Endicott blanked by No. 1 Denison in Game 1 of NCAA Div. 3 College World Series final round

Top-ranked Denison jumped on Endicott freshman starter Jeremy Krendel for three runs in the first, and that’s all the Big Red needed in a 6-0 victory in Game 1 of the NCAA Division 3 College World Series best-of-three championship round Wednesday in Eastlake, Ohio.

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The Gulls (43-13) now must beat the juggernaut Big Red (50-2) twice Thursday to capture the national title. Game 2 is set for an 11 a.m. start, with a winner-take-all Game 3 finale at 3 p.m., if necessary.

Denison, which entered the CWS on a 44-game win streak, got seven shutout innings from sophomore Cooper Marrs (4 hits, 7 Ks, 0 BBs to move to 7-0), and two hitless relief innings from Ryan Pagenelis to close it out.

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Krendel, the Framingham native who played at St. Mark’s, fell to 4-2 by giving up five runs (all earned) on five hits in five innings, but it was seven walks (and two hit batters) that undid him. Sophomore Max Jarvie tossed the final three frames for the Gulls, surrendering a run on four hits.

Senior second baseman AJ Hamm from Shrewsbury had the Gulls’ lone extra base hit with a double in the eighth.

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