The Lancaster Bible College baseball team won its second straight NCCAA Division II East Region Crown by defeating Philadelphia Biblical University, 7-6, in the Regional Final on Saturday at Stumpf Field in Lancaster, Pa.

LBC Senior and East Region Player-of-the-Year, Lou Curcio pitched a complete game in the finals, keeping the Crimson Eagles' bats in-check after a rocky second and third inning. PBU scored two runs in the second and four runs in the third to take a 6-5 lead heading into the fourth, but would record only two more hits after the third inning.

While he struggled on the mound to start the game, Curcio's bat stayed hot. After going 1-for-3 in the Chargers' 4-3 semi-final win over Baptist Bible, Curcio was 2-for-3 with an RBI and a run scored in the finals.

Each time the Crimson Eagles scored however, LBC (16-14) responded due in large part to Caleb Erb and Marcus Benner. Each player had three hits and a run scored in the championship game. Erb added two RBI, while Benner knocked in one run.

"We did not play our best baseball today," Chargers Head Coach Doug Yager said. "But in the playoffs, good teams find a way to win and we did that today."

After pounding out 20 hits in their 18-0 semi-final romp over Valley Forge Christian, the Crimson Eagles looked to be on their way to 20 more hits in the finals, before Curcio shut the door. He was most dominant in the sixth and seventh when he struck out three of the last four batters that faced him.

Earlier in the day, it was fellow senior Ben Markey who held the BBC bats at-bay and gave the struggling Chargers' offense time to wake up. Markey scattered seven hits over seven innings and struck out seven for his fourth win of the season.

LBC had just four hits through four innings against BBC starter Tim Radcliff before Erb and Frank DiFilippo singled in the fifth to start the LBC rally. After Drew Tilley was hit by a pitch to force a run home, Joel Butala singled home DiFilippo and Chad Hollinger to give the Chargers their first lead of the day.

Radcliff and the Defenders surprised the Chargers by playing scrappy and taking chances. LBC defeated the Defenders 16-3 and 9-0 just a month ago. Radcliff was knocked around for 16 runs on 15 hits in just 5 2/3 last time out.

"Radcliff pitched really well today," Yager said. "He and [PBU starter] Mike Sundholm, played much better today than they did when we faced them the first time."

LBC advances to the 2010 NCCAA Division II World Series, which will be held in Mason, Ohio, May 12-15. Asked what his team's chances were in two weeks, Yager said the team needs to play better in order to win.

"We did not play poorly today, but the teams we will face in Ohio will not let us struggle at the plate and on the mound like we did today," Yager said. "BBC and PBU played well today, but we were able to buy some time and get back into the game. Teams like Atlanta Christian and Toccoa Falls will not let us do that."

The Chargers will await their seeding in the National Tournament.

Notes:
-This was the third East Region Final that featued LBC and PBU. LBC won the men's soccer championship 1-0 in October, while the Crimson Eagles won the women's volleyball title, 3-0 in October.

-LBC finishes the season 8-0 against East Region opponents.

-The Chargers have won three of the last four East Region titles.

-Seniors Markey, Curcio and Steve Jacques will be heading to nationals for the third time.

-PBU had the longest inning and the shortest inning of the day. Their top of the sixth inning against Valley Forge Christian lasted 34 minutes as they scored 12 runs and sent 15 people to the plate. Against LBC, their top of the fourth lasted two minutes as they swung at two first pitches for two quick outs, followed by a strike and then an inning-ending flyout.