Denison, Wittenberg to Meet in NCAC Baseball Tourney Final

CHILLICOTHE, OH – Top-seeded Denison has advanced to the title game of the 2026 North Coast Athletic Conference Tournament after posting a 5-3 win over the No. 3 seed DePauw Friday morning. The Big Red, who are on the hunt for their seventh-consecutive conference tournament crown, will square off against Wittenberg after the Tigers collected an 18-4 win over John Carroll and a 9-8 victory over DePauw to advance to game 6. The Wittenberg Tigers are in search of their first NCAC tourney title.
 
The NCAC Tournament title game is scheduled for 11:00 a.m. on Saturday, May 9. If game 7 is necessary Denison and Wittenberg will square off 30 minutes after game 6 is complete.
 
GAME 3 - No. 1 DENISON 5, No. 3 DEPAUW 3
  • Andrew Fazio (Minneapolis, MN/Southwest Minneapolis) went 3-for-3 with a home run, a double and three runs scored, and Will Rettig (Perrysburg, OH/Perrysburg) tossed seven strong innings to improve to 11-0 as Denison defeated DePauw 5-3 on Friday at V.A. Memorial Stadium.
  • The Big Red struck first in the third when Fazio led off with a double to deep left and scored on Eron Vega's (Evanston, IL/Evanston Township) sacrifice fly to right-center. Fazio's two-run homer off Pearse Riendeau (Richmond, VA/Collegiate) in the fourth pushed the lead to 3-0, and Jack Lutte (Venetia, PA/Peters Township) added a solo blast to right in the fifth to make it 4-0.
  • DePauw cut into the deficit in the sixth. Tyler Walkey (Carmel, IN/Carmel) singled, advanced to second on a wild pitch and scored on Max Bond's (Zionsville, IN/Zionsville) RBI groundout to short. Denison answered in the bottom half, as Lutte ripped an RBI single through the right side to plate Fazio for a 5-1 lead.
  • The Tigers rallied in the eighth against reliever Jack Rollo (Chesterfield, MO/Mary Institute and Saint Louis Country Day School). Bryson Dorsey (Westfield, IN/Guerin Catholic) and Aidan Howard (Portland, OR/Tualatin) delivered back-to-back singles before Bond doubled to left-center to score Dorsey, and Grady Johnson's (Lexington, KY/Sayre) RBI groundout brought Howard home to pull within 5-3. Ryan Paganelis (Batavia, IL/Marmion Academy) worked a 1-2-3 ninth to lock down his first save of the season.
  • Rettig (11-0) allowed two runs (one earned) on six hits with four strikeouts and no walks across seven innings. Riendeau (6-2) took the loss after going six, allowing five runs (three earned) on nine hits while striking out five. Matt Ritter (Avon, IN/Avon) followed with two scoreless frames in relief, fanning two.
  • Lutte finished 3-for-5 with three RBI for the Big Red, while Kelly Crittenberger (McLean, VA/Potomac School) added two hits including a double. Erik Sundgren (Pittsburgh, PA/North Allegheny) swiped his 28th base of the season. Bond led DePauw at the plate, going 2-for-4 with a double and two RBI, and Walkey added two hits and a run scored.
GAME 4 - No. 2 WITTENBERG 18, No. 4 JOHN CARROLL 4
  • Alex Nemunaitis (Perrysburg, OH/Ottawa Hills) drove in six runs, Wade Thewes (Parker, CO/Lutheran) struck out nine over seven strong innings, and the Tigers piled up 20 hits as Wittenberg overpowered John Carroll 18-4 on Friday at V.A. Memorial Stadium.
  • Wittenberg blew the game open with a nine-run third inning. The signature blow came from Nemunaitis, whose four-run home run to deep left flipped a one-run game into an 8-3 advantage. RBI hits from Tommy Chilicki (Lewis Center, OH/Olentangy), Quintin Applegate (Delaware, OH/Olentangy Berlin) and Xander Rodriguez (Salinas, PR/Franklin County) bookended the homer as the Tigers sent 13 batters to the plate.
  • Wittenberg piled on with seven more in the sixth, stringing together a flurry of doubles capped by a two-run double from Rodriguez and a two-RBI single by Chilicki. Nemunaitis added a sacrifice fly in the seventh to finish off his six-RBI afternoon.
