Riverside Brookfield High School graduates Cooper Marrs and Ethan Smith became part of Denison University (Granville, Ohio) baseball history Friday. The Big Red captured their first NCAA Division III baseball championship by defeating Endicott 4-3 in 10 innings to win the best-of-three championship series 2-1 and climax a 51-3 season as the top-rated team.
Marrs, a 2024 RBHS graduate, was the winning pitcher in the 6-0 Denison victory in the opening game of the championship series, June 3, allowing just four hits over seven innings with seven strikeouts and no walks. Marrs was among seven Denison players on the All-Tournament team.
Endicott (44-14) won the second game 11-10 in 10 innings, Thursday, after Denison scored twice in the top of the ninth for a 10-10 tie.
In the winner-take-all finale, All-American Jack Lutte’s hit off the right field wall brought in the winning run and the Big Red’s fourth walkoff victory in their NCAA Tournament run.
Marrs also delivered seven scoreless innings and allowed just two hits with nine strikeouts in the 8-0 College World Series victory over Johns Hopkins, May 30, after the Big Red lost their opener to East Texas Baptist 5-1 the previous day.
For the season, Marrs went 7-0 in 16 appearances with nine starts and a 2.05 earned-run average, 60 strikeouts and eight walks in 57 innings pitched, plus a 0.95 WHIP.
Overall, Marrs played in 23 games with 14 starts. Offensively, he contributed a home run, triple and six runs batted in over 21 at-bats.
2025 RBHS graduate Smith played in 16 games with three starts, hitting .375 with two homers and seven RBIs. His last appearance was against Ohio Wesleyan, April 28.
The Big Red’s historic season also included a 44-game winning streak that ended with the loss to East Texas Baptist. Denison later beat the Tigers twice to advance to the championship series.
Headshots courtesy of Hailey Owens/Denison Athletics Communications