BRONX, N.Y.—No. 6 Davidson got a strong pitching performance from senior Durin O’Linger and used hot bats to upset third-seeded Saint Joseph’s 8-4 in the first game of the 2016 Atlantic 10 Baseball Championship Wednesday at Fordham’s Houlihan Park.

The Wildcats (26-24) advance to face the winner of No. 2 VCU and No. 7 George Washington Thursday at 10:00 am. SJU falls into the consolation bracket of the double-elimination tournament.

O’Linger went 6 1/3 innings, keeping the Hawks to a single hit through the first five innings. He eventually surrendered four runs on six total hits, but the Davidson bullpen preserved the win for O’Linger (7-4), who recorded four strikeouts. Westin Whitmire picked up his eighth save of the year, allowing one hit in 1 2/3 innings.

The Wildcat bats were hot throughout the game to help O’Linger get an early lead, and then turn back a late SJU rally with 14 total hits. Six different players had two hits in the game, including Eric Jones, whose right-field double scored Alec Acosta in the second inning. A leadoff home run by Lee Miller in the fourth, followed by an RBI single by Max Bazin gave Davidson a 3-0 lead.

Bazin got his second RBI with a groundout in the sixth that scored Jones. A single to centerfield by Jake Sidwell drove in Will Robertson and gave the Cats a 5-0 lead.

Saint Joseph’s scored twice in the bottom of the sixth, first on an RBI double by John Brue and and RBI single by Charlie Coghlin. Marc Giacalone scored on Brue’s hit and then Brue plated on Coglin’s single. The Hawks then loaded the bases in the bottom of the seventh with a walk and a pair of singles. A-10 Player of the Year Deon Stafford, Jr.’s single scored Taylor Boyd and Coghlin hit a single-bag shot down the right-field line to score Giacalone. Davidson got out of the inning on a fielder’s choice throw to the plate that caught Stafford trying to score.  Stafford led the Hawks with a 3-for-4 performance on the day.

The Wildcats scored three insurance runs in the top of the ninth. First, a single by Brian Fortier plated Bazin. Then Fortier, who had worked his way to third, stole home. Acosta’s RBI double then scored Miller for Davidson’s final run.

Lucas Rollins (5-5) took the loss for Saint Joseph’s. He went 5 2/3 innings, allowing five runs on 11 hits.