Denison took the nation’s No. 1 ranked team to the brink, but the WashU Bears managed to claw their way to a 2-0 victory over the Big Red in the 11th and final game of the Decatur NCAA Division III Baseball Regional.
The Big Red turned to junior right-hander Kenny Lippman ’22, whose last appearance came in May against Wittenberg. Lippman answered the call and then some, firing the first complete game of his career in the most pressure-packed situation the Denison baseball program has faced in its 130-plus years of existence.
Amid a scoreless game until the fifth and constant threats by Denison to advance over No. 1, WashU eventually slammed the door and headed to its first Division III World Series in program history.
This marked the third consecutive NCAA Regional appearance for Denison. They ended the regional with a record of 4-2 highlighted by two wins over No. 3 Webster and one victory over No. 1 WashU.