  • John Carroll struck first and stayed in front through three innings. Konner Hauck's (Lancaster, NY/Lancaster) RBI single in the first brought home George Haracz (Evanston, IL/Loyola Academy), and Hauck added a sacrifice fly in the third to stake the Blue Streaks to a 3-1 lead. JCU got back on the board in the eighth when Chris Bach (Brecksville, OH/Brecksville-Broadview Heights) launched a solo home run to deep left.
  • Thewes held John Carroll to three runs on seven hits while striking out nine and walking two over his seven innings. Jake Corll (Austintown, OH/Austintown Fitch) took the loss for the Blue Streaks after going two innings.
  • Chilicki finished 3-for-5 with two doubles and four RBI for Wittenberg, while Corbin Marshall (Doylestown, OH/Chippewa) went 4-for-5 with a double. Landon Turner (Tipp City, OH/Tippecanoe) added three hits and three runs scored, Rodriguez drove in three on two doubles, and Charlie Marando (Dublin, OH/Scioto) reached base four times.
  • Haracz led John Carroll with two hits, two walks and two runs scored, while Hauck drove in a pair.
GAME 5 - No. 2 WITTENBERG 9, No. 3 DEPAUW 8
  • Marshall capped a 4-for-5 day with a walk-off RBI double in the bottom of the ninth as Wittenberg outlasted DePauw 9-8 on Friday at V.A. Memorial Stadium, holding off a four-run rally from the visitors in the top half of the inning.
  • With the score tied 8-8 and Applegate aboard, Marshall lined a double down the left field line to plate Applegate from first and end a back-and-forth affair that featured 29 hits between the two clubs.
  • Wittenberg jumped on top with a four-run second. Marshall got things started with an RBI single down the right field line, and Daniel Gladden (Galena, OH/Olentangy Berlin), Marando and Nemunaitis followed with RBI hits to push the lead to 4-0.
  • DePauw chipped back in the third on Johnson's RBI triple down the left field line and a Zach O'Connell (Montgomery, OH/Cincinnati Hills Christian) run-scoring groundout, but Marshall answered with another RBI double in the bottom half. O'Connell's sacrifice fly to right made it 5-3 in the fifth before Wittenberg pulled away in the sixth, when Turner's sacrifice fly to left scored James MacAuley (Grosse Pointe Woods, MI/Grosse Pointe North) and Rodriguez followed with a two-run home run to right-center to extend the lead to 8-3.
  • Howard cracked a solo home run to deep right in the seventh to keep DePauw within striking distance, setting the stage for a stunning four-run ninth. Nolan Osterling (Zionsville, IN/Zionsville) pulled DePauw within two with a two-RBI double down the left field line, Connor Osborne (Bloomington, IN/Bloomington South) brought home another with an RBI groundout, and Walkey tied it on an RBI single through the left side to make it 8-8.
  • Wittenberg answered immediately. Applegate singled to lead off the bottom half and advanced into scoring position before Marshall lined his second double of the game to end it.
  • Zach Rust (Dublin, OH/Coffman) earned the win in relief, while Nate Tencza (Louisville, KY/Trinity) took the loss. Wittenberg starter Mason Glen (Cincinnati, OH/Anderson) turned in 5.2 strong innings, scattering five hits and two earned runs while striking out four.
  • Marshall finished 4-for-5 with two doubles and three RBI to lead Wittenberg, while Applegate added three hits, MacAuley had two and Nemunaitis went 2-for-3 with an RBI. Rodriguez homered and drove in two.
  • DePauw was paced by Howard's home run and double, while Osterling added two doubles and two RBI. Bond and Louis Florida (Wilmette, IL/New Trier) each had two hits, while O'Connell drove in two.

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