Grinnell baseball team set to take big stage at NCAA D-III Tournament

GRANVILLE, Ohio - Grinnell College's baseball team will take the big stage Friday, facing top-ranked Denison University in the opening round of the NCAA Division III Tournament at 10 a.m. Central time.

The Pioneers, playing in their first-ever NCAA Tourney, advanced by winning the Midwest Conference Tournament. Grinnell will bring a 25-16 mark into the game.

Offense has been the name of the game for Grinnell, as the Pioneers are hitting .329 on the season. Top hitters for Grinnell are Connor Goodson '26 (.408 batting average), Wyatt Raymond '28 (.388), Stuart Cash '27 (.384) and Nikolas Ruden '26 (.377). All four are All-MWC selections with Cash earning Position Player of the Year accolades.

On the pitching front, Shea Goel '28 is 4-1 with a 6.90 ERA and 39 strikeouts. Jakob Runkel '26 has also fanned 39 batters and is 3-3. Runkel also has three saves, as does MWC Newcomer of the Year Connor Pink '29.

Denison is 40-1 on the season and is hitting .364, with top batters being Jack Lutte (.484), Eron Vega (.408), Nate Lloyd (.400) and Kelly Crittenberger (.393). Pitching-wise, Will Rettig is 11-0 with a 2.33 ERA, Andrew Montero is 5-0 with a 2.60 ERA and Robbie Lee owns a 7-0 mark with a 2.67 ERA.

Other teams in the double-elimination region are 24th-ranked Cortland and Kalamazoo, which is receiving votes for the rankings.

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