Denison University

Granville, Ohio: In the winner's bracket of the Granville Regional, two teams won in very different ways to move to 1-0 on the weekend. The Red Dragons of SUNY Cortland rolled past Kalamazoo for a smooth 16-1 victory while Denison needed a walkoff win to down Grinnell. 

With a spot in the regional championship on the line, the Big Red stood tall, taking down Cortland in a 4-3 walkoff decision to extend the 2nd-longest win streak in NCAA history to 41 and moving to 42-1 on the season. The win was highlighted by Erik Sundgren's 29th career home run and Jack Rollo's walkoff double.

Regional Game 4: No. 1 Denison 4, No. 24 Cortland 3

Following early weather, the entire Saturday slate of the Granville Regional was pushed back by two hours. Kalamazoo eliminated Grinnell before the Big Red took on the Red Dragons of Cortland. Senior Robbie Lee got the start for the Big Red. The Cortland lineup was able to draw a bases-loaded walk to plate the first run of the game and take a 1-0 lead.

The Big Red bats were quick to respond in their first time at the dish. After two deep flyouts, senior Erik Sundgren blasted his 29th career home run backside to knot the game up at one all. The Big Red were able to extend the lead in the bottom of the second. Nate Lloyd kicked off the inning with an infield base hit before stealing second. Cade Nowik wore a pitch before a knock into right field from Bobby Haarde pushed the lead to 2-1.

After the one spot in the top of the first, Lee was lights out, delivering 4.2 straight shutout innings. After a seven-strikeout, 5.2-inning performance, fellow senior Ryan Paganelis took over on the bump in a jam in the top of the sixth. With two outs and runners at the corners, the Big Red's go-to guy was able to shut down the inning to hold onto the lead. 

Paganelis continued the surgical outing in the top of the seventh, posting another zero with the help of elite defense behind him. In the bottom of the frame, the Big Red cracked the scoreboard for the first run by either team since the second inning. Nowik led the way with a base hit before Haarde placed a perfect bunt down the first base line. With runners on, this allowed Jack Lutte to record a sacrifice fly into left to take a 3-1 lead before heading into the penultimate inning.

The Dragons found a flame in the top of the eighth with a scorching line drive into right field to kickstart the inning. However, Paganelis recorded three straight outs to snuff the flame, with Nowik recording two outs, and Andrew Fazio caught a towering pop-up behind home plate. 

With both teams down to their final three outs, the Division III powerhouse of Cortland fell back on their national-leading tournament experience and plated two runs to knot the game up at three all. The Big Red cycled through three arms in the inning as Devin Parker and Max Mullen closed the inning.

Now tied, the Big Red found themselves in similar waters to yesterday's game. Max Fishbein laced a double off the left center wall to put the winning run at second base. Brady Olsen pinch ran before a sacrifice bunt from Nowik put the winning run 90 feet away. Pinch-hitting was Jack Rollo, who yet again came up big with a powerful double off the right center wall to secure Denison's spot in the Granville Regional and extend the Denison win streak to 41 straight.

The staff of Lee, Paganelis, Parker, and Mullen combined for seven strikeouts and put together a team effort to grind out the win. In the box, the lineup tallied seven hits, with Haarde being the lone batter with multiple hits. The day was highlighted by the first-inning homer from Sundgren and the last-inning doubles from Fishbein and Rollo to win the game. 

Up Next: Denison advances to the Regional Championship on Sunday, May 17th, against the winner of Cortland and Kalamazoo.