Granville, Ohio: Following a thrilling three-game sweep of the Granville Regional, the nation's No. 1 team hosted the Super Regional round against the Piedmont Lions. The Lions presented to Granville with a 33-13 record after winning their way through the CCS tournament and the Danville Regional.Â
The aces of Will Rettig and Andrew Misirly stole the show early before the duo of Jack Lutte and Cade Nowik were able to break things open for Denison and take game one with a 9-3 victory.Â
Super Regional Game 1: No. 1 Denison 9, RV Piedmont 3
Senior Will Rettig got his 14th start of the season, marking his last start at Big Red Field. The righty was able to retire nine straight Piedmont batters to start the game. However, the Lions also tossed their ace, Andrew Misirly, who traded 1-2-3 frames with Rettig over the first two innings. The Big Red lineup was able to get runners on in the bottom of the third, but ultimately came up scoreless and left two stranded.
In the top of the fourth inning, the CCS champions were able to strike first, plating three runs thanks to a string of four base hits, a sacrifice fly, and a walk. Rettig fired a swinging strike three to close the inning.
Denison wouldn't respond until the bottom of the fifth frame. With two outs on the board, Cade Nowik and Eron Vega knocked back-to-back singles up the middle to put runners on. Jack Lutte broke the seal for the Big Red, delivering a line drive double down the right field line to move the score to 3-2 in favor of the visitors.
The Big Red were able to knot it up at three all in the home half of the sixth inning. Again, finding themselves with two quick outs, the trio of Kelly Crittenberger, Andrew Fazio, and Nate Lloyd loaded the bases for Denison. Nowik continued to come up big, forcing an error from the shortstop to score Crittenberger and tie the game at 3-3.
After 7.0 innings, Rettig retired from the mound. Fellow senior Ryan Paganelis came out of the bullpen for his 25th appearance of the year. The righty retired three Lions in four batters to give Denison a chance to take the lead in the bottom of the eighth.
Jack Rollo drew a four-pitch walk to kickstart the bottom of the frame. Back-to-back outs showed glimpses of another walkoff opportunity in the next inning, but the Big Red lineup had other plans. Lloyd then drew a walk before Nowik drove in yet another run, this time scoring Brady Olsen, who pinch ran for Rollo to take a 4-3 lead. Vega, Lutte, Erik Sundgren, and Max Fishbein rattled off five runs in a row to move the lead to 9-3. Sundgren and Fishbein recorded doubles to stamp the inning.
In the top of the ninth, Paganelis slammed the door shut on game one, recorded three straight flyouts in the pouring rain to secure Denison's 43rd straight win and move the season record to 44-1. The senior duo of Rettig and Paganelis were lights out, with Rettig earning win number 12 on the year, with Paganelis notching his second save of the season.
In the box, Denison tallied 10 hits. Nowik, Fishbein, and Lutte were the lone batters to record multiple hits, while Lutte led the way with three RBIs. Lloyd paced the offense with three walks. Sundgren, Fishbein, and Lutte were responsible for the lone extra-base hits.
Up Next: Denison will be back in action tomorrow, Saturday, May 23, to play Piedmont for a trip to the College World Series. First pitch is tentatively scheduled for 12:00 pm.
