Denison University

Eastlake, Ohio: A 45-1 record with 44 consecutive victories was good to earn the Big Red the No. 1 seed in their second consecutive trip to the Division III College World Series. Eight teams make the tournament, with the field being broken into two double elimination brackets to set the stage for the national championship. In bracket one, the Big Red kicked off the CWS with a battle with the East Texas Baptist Tigers. The Tigers earned their way to Eastlake with a 38-11 record. 

Denison's record win streak was snapped after the Tigers took a 5-1 victory. Denison will face elimination tomorrow morning against the Blue Jays of Johns Hopkins University. 

CWS Bracket 1 Game 2: No. 1 Denison 1, No. 8 ETBU 5

Following Baldwin Wallace's opening win over Johns Hopkins, No. 1 Denison took the field against the Tigers of East Texas Baptist University. Senior All-American Will Rettig got his 15th start of the season in the opening round. In the opening frame, the Tigers got two runners on but Rettig was able to strand them both to send Denison into their first at bat of the College World Series.

In the bottom of the frame, the Big Red responded with a nearly identical home half. Eron Vega led off the inning with a line drive up the middle before a walk from Jack Rollo put runners at first and second. East Texas Baptist stranded the runners to keep things scoreless heading into the second inning.

In the top of the second, the Tigers put the pressure on Rettig and the Denison defense. After a flyout, a pair of basehits and a walk loaded the bases with just one out. Max Fishbein made a great relay to the plate to keep a run off the board and record out number two. With the bases still loaded, Connor Massimini, ETBU's All-American outfielder, launched a ball into deep left center only for Erik Sundgren to make a leaping grab to escape the inning unscathed.

The Tigers pounced first in the top of the third, as a deep fly into left field was good for a sacrifice fly to plate the game's first run. Rettig recorded a swinging strike three and got a grounder to Cade Nowik to escape the jam. The Big Red went 1-2-3 in the home half of the inning as East Texas Baptist led 1-0 after the first third of the game.

Rettig was able to get back on track in the top of the fourth with another zero on the board. Big time plays from Kelly Crittenberger at short and Vega at second were able to keep the Tigers off home plate.

Denison and East Texas Baptist traded zeroes in the fifth inning. Rettig tossed his final full frame in the sixth before Ryan Paganelis took over after one batter in the top of the seventh. The senior stopper retired the side with a runner on second base to keep the score knotted at 1-0.

East Texas Baptist continued to roll in the top of the eighth, plating an elusive run with a deep fly into center field to take a 2-0 lead. Paganelis led the charge and escaped the inning stranding runners at second and third. 

The Big Red bats broke the seal in the bottom of the eighth inning. Lutte and Sundgren got on board with walks before a rocket up the middle from Fishbein plated Denison's first run. The Big Red stranded runners at the corners with a 2-1 deficit heading into the final inning of the opening round of the College World Series. 

The top of the ninth would be the highest-scoring frame of the day, as the Tigers plated three unanswered runs. Despite a leadoff walk in the final half and a basehit knock from Tristan Kerr, the Big Red were held scoreless, which ended the 44-game winstreak.

Rettig was credited with his first loss of the season, moving to 11-1 after a 6.0 inning, one run, five strikeout performance. In relief, Paganelis and Parker combined for 3.0 innings. Together, the staff recorded nine strikeouts. In the box, the Big Red recorded just four hits, led by Vega who went 2-4. Fazio paced the offense with two walks.

Up Next: Following the loss, Denison will face elimination against Johns Hopkins on Saturday, May 30. First pitch is scheduled for 10:00 a.m.