LINCOLN, Neb. --- Drew Dant tied a NAIA National Championship Opening Round record with three home runs and the No. 5-seeded University of St. Francis baseball team rallied from a 7-2 deficit to force a seven-all tie, but No. 4 seed Mount Mercy University (Iowa) scored the go-ahead run in the bottom of the eighth inning to claim an 8-7 first-round victory on Monday afternoon.

Dant authored solo home runs in the second and sixth innings before keying a four-run top half of the eighth inning with his two-run shot to left field.  Mount Mercy (33-20) countered with a pair of three-run home runs, the first of which gave the Mustangs a 4-1 lead after two innings.  MMU also answered St. Francis' single run in the fifth inning with its second three-run home run in the bottom of the frame to open a 7-2 advantage. 

Dant accounted for USF's next three runs with his home runs in the sixth and eighth innings, the latter of which made it a 7-5 contest.  Brayan Hidalgo and Jake Merda kept the rally going with a pair of one-out singles with Hidalgo scoring on a Cliff Vickers groundout. 

The Saints then loaded the bases on back-to-back walks to Dan Gusel and John McGuire before pinch runner Alex Mielcarz scored the tying run on a wild pitch.  The seven-all tie, however, did not last long as Mount Mercy put together three straight hits after one out to tally the eventual winning run.

USF did not threaten in the top of the ninth inning, getting only a Dant walk with two outs for its only baserunner.  The Saints did, however, have other scoring opportunities earlier in the game.  They put four runners in scoring position with only one out in the third, fourth and fifth innings, but only came away with one run on a Maliska groundout.

As a team, USF outhit Mount Mercy 12-10 with McGuire providing a pair of doubles.  Jake Klepacz and Hidalgo both went 2-for-5 with a single and a double. 

Starter Mack Malczewski (two innings) and reliever Ryan Daly (six innings) were each charged with four earned runs.  Daly (9-2) was charged with the loss, which snapped a personal nine-game winning streak.

With the loss, the Saints (29-20) move into the elimination bracket, where they will face No. 2 seed and 19th nationally-ranked Doane University, Neb. (38-14) at 11 am on Tuesday.  The Tigers dropped an 8-6 decision to No. 3 seed University of Science & Arts of Oklahoma on Monday night.

Notes: Dant came into the contest with six home runs on the season … The four RBIs put Dant at a team-best 51 on the season … The three-homer game was the second of the postseason for USF – the come-from-behind win over Trinity Christian was the other – and the fourth of the campaign … Saint pitchers hit a season-high five batters on the day … USF's three leaders in multi-hit games all added to their numbers with Klepacz now at 22, Dant at 21 and McGuire at 20.      

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