Tyler Schuch put forth a dominating performance Friday night to keep Wooster alive in the conference tourney. (photo courtesy of Bret Billhard of the North Coast Athletic Conference)

CHILLICOTHE, Ohio – Tyler Schuch pitched The College of Wooster into the championship round of the North Coast Athletic Conference Tournament, as the junior southpaw faced the minimum through seven innings, and the Fighting Scots eliminated Denison University 6-1 on Friday night at VA Memorial Stadium.

Wooster (32-11) moves on to the championship round versus DePauw University (25-17) – a rematch of the winner's bracket game from earlier Friday that saw the Tigers prevail 10-9 in 11 innings.

Schuch was nearly perfect through five innings, with the only blemish being a one-out walk to Denison (27-14) in the third that he promptly erased on a 4-6-3 double play. After cruising through the fourth and fifth, he gave up a single to open the sixth and again induced a double play, this time 5-4-3, to empty the bases.

From there, Schuch retired the next four hitters to reach the eighth inning with a 6-0 lead. He walked the first two batters of the eighth and then the Scots turned to Zach Woullard.

Schuch upped his record to 8-1 on the season, finishing with one run allowed on one hit while setting down four on strikes, as Woullad closed it out by limiting the damage in the eighth and then working around a leadoff walk in the bottom of the ninth.

Wooster jumped out to a 4-0 lead in the first inning, thanks in part to some well-placed hits. With runners on first and second and one out, Jamie Lackner sent a sharply-hit ball down the line that skipped off of third base and into left for an RBI single. After a fielder's choice play scored the second run, Drew Tornow flared one down the left-field line that fell safely between the left fielder, shortstop, and third baseman for a two-run double.

The Scots added single tallies in the fourth and fifth. Jake Fling lined a single into center to bring home Chandler Dippman, who had also singled, in the former, and Ryan Ostendorf drove in Michael Wielansky via a single in the latter.

During Friday's first game, Wooster rallied from a 9-3 deficit and sent it to extra innings, in which DePauw prevailed on Jack Thompson's walk-off single. The Scots' comeback attempt included a five-run sixth, featuring a Lackner three-run homer, and a game-tying triple off the bat of Ostendorf in the eighth.

Jacob Solomon went a perfect 4-for-4 with two doubles during the Depauw game, and added another base knock against the Big Red for a five-hit day (5-for-7), while Lackner was also a combined 5-for-7 with four walks and four RBI.

The "first" championship game between DePauw and Wooster is scheduled for a 1 p.m. first pitch Saturday, and if the Scots prevail, they will force a winner-take-all game, also to be played Saturday.