebound after the breakaway Wittenberg inning and fire a scoreless frame to keep the score at 7-6 heading into the final three outs for both teams. 

Down to the final three outs, Jack Lutte and Erik Sundgren gave the Big Red its first two base runners of the ninth with a pair of base hits. Cade Nowik put a ball in play, however, the Tigers' heads up defense was able to record an out at the plate. Lloyd drew a walk to load the bags, but Wittenberg recorded a crucial strike three to leave Denison with one out remaining. With the bases juiced, senior Kuyper Lashutka put a hard ground ball in play to force an error by the shortstop to score the tying and go-ahead runs to take back the lead, 8-7. Parker recorded a 1-2-3 inning to keep the Big Red undefeated in conference play and secure win No. 30 in a row.

Defensively, the duo of Rettig and Parker accounted for five strikeouts over the 9.0 inning duel. Parker was credited with the win. At the plate, Fishbein led the way with a 3-5 performance while Rollo, Lashutka, and Fazio tallied multiple RBIs.

Game 2: No. 1 Denison 13, No. 19 Wittenberg 12 (11 Innings)

With energy still high from the down-to-the-wire battle in game one, the Wittenberg lineup struck first during its first at bat in what would be a back and forth battle. Max Fishbein was able to knot it up at one-all with a double to left field in the bottom of the second inning.

Denison took back the lead in top of the third with a solo homer from Jack Lutte before the Tigers quickly responded with a run of its own to tie it back up at 2-2.

In the fourth inning, Lutte launched his second homer of the day, this time notching three runs to take a 5-2 lead only to be met with a two-run shot from Wittenberg in the bottom of the frame to make it 5-4.

In the top of the fifth and sixth innings, the Big Red were able to collect three total runs off of RBIs from Eron Vega and Jack Rollo and capitalizing on a wild pitch to take an 8-4 lead. After 5.0 innings of work, senior Robbie Lee retired before fellow senior Ryan Paganelis marked the first of six arms to appear out of the bullpen. The Tigers tacked on two in the bottom of the sixth to cut the Denison lead down to 8-6.

A two-run bomb from Kelly Crittenberger gave the Big Red breathing room, only for the Tigers to come right back with two runs of their own to keep the No. 1 Big Red within striking distance.

After a three-up, three-down inning in Denison's final at bat of regular time, the Wittenberg leader Xander Rodriguez blasted a two-run home run to send the game into extra innings knotted at 10-10.

In the top of the tenth inning, a knock from Owen Miller scored Sundgren and himself to take a 12-10 lead after forcing an error. The Tigers would not go down without a fight and were able to tie things back up in the bottom of the tenth at 12 all.

Knotted at 12-12, the Big Red scored the final run courtesy of heads-up base running from Eron Vega, who took home on a wild pitch to move the lead to 13-12. To shut down the game, first-year Soren Cooper recorded the final out to keep the win streak alive and the conference record perfect for Denison.

The offensive attack was highlighted by homers from Lutte(2) and Crittenberger. Vega and Rollo delivered three hits in the win while Lutte led the way with 4 RBIs.

Defensively, the two nationally ranked squads used 16 total pitchers. For Denison, the combo of Robbie Lee, Ryan Paganelis, Max Mullen, Cooper Marrs, Mahoney Daunic, Noah Shapo, and Soren Cooper accounted for six strikeouts. Cooper earned his first career victory in the win.

Through the two games, both teams combined for 13 errors, with eight coming from the Big Red.

Up Next: The nation's No. 1 team will be back at Big Red Field tomorrow, Sunday, April 26, against the RV Ohio Northern Polar Bears. First pitch is scheduled for 3 p.m.