APPLETON, Wis. -- The Washington & Jefferson baseball team finished as the National Runner-Up at the NCAA Division III Baseball Championship with a 7-3 loss to California Lutheran at Neuroscience Group Field at Fox Cities Stadium.

The Kingsmen struck first with two runs in the bottom of the third inning to gain the game's first lead. The Presidents responded in the next half inning when Derek Helbing (Pataskala, Ohio/Watkins Memorial) led off with a double down the left-field line. Three batters later, Mark Merlino (Irwin, Pa./Penn-Trafford) followed with a double of his own to bring Helbing in.
 
After Cal Lutheran scored in the bottom of the fourth to go up 3-1, Jake Gordon (Hatfield, Pa./Pennridge) homered to left field to lead off the inning, his third round-tripper of the season.
 
Cal Lutheran got a run in the bottom of the seventh followed by three in the bottom of the eighth to gain a 7-2 advantage.
 
In the top of the ninth, Merlino walked to begin the inning and was replaced by pinch runner Mullen Socha (Independence, Ohio/St. Ignatius). Gordon followed with a single to move Socha to second before a fielder's choice put Socha on third and Kevin Begley (Allison Park, Pa./Deer Lakes) at first. Dante Dalesandro (Pittsburgh, Pa./Mount Lebanon) rounded out the scoring in the game with a double to deep center field, allowing Socha to cross home plate.
 
Dalesandro, Gordon and Ryan Sciullo (Vandergrift, Pa./Kiski Area) each had two hits in the game, with Dalesandro (double) and Gordon (home run) recording the two W&J extra-base hits for the contest. Helbing, Merlino and Begley tallied one hit apiece with Helbing scoring and Merlino contributing an RBI.
 
Riley Groves (Louisville, Ohio/Louisville) tossed 7.1 innings, extending his program record for innings pitched in a season to 94.0, and allowed six runs (five earned) on nine hits with two walks and two strikeouts. Will Bowser (Burgettstown, Pa./Madonna (W.Va.)) recorded the final two outs in the eighth inning, one of which was a strikeout.

Helbing, Matt Heslin (McDonald, Pa./Fort Cherry), Merlino and Sciullo were all selected to the All-Tournament team for their performances in Wisconsin.
 
The Presidents conclude the 2017 season with a program-record and nation-high 42 wins and saw multiple players set new single season and career records to go along with their 11th Presidents' Athletic Conference championship, first Mideast Regional title and first trip to the College World Series.