Box Score 1 | Box Score 2 With their backs against the wall, the Lancaster Bible baseball team played one of its best games of the season and responded with a game two victory to send the NCCAA East Region Championship Series to a decisive game three on Friday. The Chargers dropped game one to Cairn, 8-3, but battled back to take game two, 13-3. Friday's victor will represent the East Region at next week's NCCAA World Series in Mason, Ohio. 

Cairn controlled game one as they scored two runs in the top of the first inning and eventually made it 4-0 in the top of the fifth. Lancaster Bible's Justin Taylor hit the first of his two home runs in game one in the bottom half of the inning to cut the deficit to 4-1, but the Highlanders tacked on two more runs in the seventh and eighth innings to cruise to the victory. Taylor's second home run of the game was a two-run shot in the seventh as he moved into second place in program history for most hits in a season with 52.

After being the home team in game one, the Chargers were the visitor in game two and jumped all over the Highlanders in the first two innings and took a commanding 9-0 lead. Sophomore Ryan Hartline's two-run single capped a four-run first inning for the Chargers as they sent nine batters to the plate. Lancaster Bible sent 10 batters to the plate in the second as they scored five more times, highlighted by senior Matt Taliercio's two-run home run that made it 7-0. Ricky Bisch singled home Nate Burns to finish off the five-run inning as the Chargers smashed six hits and drew five walks in the first two innings.

Taliercio increased the lead to 12-0 in the fifth as he hit a three-run home run, his 14th home run of the season. Nine of Taliercio's 14 long balls have come at Charger Field this season and his 2-for-4 performance in game two kept his NCAA Division III-leading batting average at .496. Taliercio was also named NCAA Division III Hitter of the Week by the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association on Thursday for his unbelievable week last week. Taliercio went 14-for-19 (.737) from the plate and scored 12 runs while driving in eight and hitting three home runs. He had a slugging percentage of 1.316 for the week.

Sophomore Erich Carroll had his best game in almost two months as he was 3-for-4 with two runs scored and a walk. Hartline finished 2-for-4 with two RBIs in game two, while Taylor was 1-for-3 with three runs scored. 

Friday's game is scheduled to begin at 1 p.m. at Charger Field.