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ADRIAN, Mich.--A grand slam by Matt Psychas in the bottom of the sixth inning proved to be the difference as visiting Heidelberg outlasted Adrian, 9-6, in the championship game of this NCAA Division III Baseball Championship regional site on Sunday.

THE BASICS
= Final Scoreline: NCAA Division III Adrian Regional, Game 6 (championship)--No. 2 seed Heidelberg University 9-11-0, No. 3 seed Adrian College 6-16-1

= Location: Nicolay Field, Adrian, Mich.; Weather: Cloudy, 73 degrees, Wind SW 18 mph

= Records: Heidelberg Student Princes 33-13 overall; Adrian Bulldogs 37-9 overall

= National Rankings:  Adrian is No. 13 by the American Baseball Coaches Association/Collegiate Baseball Newspaper (281 points) and No. 9 in the D3baseball.com/National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association (378) poll; Heidelberg is receiving votes by D3baseball.com.

TOP 'DAWGS
= Senior Jason Croci led Adrian with a game-high four hits and two runs batted in.

= Sophomore Brandon Cooper added 3-for-5, including a couple doubles, with a run scored and RBI from the No. 9 spot.

= Classmate Thomas Miller also had three hits, including a double.

= Juniors Gunner Rainey and Brady Wood chipped in two hits each. Rainey also drove in a pair of runs.

THE OPPOSITION
= Kane Bateman was 3-for-5 with two runs scored and a RBI.

= Marc Ochoa and Robert Hunt chipped in two hits apiece. Hunt, the No. 9 hitter in the lineup, scored twice, drove in a run and walked once.

= Mason Metz (W, 4-1) got the win in relief, going 2.1 scoreless innings. He gave up three hits and no walks with a strikeout.

HOW IT HAPPENED
= The Bulldogs outhit the Student Princes 16 to 11, but left 13 runners on base.

= In the key sixth inning for Heidelberg, Hunt opened with a bunt single to the pitcher, Bateman singled to center field and Kyle Jenkins walked to load the bases. Psychas lifted a high flyball to the opposite field in right-center that cleared the fence with the almost 20 mile-per-hour winds blowing out. That home run made the score 9-5.

= In the fifth, Adrian battled back from a 4-2 deficit to plate three runs and take its last lead of the afternoon at 5-4. Freshman Kevin Cardentey had a sacrifice fly to left field and Croci laced a two-run triple to the same spot.

= The Berg, however, knotted the score at 5-all in the bottom half. Eric Devore sent a sacrifice fly to right center.

= Trailing 2-1 in the fourth, the Student Princes reclaimed the lead with three runs to make it 4-2. Hunt had a RBI-triple through the right side all the way to the right field wall, Bateman had a RBI-single to center and Jenkins capped it with a RBI-double down the right field line.

= Adrian got its first lead of the day in the third when Rainey deposited a two-run single into left-center to erase a 1-0 deficit.

= The Student Princes struck first with a RBI-groundout to the pitcher by Zach Doran in the second.

BEYOND THE BOX SCORE
= Adrian is now 22-27 in the NCAA Tournament all-time.

= The Bulldogs were also the NCAA Midwest Regional Runner-Up in 2014 at Whitewater, Wis.

= The 2012 squad set the AC record with 37 victories against 10 losses.

= Adrian wound up 4-0 against Top 25-ranked teams in 2019.

= The Bulldogs see their best record in team history finish with a 37-9 record for an .804 winning percentage.

= The 'Berg advance to the Super Regionals against Wooster this weekend.

= Rainey won the Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association batting title with a .411 average, which is 67 points higher than his previous career high of .344 as a sophomore.

= The 2019 MIAA Player of the Year also ties teammate Miller for the conference's RBI crown with 50 apiece.

= The Student Princes have won the last three meetings to take a 23-15 all-time series lead over the Bulldogs. Adrian is 9-8 at home against The Berg.

= Senior Jason Schroeder, who did not pitch today, wraps up his AC career tied for 17th in victories (14-3) and 14th in strikeouts (107) on the program's all-time charts.

= The NCAA Game Committee moved up today's start time was moved up 30 minutes to 11:30 a.m. to get the contest in before the wet weather forecasted to hit the region. The teams did play through a couple downpours under mostly dry conditions. Rain did sweep into the city just after completion of play.

NEXT UP
= Adrian is expected to return four of five starting pitchers and six starters in the lineup in 2020. The Bulldogs will have their non-traditional season next fall. 

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