CHILLICOTHE, OH — Top-seeded Denison has advanced to the championship game of the 2025 North Coast Athletic Conference Baseball Tournament for the sixth consecutive year after a 6-2 win over No. 3 Wittenberg on Friday morning. The Big Red will face No. 4 Wooster at 11:00 a.m. on Saturday, May 11, in a rematch of their earlier tournament contest. Wooster advanced through the elimination bracket with back-to-back wins to reach the final.
GAME 3 — #1 Denison 6, #3 Wittenberg 2
- Denison jumped ahead early and never trailed in Friday’s opener. After an RBI single from senior Jake Blozy (Brooklyn, NY/Midwood) put the Big Red on the board in the first inning, Denison broke the game open in the third. Back-to-back singles and a hit-by-pitch loaded the bases, and junior shortstop junio Alex Vasquez (Evanston, IL/Evanston Township) cleared them with a three-run triple to the right-field corner. Sophomore Andrew Fazio (Minneapolis, MN/Sourthwest Minneapolis) followed with an RBI single to make it 5-0.
- Wittenberg responded in the fifth with a sacrifice fly from junior Alex Nemunaiti (Evanston, IL/Evanston Township), and added one more in the eighth on a sac fly by sophomore Thatcher Dietz (Westerville, OH/Westerville South), but the Tigers were otherwise limited by Denison’s pitching staff. Senior Nick Falter (Powell, OHOlentangy Liberty) remained unbeaten at 10-0, tossing six innings of three-hit, one-run ball with four strikeouts.
- Vasquez finished with three RBI, a walk, and two runs scored. First-year Eron Vega (Evanston, IL/Evanston Township) went 2-for-3 with an RBI double, and Denison turned two double plays in the win.
GAME 4 — #4 Wooster 10, #2 Wabash 2
- Wooster's offense exploded in the second inning and never looked back in a must-win game against Wabash. The Scots plated four in the frame, with first-year Luke Rizzo (New York, NY/Poly Prep Country Day School) scoring on a wild pitch, senior Alex Gerdenich (Ann Arbor, MI/Skyline) driving in two with a single, and sophomore Tamlin Ferguson (Center Valley, PA/Allentown Central Catholic) adding an RBI groundout.
- Rizzo continued his stellar day with a two-run homer in the seventh and a two-run double in the ninth, finishing 3-for-5 with four RBI and three runs. Gerdenich added two RBI and a stolen base, while junior Ryan Kramer (Chicago, IL/Latin School of Chicago), senior Leo Widtmann (Wheaton, IL/Wheaton North), and sophomore Zack Barienbrock (New Albany, OHNew Albany) all contributed multiple hits.
- On the mound, junior Jack Spring (Pflugerville, TX/Brentwood Christian) was in command from start to finish, tossing a complete game on just 89 pitches. He allowed just five hits and two runs, both on a fifth-inning homer by first-year DJ Mendez (Indianapolis, IN/Scecia).
- Wooster turned three double plays and committed no errors while holding Wabash to five hits. The win eliminated the second-seeded Little Giants from the tournament.
GAME 5 — #4 Wooster 3, #3 Wittenberg 2
- Facing elimination once again, Wooster used late-game magic to rally past Wittenberg and earn a spot in the tournament final. Trailing 2-1 entering the eighth, the Scots tied the game with a bases-loaded walk from senior Ben Carroll (Wadsworth, OH/Wadsworth), then took the lead for good on a pinch-hit solo home run from sophomore Andrew Kerr (Springboro, OH/Springboro) in the top of the ninth.
- Wittenberg had taken a 2-0 lead with sacrifice flies in the third and fourth innings. Junior Jack MacAuley (Grosse Pointe Woods, MI/Crosse Pointe North) went 3-for-4 with a pair of doubles, while sophomores Xavier Rodriguez (Salinas, PR/Franklin County) and Dietz each reached base and scored.
- Wooster’s bullpen stepped up, with first-year James MacMillan (Chicago, ILDePaul College Preparatory) and sophomore Constantine Vernadakis (Canal Winchester, OH/Pickerington Central) combining for three scoreless innings. Vernadakis earned the win after retiring the final six batters of the game.
- Gerdenich collected two hits and a stolen base, while Kramer went 2-for-4 and Carroll added a walk, hit, and RBI in a clutch performance off the bench.