Denison Baseball Takes Game One in Super Regional

GRANVILLE, OH – Denison (44-1) collected a 9-3 victory over Piedmont (33-14) in game one of the NCAA Division III Baseball Super Regionals. The Big Red and Lions will compete in game two at 11:00 a.m. on Saturday in the best-of-three series held in Granville, Ohio. If Denison captures the game two victory over Piedmont, the team will advance into the 2026 NCAA Baseball Championship Series for the second time in program history.
 
Game 1: Denison 9, Piedmont 3
  • Denison broke a 3-3 tie with a six-run eighth inning and used a strong outing from starter Will Rettig (Perrysburg, OH/Perrysburg) along with two scoreless innings from Ryan Paganelis (Batavia, IL/Marmion Academy) to defeat Piedmont 9-3.
  • The early innings featured a pitcher's duel, with neither team recording a hit through three frames. Piedmont struck first with three runs in the top of the fourth, taking advantage of four hits and a walk to grab a 3-0 lead.
  • Denison answered in the bottom of the fifth. Cade Nowik (Lake Forest, IL/Lake Forest) and Eron Vega (Evanston, IL/Evanston Township) delivered back-to-back singles to put runners on the corners with two outs, and Jack Lutte (Venetia, PA/Peters Township) followed with a two-run double down the right field line to cut the deficit to 3-2.
  • The Big Red tied the game in the bottom of the sixth. Kelly Crittenberger (McLean, VA/Potomac School) and Andrew Fazio (Minneapolis, MN/Southwest Minneapolis) opened the rally with singles, and Nate Lloyd (Oakwood, OH/Oakwood) worked a walk to load the bases. Nowik then reached on a throwing error to allow Crittenberger to score the tying run at 3-3.
  • After a scoreless seventh, Paganelis took over on the mound for the eighth and worked around a leadoff walk to keep the score even at 3-3. Denison then broke the game open in the bottom of the inning. Jack Rollo (Chesterfield, MO/Mary Institute and Saint Louis Country Day School) drew a leadoff walk, and pinch runner Brady Olsen (Hudson, OH/Gilmour Academy) advanced to second on a Crittenberger sacrifice bunt. After a Fazio groundout, Lloyd worked his third walk of the game to put runners on the corners with two outs. Nowik delivered an RBI single to score Olsen for a 4-3 lead. Vega reached on a fielding error to score Lloyd, Lutte singled to plate Nowik, and Erik Sundgren (Pittsburgh, PA/North Allegheny) doubled to score Vega. After a pitching change, Max Fishbein (Atlanta, GA/Druid Hills) lined a two-run double down the right field line to score Sundgren and Lutte and push the lead to 9-3.
  • Paganelis worked a 1-2-3 ninth inning to seal the win.
  • Rettig turned in a strong start for the Big Red, working seven innings and allowing three earned runs on six hits while walking two and striking out four. He threw 106 pitches, 69 of them for strikes. Paganelis followed with two innings of no-hit relief, walking one without a strikeout, to preserve the win after Denison's eighth-inning rally.
  • Lutte led the offense at 2-for-5 with a double and three RBI, his 16th double of the season. Fishbein finished 2-for-5 with a double and two RBI, his ninth of the year. Nowik went 2-for-4 with an RBI and scored twice, and Sundgren added a double and an RBI, marking his 20th double of the season. Vega scored twice, and Lloyd reached base three times via three walks. Denison's offense drew six walks in total and produced 10 hits in the win.
  • Behind the plate, Fazio threw out a Piedmont baserunner at second base, and the Big Red played an error-free game in the field.

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