The Misericordia University baseball team advanced to the championship game of the NCAA Regional Tournament with a 12-8 over Washington & Jefferson, Saturday evening at Tambur Field.

The Cougars will face top-seeded Salve Regina at 11:00 and will have to beat the top-seeded Seahawks twice.  Salve Regina defeated Misericordia, 11-4, in the winner's bracket final.

Misericordia scored 10 runs over the final four innings against W & J, including four runs in the top of the ninth.

Brock Bollinger had two hits, including a homer, and drove in three runs and Derrick Vosburg had four hits and four RBI.  Jack Regenye had two hits, including a go-ahead RBI-double in the ninth, and Garrett McIlhenney had two hits, two RBI and scored three runs.  Gabe Bunn added two hits.

Connor Maryniak struck out two over the final 1.1 innings to pick up the win.

Brady Madden had three hits in the loss to Salve Regina and Jason Sanfilippo, McIlhenney and Maryniak had two hits each.

In the winner's bracket final, Salve Regina jumped out to a 3-0 lead in the top of the first.  The Seahawks added two runs in the third before the Cougars got on the board in the bottom of the frame.

The Cougars loaded the bases in the bottom of the first, but Salve Regina turned an inning-ending double-play.  MU got a lead-off hit in the second, but hit into another DP.

McIlhenney and Bollinger were both hit by pitch to start the third and Madden drove home MU's first run with a sacrifice fly.

Salve Regina put the game away with four runs in the top of the sixth.

Against Washington & Jefferson, the Cougars fell behind 2-0 after one inning, but answered with a pair of runs in the top of the second.

Gray drew a lead-off walk and moved on a wild pitch before coming home on McIlhenney's 1-2 line drive down the left field line.  With McIlhenney running, Bollinger lined a 1-2 pitch to left to tie the game.

Down 3-2, the Cougars went ahead for the first time with four runs in the top of the sixth.  Bunn singled to left and Regenye beat out a bunt single.  Both runners moved up on a wild pitch and McIlhenney drove in  the tying run on a ground out.   Bollinger blasted the first pitch he saw into the woods beyond the left field wall for a 5-3 lead.  Vosburg singled through the right side and Madden hit a one-hop double off the wall in left to make it 6-3.

Down 8-7 after seven innings, the Cougars tied it in the eighth.  McIlhenney singled to right, stolen second and went to third on a throwing error.  Bollinger walked and stole second and Vosburg followed with a sac fly to center to make it 8-8.

Gray rolled a 1-2 pitch through the right side to start the winning rally with one out in the top of the ninth.  Gray stole second and Bunn walked before Regenye blooped a double inside the right field line to put MU in front, 9-8.  McIlhenney was intentionally walked and Vosburg's two-out single on a full-count cleared the bases with McIlhenney racing all the around from first to make it 12-8.

The Cougars flashed some leather throughout the game with Gray making a diving catch on a sinking liner for the first out in the fourth.  He followed that with an over-the-shoulder catch at the wall for the first out in the fifth inning.  Bunn ended the fifth with a leaping grab of a line drive at third.

Regenye made a diving catch along the line in right for the first out of the sixth inning.

Maryniak induced a bouncer to third to end a threat in the eighth and struck out two in the ninth to nail down the win.