CARY, N.C. – The third-ranked Mercyhurst University baseball team got very little in the way of offense on Tuesday evening, wasting strong pitching from three different hurlers, as it dropped a 3-1 final to the country's top-ranked team – the Spartans of the University of Tampa at the USA National Baseball Training Complex. The Lakers dropped to 40-10 on the season and will have to play an elimination game on Wednesday Tampa improved to 41-13 on the season and continues its path in the winners' bracket.

Tampa starter Chase Sparkman, who entered the contest with an impressive 9-2 record, but had a 4.11 earned run average and had allowed 113 hits in 85.1 innings on the year, shut down the Laker bats on Tuesday. He allowed just a solo home run to senior catcher Jake Marinelli in the second inning and then three other hits – all singles – in the complete game effort. He struck out seven – six via called strikes with five of those coming in a nine-out span in the sixth, seventh, and eighth innings.

In fact, he only allowed two hits after Marinelli's home run – a single by junior Hank Morrison in the fourth and a single by freshman Daniel Elliott in the fifth. He retired the last 14 Lakers he faced.

Redshirt senior Jon Klein was brilliant early but lasted just 4.1 innings after allowing two runs (one earned) on five hits. He did not walk a batter and struck out three. Klein dropped to 8-3 on the season.

Freshman Matthew Minnick relieved Klein and allowed a run on two hits in 3.1 innings. He struck out two. Junior Ben Nolan finished out the game, allowing three hits but striking out two in an inning and a third.

Marinelli put the Lakers on the board with a two-out, two-strike solo home run to left field off of Sparkman for a 1-0 advantage. It was Marinelli's second collegiate home run – he had entered the contest with one homer in 340 career at bats in a Laker uniform prior to his solo blast. In fact, the senior backstop had only driven in nine runs this season in nearly 150 plate appearances. He did, however, enter as the team leader in on-base percentage at .444.

Klein retired the first seven batters he faced before giving up back-to-back singles to Cody deNoyelles and Nick Tindall with one out in the third. However, Klein got leadoff hitter Andrew Amaro to ground into a 4-6-3 double play to end the threat.

But, in the top of the fourth, the Spartans tied the ball game at 1-1 with a run on two hits against Klein. Casey Scoggins and Stephen Dezzi had back-to-back singles to lead off the inning, putting runners at first and third with nobody out. Giovanny Alfonzo hit a weak ground ball to senior shortstop Angel Martinez, who was only able to get the out at second. Klein was able to retire Brett Jones on strikes and Nick Flair to lineout to left to end the inning.

Klein faced more adversity in the fifth and, in fact, did not survive the frame. Chris Pagliarulo led off the inning with an infield single and then advanced to third on a two-base dropped fly ball by redshirt senior Ryan Siegel with one out off the bat of Tindall. That ended the evening for Klein, who gave way for freshman Matthew Minnick. The freshman allowed a deep fly ball to right by Amaro that allowed Pagliarulo to score, giving the Spartans a 2-1 lead, and then ended the inning when Scoggins grounded out.

Minnick was brilliant, retiring the first ten batters he faced and got to within an out in the eighth inning of keeping the score at 2-1. However, Scoggins doubled to left center and Dezzi singled through the right side of the infield to drive home Scoggins, extending the lead to 3-1. Junior Ben Nolan replaced Minnick and struck out the cleanup hitter, Alfonzo, to end the inning without any further damage.

Tampa threatened for insurance runs in the ninth inning, loading the bases with one out against Nolan. But, the junior righthander struck out Tindall on three pitches and retired Amaro on a fly ball to left to end the threat.

Sparkman, as he did all night, retired Mercyhurst in order in the ninth to finish off the complete game. He improved to 10-2 on the season.

Mercyhurst now needs to follow an identical path it followed during the Atlantic Regional Tournament at Jerry Uht Park. After winning the first game against West Virginia State, 3-1, in the regional, the Lakers lost to Seton Hill before running the table. The Lakers defeated Truman State, 3-1, to open the National Championship, suffered a loss to Tampa in game two, and needs to win out to bring home the national crown.

With the loss, the Lakers will play an elimination game on Wednesday afternoon at 4:00 p.m. against Cal Poly Pomona, which defeated Truman State on Tuesday by a 13-2 final. The start time has been moved up three hours due to the threat of rain in Cary.