ALLIANCE, Ohio – The No. 11 Mount Union baseball team won the Ohio Athletic Conference (OAC) Regular Season Championship for the second straight season for the first time in program history following an OAC sweep of Muskingum at home on Wednesday.
Mount Union won its 30th game of the season, the program's second-ever 30-win season, and it is now one win shy from tying the school record of 31 wins set in the 2017 season.
Mount Union won game one, 12-5, and game two, 7-3.
The Purple Raiders clinched the sweep and the championship following back-to-back pitching gems by starting pitchers junior Ty Dennison (Hudson, OH / Hudson) and junior Luke Ickes (Green, OH / Green), both staying perfect at 8-0 each on the season.
In game one, Dennison broke the 68-year-old school record for strikeouts in a season after his career-high 14-strikeout performance. Dennison passed Jim Vogelgesang's season strikeout record of 101 that stood since 1957.
The Purple Raiders tallied 17 hits to dominate the opener. Senior Chris Tsouras (Las Vegas, NV / Arbor) ignited the offense with a three-run home run in the first inning (his team-leading 10th on the season) to put Mount up 4-0 in the first, a lead it would not relinquish. Muskingum (19-19, 9-7 OAC) got within one run in the fifth (6-5); however, the Raiders would score six unanswered to seal the win. Joining Tsouras in the two-RBI column were Ickes and junior Drew Denham (Alliance, Ohio/Marlington), with two each. Mount Union had seven extra-base hits, led by Ickes with two doubles and Tsouras with a home run and a triple. Junior Christopher Maurer (Hudson, OH / Hudson) provided 2.0 scoreless innings of relief, including three strikeouts, to seal the victory.
A five-run fifth inning powered Mount Union to the sweep in the nightcap. Leading 2-0, the Raiders used RBIs from Tome III, Denham, Perkins, and freshman Jake Jung (Westlake, OH / Westlake)—along with a balk—to break the game open. Ickes pitched 7.2 innings and allowed three runs while striking out five. Maurer returned to record the final four outs, including two strikeouts, to seal the win once again.
The OAC Regular Season Title is the fourth in program history (2026, 2025, 2017, 1970).
Mount Union (30-8, 14-2 OAC) has clinched the No. 1 seed and hosting rights of the four-team 2026 OAC Tournament, which begins play on Thursday, May 7.
