Next Game:
vs. Endicott College
6/4/2026 | 11 A.M.
Jun. 04 (Thu) / 11 A.M.
Endicott College
History
EASTLAKE, Ohio — A 44-game win streak, NCAC championship, and a sweep through the regional and super regional rounds gave Denison its second straight trip to the College World Series. In Eastlake, Denison dropped the opener and had to win their way through the loser’s bracket to earn the program’s first berth into the Championship Series.
No. 1 Denison took on the No. 6 Gulls of Endicott. Cooper Marrs lasted 7.0 innings to shutout the Gulls in a 6-0 win. Ryan Pagenelis fired the final two frames to secure the win.
CWS National Championship: No. 1 Denison 6, No. 6 Endicott 0
Sophomore Cooper Marrs got the start for the Big Red in the opening game of the Championship Series. After a great outing against Johns Hopkins, the righty bounced back right where he left off with a 1-2-3 top of the first frame.
The offense started out hot, plating three runs in their first trip to the plate. Eron Vega got things going with a base hit through the left side before a drawn walk from Jack Lutte. Erik Sundgren plated the first run with a laser off the right field wall. Max Fishbein drove in another run with a base hit to left field but Sundgren was thrown out at third base. Jack Rollo drew a walk to load the bases which set up an RBI ground out from Andrew Fazio. The Big Red took the first inning with a 3-0 lead.
Marrs continued a fantastic outing, retiring the side in the top of the second. The stellar Endicott defense settled in and kept Denison at zero in the home half of the frame.
Following another three-up, three-down top of the third, the Big Red extended the lead to 4-0 after a string of walks set up a sacrifice fly from Kelly Crittenberger.
It wasn’t until the fourth frame that Marrs would allow a base runner. The Gulls got a base hit but the runner was stranded to hold onto the four run lead.
After the two teams traded scoreless frames in the fifth, the Big Red struck again in the bottom of the sixth. Vega got on with a free pass which caused a change on the mound for Endicott. A pair of walks put Vega at third where he took home on a wild pitch to extend the lead to 5-0.
Endicott led off the top of the seventh inning with a base hit. Marrs was quick to silence the momentum, striking out back to back batters before a high fly into centerfield closed the inning. In the bottom of the frame, a base hit into left from Andrew Fazio put a runner on for a Cade Nowik to give Denison insurance before the final pair of innings.
After 7.0 scoreless frames, Marrs retired with a 6-0 lead and a runner on second. Ryan Pagenelis made his 31st appearance out of the bullpen. The righty got a strikeout before two walks loaded the bases. A high fly ball spun back into play behind home plate where Fazio made a reaching grab for the second out. Pagenelis got ahead with an 0-2 count before Nate Lloyd ended the inning in right field.
Lutte and Sundgren tagged on base hits to the total in the bottom of the eighth but Endicott rolled a double play to send the game into the final frame.
Pagenelis took back to the mound for top of the ninth. The righty fired three straight looking strikes to lead off the inning. After a swinging strike three for out two, a towering fly ball into left field was caught by Lutte to secure the 6-0 shutout win.
Marrs’ 7.0 inning performance earned him the win to move to 7-0 on the year. He recorded seven strikeouts and recorded zero outs in the outing. Pagenelis struck out three out of the pen to secure the win.
In the box, the offense tallied nine hits and eight walks in the 6-0 win. Vega, Lutte, and Sundgren all recorded two hits in the win.
Up Next: Denison will be back tomorrow at 11 a.m. for game two of the championship series.
