West Lawn, PA (May 9, 2015) – Misericordia University scored two runs in the first inning and the DeSales University baseball team was just unable to complete a comeback falling 10-6 to the Cougars in the Freedom Conference Championship game on Saturday afternoon.
 
The loss leaves the Bulldogs with a 28-17 record, while the Cougars improve to 29-11 on the year and earns the Freedom Conference's automatic bid into the NCAA Tournament.
 
The Bulldogs were just a few plays away from winning this game despite the four run final margin.
 
In the top of the first inning MU saw its first two runners reach base when Kyle Lindsay hit a hard ground ball to second base that looked like it was going to be a double play but sophomore Tyler Sweeney bobbled the ball and was only able to get the batter at first base.
 
Sophomore Cameron Hoos struck out the next batter but two straight two-out singles scored the two lead off runners as Misericordia took a 2-0 lead.
 
DSU got one of the runs back in the second inning to make it 2-1 when junior Carlos Urena doubled to lead off the inning.  Junior Colby Kulig sacrificed him to third base and Urena scored on a groundout from sophomore Danny Licamara.
 
It remained a 2-1 game into the fourth inning when the two teams exchanged three runs in the top and bottom of the inning.  In DSU's half of the fourth sophomore Mike Kacergis singled and Urena reached on an error by the third baseman.  Kulig again sacrificed both runners over and Licamara tripled home two runs and scored one batter later on an RBI single from senior Drew Borger to make it 5-4.
 
The Cougars stayed hot at the plate scoring three more times in the top of the fifth to open up an 8-4 lead.
 
Both teams scored once in the sixth as the Bulldogs took advantage of a hit by pitch and Cougar error.  DSU was within inches of possibly scoring a few more runs.  With one out and runners on the corners, head coach Tim Neiman sent up junior Alec Hardy to pinch hit and Hardy hit a long fly ball to dead center field that seemed destined for the wall but MU's Jeremy DeCotis ran the ball down making a running, diving, over the shoulder catch.
 
Had that ball dropped it would have scored two runs and likely seen Hardy reach third base with one out and pulled the Bulldogs within two runs.  Instead MU held DeSales to just one run in the inning and held a 9-5 lead entering the seventh inning.
 
After Misericordia scored a solo run in the seventh inning, DSU had one last rally in the bottom of the eighth inning.  Licamara, Borger, and Smoot all singled with two outs to plate one run and put two runners on with two outs but sophomore Tommy DePaul groundout to first base to end the threat and DSU was unable to mount any rally in the ninth inning.
 
Hoos took the loss lasting just 2/3 of an inning allowing three hits and two runs.  Freshman Hunter Hart, Licamara, and Borger each had two hits in the loss to lead the nine hit attack.