Box Score West Lawn, PA (May 3, 2013) - Mike Nessel pitched seven innings, allowing just four runs on nine hits and went 2-5 with two runs scored at the plate to send the Arcadia University Knights to Championship Saturday at the 2013 MAC Commonwealth Baseball Championships. Arcadia defeated the Stevenson University Mustangs 7-5 to avoid elimination. The Knights will face Alvernia tomorrow, needing to defeat the Crusaders twice to win the Championship.

Arcadia jumped out in front of the elimination game as Nessel scored an unearned run when Elliott Freeman reached on an error. Then Taylor Schon hit an RBI single to score Freeman for a 2-0 lead. Stevenson got one back in the third, scoring a two out run on an RBI single by Tom Goulian, making it 2-1.

In the fifth, the Knights scored three times thanks to a pair of errors by the Mustangs. Nick Petroski reached on an error, then scored all the way from first when a bunt attempt by Kyle Jackson was thrown down the right field line by the third baseman. Jackson then scored from third on a delayed double steal for a 4-1 lead. David Jacobs hit an RBI double to right that scored Nessel for a 5-1 lead.

Stevenson got one back in the bottom of the fifth on a RBI groundout by Goulian. Arcadia then added two more in the seventh as George Pagan hit a two-out, two-run single to give the Knights a 7-2 lead. The Mustangs scored two in the seventh to make it 7-4. In the ninth, Stevenson scored a run to make it 7-5, but on the play Troy Miller got thrown out trying to stretch a double into a triple, ending the game at 7-5.

Freeman went 2-5 with two runs scored. Schon was 2-5 with an RBI, while Pagan went 2-4 with two RBI.

This will be the Knights first ever appearance on Championship Saturday since joining the MAC. Tomorrow's game will be broadcast live at mac.ezstream.com starting at 11:55am.