CHILLICOTHE, OH -- The Denison Big Red captured the 2026 North Coast Athletic Conference baseball tournament title with a 14-8 win over the Wittenberg Tigers in Game 6 on Saturday, May 9, at VA Memorial Stadium in Chillicothe, Ohio. The NCAC tournament title is the seventh-straight crown for Denison.
As conference champions, the Big Red have earned the league's automatic bid into the 2026 NCAA Division III Baseball Tournament. The NCAA Division III selection show will air live on ncaa.com Monday, May 11, at 12:00 p.m.
The 2026 NCAA tournament will begin with the Regional round taking place May 14-17, followed by the 16-team Super Regional round the following weekend, May 21-24. Eight teams will emerge from the Super Regional round to line up at Classic Auto Group Park for the 2026 NCAA Division III Baseball Championship, May 29 - June 4.
GAME 6 - No. 1 DENISON 14, No. 2 WITTENBERG 8
- Kelly Crittenberger (McLean, VA/Potomac School) drove in five runs including a three-run home run, and Max Mullen (Hilliard, OH/Hilliard Darby) tossed four scoreless innings of relief as Denison overcame an early deficit to defeat Wittenberg 14-8 on Saturday at V.A. Memorial Stadium.
- Wittenberg jumped on top early with a three-run first, sparked by an RBI single from Quintin Applegate (Delaware, OH/Olentangy Berlin) and a two-run single from Corbin Marshall (Doylestown, OH/Chippewa). Xander Rodriguez's (Salinas, PR/Franklin County) RBI single in the second pushed the lead to 4-1.
- The Big Red erased the deficit in the bottom of the second. Nate Lloyd's (Oakwood, OH/Oakwood) two-run home run to left brought Denison within one, Erik Sundgren (Pittsburgh, PA/North Allegheny) tied it with a bases-loaded walk, and Andrew Fazio's (Minneapolis, MN/Southwest Minneapolis) two-RBI single gave the Big Red a 6-4 lead.
- Wittenberg refused to go away. Daniel Gladden's (Galena, OH/Olentangy Berlin) solo home run in the third pulled the Tigers within one, and a three-run fourth featuring Marshall's RBI double and Gladden's RBI single put them back on top 8-6.
- Denison answered emphatically in the fifth. Cade Nowik's (Lake Forest, IL/Lake Forest) RBI single brought home Sundgren, Crittenberger crushed a three-run home run to right-center, and Jack Lutte (Venetia, PA/Peters Township) added an RBI single to push it to 11-8.
- The Big Red bullpen took it from there. Mullen earned his first win of the year with four scoreless frames, and Denison tacked on three more in the eighth, capped by Crittenberger's two-RBI single up the middle.
- Lucas Patrick (Delaware, OH/Olentangy Berlin) took the loss for Wittenberg in relief. Crittenberger finished 2-for-4 with five RBI for the Big Red, while Eron Vega (Evanston, IL/Evanston Township) added three hits and Fazio drove in two. Lloyd's homer accounted for two RBI.
- Marshall paced Wittenberg with a 4-for-5 day, three RBI and a double, while Gladden added three hits including the home run and two RBI. Tommy Chilicki (Lewis Center, OH/Olentangy) and Applegate each chipped in three hits.
2026 NCAC All-Tournament Team
George Haracz - John Carroll
Louis Florida - DePauw
Xander Rodriguez - Wittenberg
Tommy Chilicki - Wittenberg
Corbin Marshall- Wittenberg
Alex Nemunaitus - Wittenberg
Jack Rollo - Denison
Jack Lutte - Denison
Kelly Crittenberger - Denison
Justin Benes - DePauw (P)
Will Rettig - Denison (P)
Tournament MVP: Andrew Fazio - Denison