BUTLER, Pa. -- The 21st-ranked Mercyhurst baseball team scored five runs in the eighth inning to get past Shippensburg, 8-3, in a Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference Tournament opener on Sunday.

Austin Alonge, who smacked a two-run double during the five-run fifth, went 4-for-5 with two runs and two RBI. He included a triple.

Jimmy Latona was 2-for-3 with an RBI and a stolen base and Collin Fantaskey batted 2-for-4 with one run and two RBI. Brendan Cox and Cameron Balego scored two runs apiece.

Winning pitcher Colin McKee threw eight innings, giving up three runs on five hits while recording nine strikeouts and four walks. Jake Hall worked a scoreless frame in the ninth.

The Lakers (39-10) took a 1-0 lead when Cox scored on a wild pitch in the first inning. They fell behind during Shippensburg's three-run fourth.

Alonge scored on an error in the MU fifth and Fantaskey plated Latona with an RBI groundout in the sixth, driving the Lakers even at 3-all.

In the eighth, a sacrifice fly by Latona plated Balego with the go-ahead run. Run-scoring singles by Fantaskey and Chris Gonzalez -- along with Alonge's two-RBI two-bagger -- pushed the Mercyhurst advantage to five.

The Lakers will take on West Chester in their next PSAC Tournament game, starting at 6:30 p.m. on Monday. The Golden Rams defeated Gannon, 5-2, in their opening-round contest.