The Misericordia University baseball team dropped the opening game of the NCAA Division III South Super Regional, 8-3, to Washington & Jefferson, Friday afternoon at Tambur Field.

Post game press conference

The Presidents scored five runs in the bottom of the eighth inning to break a 3-3 tie.

Mullen Socha hit a three-run double to break the game open in the eighth.

Socha and James Artale had two hits each for W & J while Mitchell Tauffer struck out three in three innings to earn the win in relief.

Parker Abate, Tyler Holzapfel and Shane Hughes all had two hits for the Cougars.

W & J took a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the second and added a pair of runs in the third.

The Cougars got two runs back in the fifth.  Hughes led off with an infield single and moved to second on Billy Kerwien's single through the left side.

Conor Smith advanced both runners with a sacrifice bunt and Sean Boylan drove in MU's first run with a ground out.

Kenny Jarema walked to extend his on-base streak to 35 games and Abate beat the throw on an infield single deep in the hole to get MU within 3-2.

Ian McCole set the Presidents down in order in the fifth and the Cougars answered with the tying run in the top of the sixth.

Brady Madden singled through the left side and Holzapfel followed with a double off the wall in right field, but Madden was cut down on a perfect relay throw to the plate.

Hughes legged out a double to right center to drive in the tying run, but W & J shortstop Spencer Howell made a nice back-handed play in the hole to end the inning prevent any further damage.

The score held until the eighth when the Presidents loaded the bases with three consecutive hit by pitches.  They went ahead on an error and added an insurance run on a wild pitch before Socha lined a double to deep center field to clear the bases.

McCole scattered eight hits over seven innings while allowed five runs in the eighth inning to absorb the loss.

Misericordia fell to 35-12 while Washington & Jefferson improved to 36-12.

Game two will be played Saturday at 11:00 a.m. with game three to follow, if necessary.