Denison, DePauw Pick Up Day 1 Wins at NCAC Baseball Tournament

CHILLICOTHE, OH – In Game 1 of the 2026 NCAC Baseball Tournament top-seeded Denison captured a 13-11 victory over fourth-seeded John Carroll, while third-seeded DePauw collected a 7-6 upset win over second-seeded Wittenberg in Game 2. The Big Red and Indiana Tigers will face off in Game 3 at 10:00 a.m. on Friday, May 8. Wittenberg and John Carroll will meet up in an elimination game, Game 4, at 1:30 p.m. on Friday. The winner of Game 4 will take on the loser of Game 3 at 5:00 p.m. for the right to play in the tournament title game against the winner of Game 3.
 
No. 1 DENISON 13, No. 4 JOHN CARROLL 11
  • Denison overcame an eight-run fifth inning from John Carroll to deliver a 13-11 victory on Thursday at V.A. Memorial Stadium in Chillicothe, Ohio.
  • John Carroll struck first in the top of the first inning. George Haracz (Evanston, IL/Loyola Academy) drew a walk and Thomas Bates (Olean, NY/Olean) singled to deep right field to put runners on the corners. Chris Bach (Brecksville, OH/Brecksville-Broadview Heights) reached on a throwing error to bring home Haracz for an early 1-0 Blue Streaks lead.
  • Denison answered immediately in the bottom half. Eron Vega (Evanston, IL/Evanston Township) and Jack Lutte (Venetia, PA/Peters Township) opened the inning with back-to-back singles. After a pair of strikeouts, Max Fishbein (Atlanta, GA/Druid Hills) tripled to deep center field to drive in both runners and give the Big Red a 2-1 lead.
  • Denison added a run in the second. Cade Nowik (Lake Forest, IL/Lake Forest) tripled to left center, and Jack Rollo (Chesterfield, MO/Mary Institute and Saint Louis Country Day School) brought him home with an RBI single up the middle to make it 3-1.
  • The Big Red extended their lead in the fourth. Nowik singled and Rollo drew a walk to put two runners on with one out. Lutte launched a three-run home run to deep right field, his 11th of the season, to push the lead to 6-1.
  • John Carroll responded with an eight-run rally in the top of the fifth. Jordan Suvak (Murrysville, PA/Franklin Regional) reached on an infield bunt single and advanced to second on a passed ball, and Jake Monaco (New Providence, NJ/New Providence) followed with a walk. Ethan Glossa (Oak Park, IL/Oak Park River Forest) worked another walk to load the bases, and Haracz was hit by a pitch to score Suvak. Bates singled to right field to drive in Monaco, and following a pitching change, Bach singled to third base to bring home Glossa, with Haracz also scoring on a throwing error. Konner Hauck (Lancaster, NY/Lancaster) singled to short to plate Bates, Dylan Sowers (Olmsted Falls, OH/Olmsted Falls) doubled down the right field line to bring home Bach, and Suvak capped the rally with a two-run single to left field to give the Blue Streaks a 9-6 lead.
  • Denison answered in the bottom of the fifth. Fishbein was hit by a pitch and Bobby Haarde (Sudbury, MA/Lincoln-Sudbury Regional) came in to pinch run. After Kelly Crittenberger (McLean, VA/Potomac School) walked and Nowik singled to load the bases, Rollo lifted a sacrifice fly to left field to score Haarde and cut the deficit to 9-7.
  • The Big Red took the lead back with a six-run seventh inning. Crittenberger singled and Nowik walked to put two runners on. Rollo laid down a sacrifice bunt to advance both runners, and Vega followed with a two-run double to left center to tie the game at 9-9. Erik Sundgren (Pittsburgh, PA/North Allegheny) launched a two-run home run to deep right field, his eighth of the season, to put Denison ahead 11-9. Andrew Fazio (Minneapolis, MN/Southwest Minneapolis) drew a walk, and after a pitching change, Haarde doubled to right center to drive in Fazio. Nate Lloyd (Oakwood, OH/Oakwood) singled to left field to score Haarde, extending the lead to 13-9.
  • John Carroll mounted a comeback bid in the top of the eighth. Monaco singled and advanced to second on a passed ball, and Glossa doubled to deep right field to put runners at second and third. Haracz followed with an RBI single to left to drive in Monaco, and Bates added an RBI single to short to score Glossa, cutting the deficit to 13-11. Pinch hitter Keaton Phillips struck out swinging, and after a pitching change, Bach struck out looking to end the threat.
  • Cooper Marrs (Riverside, IL/Riverside-Brookfield) picked up the win in relief, working three innings and allowing two earned runs on five hits with five strikeouts to improve to 4-0 on the season. Devin Parker (Lewis Center, OH/Olentangy Orange) recorded the final four outs to earn his fourth save.
  • Denison's offense piled up 17 hits, paced by three hits each from Vega, Lutte, and Nowik. Lutte drove in three runs, including his fourth-inning home run. Sundgren added two hits and two RBI, including his seventh-inning two-run home run. Fishbein contributed two RBI on his first-inning triple, and Vega added two RBI on his seventh-inning double. Nowik scored three runs and added a triple. Haarde finished 1-for-1 with a double, an RBI, and two runs scored.
