Granville, Ohio: Following a thrilling doubleheader sweep over the nationally ranked Wittenberg Tigers, the No. 1 Denison Big Red closed out-of-conference play with a Sunday showdown with the Polar Bears of Ohio Northern. In the last two matchups between the Ohio foes, the Big Red escaped with victory courtesy of late-game heroics and walkoff hits. This season, the result was no different, as Jack Lutte tacked on the winning run in the bottom of the ninth to take a 5-4 victory. With the win, Denison moves to 33-1 on the year while Ohio Northern drops to 24-12.
No. 1 Denison 5, RV Ohio Northern 4
After 20 innings of baseball on Saturday, the Big Red lineup utilized a multitude of substitutions in Sunday's out-of-conference finale against the RV Ohio Northern Polar Bears. On the mound, Evan Cerretani got his first start alongside Jackson Loomis at shortstop, Garrett Smith in left field, and Owen Miller behind the dish.
The first runs of the game came in the bottom of the second inning. Tristan Kerr was the first base runner of the inning after wearing a pitch off the arm before taking second on a past ball. Loomis broke the seal with a base hit to left field to score Kerr. In the next at bat, Carson Herman pushed Loomis across home with a knock up the middle to take a 2-0 lead.
After four shutout frames from Cerretani, Loomis came up big again in the next trip around the order, picking up his second RBI after scoring Smith with a base hit into left field. The Polar Bears responded in the top of the fifth to cut the lead down to 3-2 after a two out rally was punctuated by a towering double down the left field line.
After 5.0 innings, senior Connor Remley relieved Cerretani on the mound. In the top of the sixth, the Polar Bears were able to knot the score at 3-3 with a full count base hit into center field. Fellow senior Ryan Paganelis relieved Remley and delivered a looking strike three to slam the door shut on the momentum.
While the Big Red offense remained stagnant in the sixth and seventh, Noah Shapo and Max Mullen kept the Polar Bears at bay. In the bottom of the eighth inning with runners at the corners, Kuyper Lashutka, who scored the winning runs in game one against Wittenberg, came up big again with an RBI knock to score Nate Lloyd to take a 4-3 lead.
In the final frame, Jack Loughren took over on the mound for Mullen with bases loaded. Ohio Northern drew a full count hit by pitch to tie the game at four all, however, Loughren responded with a looking strike three and a fly out to close the inning and give the Big Red one final chance to escape with a win.
Brady Olsen (pinch ran for Loomis), Cade Nowik, and Eron Vega loaded the bases in the final frame with only one out. Needing just one run to seal Denison's 32nd consecutive victory, Lutte poked a fly ball into center field for out number two, however, the sacrifice scored Olsen for the Big Red to take the game in a 5-4 decision.
In the win, Erik Sundgren and Loomis both collected multiple hits while Loomis led the team with a pair of RBIs. Defensively, the staff of Cerretani, Remley, Paganelis, Shapo, Mullen, and Loughren accounted for eight strikeouts and allowed only one earned run. Loughren was credited with his first career win in only his second career appearance for the Big Red.
Up Next: The Denison Big Red hosts a doubleheader against Ohio Wesleyan on Tuesday, April 28. First pitch is scheduled for 12 p.m., followed by game two at 3 p.m.
