CHILLICOTHE, OH -- The Denison Big Red (35-5) captured the 2025 North Coast Athletic Conference baseball tournament title with a 10-5 win over the Wooster Fighting Scots (24-17-1) in Game 6 on Saturday, May 10, at VA Memorial Stadium in Chillicothe, Ohio. The NCAC tournament title is the sixth-straight crown for Denison.
As conference champions, the Big Red have earned the league's automatic bid into the 2025 NCAA Division III Baseball Tournament. The NCAA Division III selection show will air live on ncaa.com Monday, May 12, at 12:00 p.m.
The 2025 NCAA tournament will begin with the Regional round taking place May 16-18 and will be followed by the 16-team Super Regional around the following weekend, May 23-24. Eight teams will emerge from the Super Regional round to advance to the NCAA Division III Baseball Championship. The Championship, hosted by the North Coast Athletic Conference and the Greater Cleveland Sports Commission, will be held May 30-June 5th at Classic Auto Group Park in East Lake, Ohio.
GAME 6 - #1 Denison 10, #4 Wooster 5
- A steady offensive attack helped No. 1 Denison pull away from No. 4 Wooster, earning a 10-5 victory in Saturday’s NCAC Tournament matchup.
- Denison opened the scoring early, plating a run in each of the first two innings. Sophomore Jack Lutte (Venetia, PA/Peters Township) doubled to start the first and later came around to score on a single by junior Erik Sundgren (Pittsburgh, PA/North Allegheny). In the second, junior Alex Vasquez (Evanston, IL/Evanston Township) crossed home on a sacrifice fly from Lutte to make it 2-0.
- The Big Red broke the game open in the fourth, erupting for four runs highlighted by an RBI triple from first-year Eron Vega (Evanston, IL/Evanston Township) and another RBI double from Lutte.
- Wooster got on the board in the fifth with an RBI single from sophomore Zack Barienbrock (New Albany, OH/New Albany). Denison extended its lead to 7-1 in the fifth off a sacrifice fly from sophomore Andrew Fazio (Minneapolis, MN/Southwest Minneapolis) to score Vasquez.
- The Fighting Scots narrowed the gap in the sixth with a pair of runs, one scoring on a fielder’s choice and the other on a groundout to cut the deficit to 7-3. The Big Red added two more in the bottom half of the frame when junior Cade Nowik (Lake Forest, IL/Lake Forest) launched a two-run home run to right for the 9-3 lead.
- Denison tacked on another run in the seventh as Vega drove in a run with a single up the middle, pushing the lead to 10-3. The Scots threatened late, with junior Ryan Kramer (Chicago, IL/Latin School of Chicago) launching a two-run homer in the top of the ninth, but the comeback fell short.
- Vega led Denison at the plate, going 4-for-4, while Lutte added two doubles, two RBI, and a sacrifice fly. Kramer paced Wooster with three hits and two RBI, including two doubles and a homer.
- On the mound, sophomore Sam Larson (Lake Forest, IL/Lake Forest) picked up the win for Denison, striking out five over five innings of one-run work. Wooster junior Devin Anthony (Chardon, OH/Hawken School) was tagged with the loss after allowing four runs across 3.1 innings.
- Denison's Lutte was named the 2025 NCAC Tournament Most Valuable Player. He was joined on the honor list by four teammates:
2025 NCAC All-Tournament Team
MVP: Jack Lutte, Denison
DJ Mendez, Wabash
Rocco Royer, Wittenberg
Thatcher Dietz, Wittenberg
Luke Rizzo, Wooster
Nick Pett, Wooster
Maanav Bhatt, Wooster
Jack Spring, Wooster
Jake Blozy, Denison
Eron Vega, Denison
Will Rettig, Denison
Nick Falter, Denison