  • John Carroll produced 13 hits without committing an error. Bates led the way with three hits and two RBI, and Bach, Hauck, Suvak, and Glossa each added two hits. Suvak drove in two runs with his fifth-inning two-run single, and Bach drove in two as well. Haracz reached base three times via a single, walk, and hit by pitch, scoring twice and driving in two runs.
No. 3 DEPAUW 7, No. 2 WITTENBERG 6
  • DePauw rallied for three runs in the eighth inning to retake the lead and held on for a 7-6 win over Wittenberg on Thursday afternoon at V.A. Memorial Stadium in Chillicothe, Ohio.
  • DePauw set the tone in the top of the first. Aidan Howard (Portland, OR/Tualatin) opened with a single, and after Grady Johnson (Lexington, KY/Sayre) reached on a fielder's choice and Zach O'Connell (Montgomery, OH/Cincinnati Hills Christian) singled, Louis Florida (Wilmette, IL/New Trier) launched a three-run home run to deep right field, his sixth of the season, to give DePauw a 3-0 lead. Cuinn Morrow (Carmel, IN/Guerin Catholic) and Nolan Osterling (Zionsville, IN/Zionsville) added singles and Bryson Dorsey (Westfield, IN/Guerin Catholic) drew a walk to keep the inning alive, but DePauw could not push another run across.
  • Wittenberg got on the board in the bottom of the second. Quintin Applegate (Delaware, OH/Olentangy Berlin) tripled to deep right field to lead off the inning, and Corbin Marshall (Doylestown, OH/Chippewa) followed with an RBI single to left field to cut the deficit to 3-1.
  • Wittenberg added another run in the third. James MacAuley (Grosse Pointe Woods, MI/Grosse Pointe North) led off with a double down the left field line and advanced to third on a fly out before scoring on Xander Rodriguez's (Salinas, PR/Franklin County) RBI double down the right field line to make it 3-2.
  • Wittenberg starter Andrew Rust (Dublin, OH/Coffman) kept DePauw off the board across the middle innings, working six strong frames before Mikey Eickhoff (Akron, OH/St. Vincent-St. Mary) entered in the seventh.
  • Wittenberg took the lead in the bottom of the seventh. Daniel Gladden (Galena, OH/Olentangy Berlin) singled to right center, and pinch runner JT Bried (San Diego, CA/Maranatha Christian) advanced to third on Charlie Marando's (Dublin, OH/Scioto) single. MacAuley reached on a fielder's choice for an RBI to score Bried and tie the game at 3-3. MacAuley then stole second and came home on Alex Nemunaitis's (Perrysburg, OH/Ottawa Hills) RBI single to right center to put Wittenberg ahead 4-3.
  • DePauw answered with three runs in the top of the eighth. O'Connell drew a walk and Florida singled to put runners on. Morrow followed with an RBI single to left field, with Florida advancing to third on a fielding error to extend the play. After a pitching change brought in Ben Sells (Urbana, OH/Graham), Osterling drew a walk to load the bases. Dorsey lifted a sacrifice fly to right field to score Florida, and Tyler Walkey (Carmel, IN/Carmel) added another sacrifice fly to left to score Morrow, giving DePauw a 6-4 lead.
  • DePauw added insurance in the top of the ninth. Max Bond (Zionsville, IN/Zionsville) walked and Johnson singled to put runners at first and third. Florida drove in his fourth run of the game with a sacrifice fly to right field to push the margin to 7-4.
  • Wittenberg mounted a final rally in the bottom of the ninth. Applegate, Marshall, and pinch hitter Gavin Lones (Bellefontaine, OH/Indian Lake) strung together three consecutive singles to load the bases. After a strikeout, MacAuley reached on a fielder's choice for an RBI to score Applegate, and Marshall scored on a wild pitch to bring Wittenberg within one at 7-6. Nemunaitis flied out to right field to end the game.
  • Justin Benes (Libertyville, IL/Libertyville) earned the win in a complete-game effort for DePauw, working all nine innings and allowing six earned runs on 13 hits without issuing a walk while striking out two. He threw 107 pitches to improve to 6-2 on the season.
  • Florida led DePauw with two hits and four RBI, including his first-inning home run. Johnson finished 2-for-4 with a double, and Morrow added two hits and an RBI. O'Connell scored twice, and Walkey, Howard, and Osterling each contributed a hit. DePauw turned a pair of double plays defensively.
  • Wittenberg's Nemunaitis paced the offense with three hits and an RBI. Applegate added two hits, including a triple, and scored twice. Marshall finished 2-for-4 with an RBI, and MacAuley contributed a double, two RBI, and a stolen base. Daniel Gladden (Galena, OH/Olentangy Berlin) added two hits, and Rodriguez recorded an RBI on his third-inning double. Wittenberg also turned two double plays defensively, and Rust opened on the mound and worked six innings, allowing three earned runs.

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