Baseball Atlantic 10 Conference

Simply Super! VCU tops Dallas Baptist 3-1 to advance to NCAA Super Regional!

DALLAS (AP) - VCU's Sean Thompson and Matt Lees held host Dallas Baptist to four hits in a 3-1 victory to take the Dallas regional championship on Monday.

VCU (40-23) is the first A-10 since the Richmond Spiders in 2002 to win a regional and advance to super regional play. 

The Rams won three of four regional games, allowing only six runs.

Lees earned his third save, pitching 3 1/3 innings after relieving Thompson (6-3) in the sixth.

Joseph Shaw (10-5) lost to VCU for the second time in the tournament. He left in the second inning after forcing in a run by hitting James Bunn with a pitch and giving up another when Cody Acker grounded out.

Jimmy Kerrigan led off the sixth with a double, stole third base and scored on another groundout by Acker.

Plate umpire Barry Chambers was hit in the chest by a pitched ball, and was replaced in the seventh inning.

Dallas Baptist (46-15) had forced an extra game by edging VCU 2-1 earlier Monday. Closer Brandon Koch (3-2) pitched a season-high 4 2/3 innings, allowing two hits and striking out seven.

Daniel Sweet and Chane Lynch each singled to drive in a first-inning run. The loss ended the Rams' 13-game winning streak. But they won the deciding game.