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Three of the first five pitches in the bottom of the eighth hit a batter. Just like that, Misericordia baseball was facing its first postseason loss of the year.
Tied late in the first game of their NCAA Division III super regional series, the Cougars couldn’t escape the bases-loaded jam, surrendering five runs in the decisive frame and losing 8-3 to Washington & Jefferson on Friday at Tambur Field.
Misericordia’s impressive season will be on the line Saturday, needing two wins against the Presidents to return to the Division III College World Series. Play in Game 2 will begin at 11 a.m. in Dallas Township, with a decisive Game 3 scheduled for 3:30 p.m., if necessary.
The Cougars (35-12) entered the day 6-0 in the postseason, having won the MAC Freedom title before sweeping No. 1 Christopher Newport in the last weekend’s NCAA tournament regional round.
Senior closer Kyle Melahn had been instrumental in the sweep, entering in different situations and pitching in all three wins. On Friday, he was called on again in a 3-3 game in the eighth after the Cougars had erased a 3-0 deficit.
But this time things quickly got off track, plunking the first three batters he faced to load the bases. An error at second base then brought home the go-ahead run, and the Presidents rode the momentum.
After getting the first out at the plate, a wild pitch brought home another run. At 5-3, things weren’t out of reach yet, and a strikeout was followed by an intentional walk to set up a force at any base.
Mullen Socha, however, delivered the dagger, roping a 1-0 pitch to center for a bases-clearing double.
Misericordia got the leadoff man aboard in the ninth but nothing more, as the Cougars suffered just the second loss in their last 13 games.
Cougars ace Ian McCole went seven innings for a no-decision, allowing three earned runs on eight hits while striking out three without a walk. He had fallen behind early on a second-inning sac fly and a pair of RBI singles in the third.
But the Cougars responded in the fifth, driving in runs on a Sean Boylan groundout and a Parker Abate single to pull within 3-2.
In the sixth, Misericordia opened with three straight hits. A double by Tyler Holzapfel led to a runner being thrown out at the plate, but Shane Hughes came right back with a double of his own to bring home the tying run. The Presidents went to the bullpen and left Hughes stranded, keeping the game even until the eighth.
Melahn took the loss and Mitchell Taufer pitched three innings of one-hit, scoreless relief to earn the win. Abate, Holzapfel and Hughes all had two hits apiece to lead the Cougars, with Holzapfel doubling twice.
The winner of the super regional earns one of eight spots in the World Series, which opens May 31 in Cedar Rapids, Iowa.
WOMEN’S TRACK
Cougars close out NCAAs
Misericordia’s Reilly Wagner closed out her college career with a 14th-place finish in the high jump at the NCAA Division III Championships on Friday in Geneva, Ohio.
Wagner, a senior from Maryland, made her first two jumps, clearing 1.56 meters before topping out at 1.61.
Teammate Clare Schoen took 12th in the 10,000-meter run on Friday while King’s Cayle Spencer, of Lake-Lehman, was 17th in the javelin.