When a team's season ends with a loss, it is usually difficult to find the positives that are generally mixed in with a loss. That's not the case for the 2010 Lancaster Bible College baseball team. While they are disappointed, they know they did something pretty special at the NCCAA Division II National Tournament in Mason, Ohio.

Not only did they win the program's first-ever game at Nationals on Wednesday, but on Thursday they held leads against the top-ranked team in the country and against a perennial powerhouse. LBC loses three very impactful seniors, but the foundation is set for years to come.

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Thursday began with a date with top-ranked Atlanta Christian College. ACC roared out of the gate, taking a 3-0 after the first inning. Sean Finn hammered a home run to left field to open the scoring, but after the first inning, LBC starting pitcher Stephen Jacques settled down and gave the offense a chance to comeback.

"Steve did a nice job for us today," Chargers' Head Coach Doug Yager said. "He kept us in and that's why we pitched him against ACC. We felt his pitching style gave us an advantage over them and for a while, it did."

With Jacques taking care of things on the mound, the LBC batters finally got the offense into gear in the fourth inning after looking at strike after strike from ACC's KC Lorow in the first three innings.

"We just weren't very aggressive at all and their guy was hitting the corners," Yager said. "We made an adjustment and started looking to hit the second or third pitch of each at-bat."

The Chargers exploded for five runs in the fourth inning behind clutch hitting from Caleb Erb, Frank DiFilippo and Drew Tilley. Erb got the rally started with his 12th double of the season. After Lou Curcio reached on an error, DiFilippo singled Erb home and Chad Hollinger singled to load the bases.

Tilley strolled to the plate and crushed a hanging curveball to the left field wall, scoring all three runners and giving LBC their first lead of the day.

"I was looking fastball, but I saw the spin right away and crushed it," Tilley said. "I was just happy to be able to help the team."

Jacques then helped himself driving in Ryan Shannon who pinch-ran for Tilley, giving LBC a 5-3 lead. ACC got a run back in the fifth to make it 5-4 and had runners on 2nd and 3rd with no one out when multi-sport hero Richard Westerlund took over for Jacques. 

Westerlund, facing ACC's three and four hittters, got them both to strikeout swinging. He walked the next hitter, loading the bases, but got ACC's Jeff Mitchell to strike out on an outside pitch. Westerlund let out a roar as he ran back to the dugout, firing the entire team up. 

Unfortunately, the LBC bats would go quiet again and the ACC bats would wake up. ACC tied it in the sixth inning and took the lead for good in the seventh with great hitting and poor fielding by LBC.

"Hopefully the younger guys can use a game like this to motivate them for next season," Yager said. "We hung with the best team in our division and had a lead."

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After receiving an hour off to change uniforms and grab something to eat, the Chargers took on Hillsdale Free Will Baptist with the winner advancing and the loser going home for the year.

LBC, the visiting team, jumped all over the Saints in the top of the first, scoring six times and batting around. The first five batters reached base safely and six of the first seven batters scored. Erb singled home Jacques with his 49th hit of the season before Curcio knocked Erb and Josh Chamberlin home with a double.

"We executed well in the first inning," Yager said. "I think the pressure from the Atlanta game was off and the guys figured if we can play with Atlanta, why not against Hillsdale."

Sadly for LBC, the six runs scored in the first would be their last scored for the season. Hillsdale chipped away each inning, finally taking the lead for good in the bottom of the fourth. LBC starter Ben Markey pitched well for the first three innings, but had location problems after that and wasn't helped by errors in the field.

"Markey went out there and provided some great senior leadership for us," Yager said. "He missed some spots and we simply did not make plays in the field, that makes it tough. Hillsdale is also a very good team, so that does not help either."

The Chargers (17-18) managed just three hits after their six-run first inning. One of the hits was from Jacques who singled in his final collegiate at-bat.

Erb, just a freshman, finished the season third on the all-time list for hits by an LBC player. His 49 hits trail T.J. Horn's 51 and 50 hit seasons in 2007 and 2008. 

"I struggled a bit at the beginning, but in talking with my dad, he noticed some things and I made some changes and hit pretty well at the end of the season," Erb said. "Hopefully we as a team can carry this season over to next and continue to improve."

Losing Markey, Curcio and Jacques will be tough, something that isn't lost on Coach Yager.

"Guys are going to have to step up and perform next season," Yager said. "We are losing our one, two and three pitchers, plus Jacques at leadoff and Curcio at clean-up."

Despite the challenge, Erb said he and the other freshman will be ready.

"It's tough to take the loss today, but we cannot dwell on it and have to get better," Erb said. 

Yager said while he is happy with the way the team played at Nationals, losing two games they were winning is tough to take.

"I will be happier next week, right now it is still a little disappointing."

Notes:
-Markey and Jacques will be driving home early Friday morning in order to walk at LBC's Graduation which begins at 2:00 p.m.

-Hillsdale will play Manhattan Christian on Friday at 4:15 p.m. The winner of that game will play the loser of tonight's Atlanta Christian/Toccoa Falls battle.

-Westerlund went to Nationals with the men's soccer team, men's basketball team, and baseball team this season. He is the first LBC player to go to Nationals three times in one academic year.