Granville, Ohio: After a thrilling 3-0 weekend, the nation's No. 1 team was back at home for a conference double header against the Battling Bishops of Ohio Wesleyan. In game one, first year Andrew Montero shoved 7.0 shutout innings and recorded a Denison single game record of 16 strikeouts to help secure a 15-0 victory. In game two, Max Fishbein got the ball rolling at the plate with a 4-4 performance and a solo homer to secure a 9-0 victory. With the pair of wins, Denison moves to 35-1 on the season, 14-0 in the conference, and records 34 straight victories. Additionally, Denison clinches its sixth straight North Coast Athletic Conference Championship.
Game 1: No. 1 Denison 15, Ohio Wesleyan 0 (7 Innings)
In the second to last NCAC matchup of the regular season, Andrew Montero got his eighth start of the year. The southpaw established his presence early, needing just 12 pitches to strikeout the side in the top of the first frame.
For Denison's first at bat, the lineup got on base seven straight times, five via hit and two via hit by pitch. In the sequence, Erik Sundgren, Jack Rollo, and Cade Nowik recorded RBIs to take an early 4-0 lead.
Strikeouts continued to be the story for Montero, as the first-year fanned the side yet again to record six straight strikeouts. In the bottom of the second inning, the Big Red continued to grow the lead. Eron Vega knocked a triple off the right-center wall before Jack Lutte launched a two run homer into the trees past right field to take a 6-0 lead.
Before a scoreless bottom of the third, Montero fanned two more batters to record eight K's in a row before the Battling Bishops attempted to lay a bunt down. Nowik was smooth at third and a fantastic scoop from Max Fishbein at first secured a perfect three frames for the defense.
In the fourth inning, Montero broke double digit strikeouts and recorded 12 straight outs. The offense continued to grow the lead, as a pair of sacrifice flies from Lutte and Nate Lloyd pushed the score to 8-0.
During the top of the fifth, the Ohio Wesleyan lineup snapped the perfect game bid with a basehit to right field, however, Montero added three more strikeouts to his game total.
After an empty bottom of the fifth, Montero delivered two more strikeouts to tie and break the single game strikeout record in Denison baseball history. Formerly held by Denison greats, Kenny Lippman and Nick Falter at 14, the first-year from Upper Arlington shattered the record in just 6.0 innings.
In support of the hurler, the offense exploded in the bottom of the frame for six runs to grow the lead to 15-0. Lloyd broke the seal first, scoring Sundgren with a double to left field. A string of three straight hit by pitches loaded the bases. Jackson Loomis, Bobby Haarde, and Flynn Shoop recorded RBIs before a grounder from Sundgren plated the final run.
In the final frame, Montero added his final strikeout, bringing his total to 16 on the day. The lefty lasted 7.0 innings and allowed just one hit during the first complete game of the season by a Denison pitcher. Montero moved to 5-0 on the season. The defense was perfect behind him, recording zero errors.
At the plate, Vega went 3-3 with a triple and double. Lutte was 3-4 with the homer. Lloyd, Sundgren, and Haarde also chipped in multiple hits in the 14 hit showing. The Big Red recorded eight hit by pitches in the win. With the victory, Denison clinched at least a share of the NCAC championship for the 2026 season.
Game 2: No. 1 Denison 9, Ohio Wesleyan 0
Following the game one rout, Cooper Marrs got his sixth start of the season. The Battling Bishops were able to load the bases in the top of the first, but Marrs escaped unscathed with a looking strike three. The Big Red took a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the frame, as a groundout from Nate Lloyd was enough to score Eron Vega from third.
Marrs was able to get back in the groove in the second, fanning the side to bring his early total to five. To leadoff the bottom of the inning, Max Fishbein crushed a solo homer over the centerfield wall to take a 2-0 lead.
The two teams traded shutout third innings. In the bottom of the fourth, the Big Red posted five runs on RBIs from Sundgren, Fishbein, Garrett Smith, and Cade Nowik to move the lead to 7-0.
Marrs continued his dominant outing through the sixth inning. Needing three runs to secure another mercy rule victory, Nowik laced a triple off the right field wall before Fishbein grabbed another RBI. With the bases loaded, Lutte scored Brady Olsen with a sacrifice fly; however, a big swinging strikeout stranded runners to keep the game at 9-0.
Following the 7.0 inning start from Marrs, Mahoney Daunic came out of the bullpen in relief. While the Big Red offense was unable to plate a 10th run to end the game early, Daunic recorded six straight putouts to secure Denison's 35th straight victory and clinch the outright NCAC championship.
Defensively, the duo of Marrs and Daunic tossed 9.0 shutout innings and allowed just four hits. Marrs fanned eight and walked two. The defense was perfect, recording zero errors for the second straight game.
Offensively, Fishbein led the way with a 4-4, 3 RBI performance. Vega, Lutte, and Nowik delivered two hits. Sundgren paced the lineup with two walks and two hit by pitches. The lineup tallied 12 hits in the win and was hit by a pitch four times, bringing the two-game total to 12.
Up Next: The Big Red will be back at Big Red Field for the final series of the regular season against the John Carroll Blue Streaks. First pitch is scheduled for 12 p.m. with Senior Day festivities taking place before game one.
