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Misericordia got a close-up look at what it takes to win a national championship on Saturday.
Squaring off against reigning NCAA titleholder Lynchburg, the Cougars were held scoreless until they were down to their final out in the ninth inning, falling 6-2 at the Division III College World Series in Eastlake, Ohio.
The Cougars remain alive in the eight-team, double elimination tournament, but the path forward doesn’t get any easier. Misericordia’s season will be on the line in an elimination game against top-seeded Endicott (47-3) at 11 a.m. Sunday.
Misericordia (39-10) is making its second straight World Series appearance and rode a 12-game winning streak into Saturday after winning the opener on Friday against Pomona-Pitzer.
But Lynchburg took control with six straight hits with two outs in the third inning to forge a 3-0 lead. The Hornets tacked on insurance runs in the sixth, seventh and eighth to make it 6-0 heading into the ninth.
Pinch hitter Jeff Policarpio got Misericordia on the board with a two-out double that drove in their only runs of the game. Joe Comins and Andrew Van Horn had two hits apiece in the loss.
If the Cougars can knock off Endicott, they will get another shot at Lynchburg, needing to beat the Hornets twice on Monday to reach the national championship finals.