BECKLEY, W.Va. - - UVa-Wise saw its 2019 baseball season end on day three of the Mountain East Conference Tournament as the Cavaliers dropped a 4-2 decision to Notre Dame College in an elimination game. The Falcons took advantage of three errors to plate three runs in the fifth inning as starter Kenny Pierson went the distance to keep Len Barker's team alive in the tournament.

UVa-Wise (26-27) jumped out to a 1-0 lead in the home second as junior Matthew Branham lined a two-out RBI double allowing senior David Thomas to score all the way from first base.

The score would remain unchanged until the fifth as senior Trevor Nevill fired four consecutive scoreless frames to keep his team in front.

In the fifth, Notre Dame's (27-26) Adam Purdy doubled to lead off the inning. Down a run, the Falcons elected to sacrifice bunt to move Purdy to third with less than two outs. Naja Garcia would pop the bunt up but a diving effort by Nevill would go for naught putting men on the corners with nobody out.

Lukas Thompson would then double down the left line to plate Purdy and from there chaos would ensue. The throw from left fielder Ethan Fletcher would hit Garcia on his way to third allowing Garcia to scamper home. With the ball kicked away toward the infield, Thompson headed toward third only to see first baseman Branham scoop the ball up and have an apparent play on the runner. Branham's throw would hit third base umpire Mitch Mayle in the head before ricocheting out of play allowing Thompson to come home with the third run of the inning.  

The Cavs answered back in the home fifth as back-to-back one out singles by Jordon Turner, Ethan Fletcher and Bret Roberts made it a 3-2 contest. Pierson would limit the threat as he would get a strikeout for the second out of the frame before Brett Yates lined out sharply to first base to end thre threat.

Notre Dame tacked on a fourth run in the top the eighth on a Joe Paskell RBI double before UVa-Wise put up a threat in the home half of the frame.

Down 4-2, Yates and Thomas posted back-to-back one out singles before Pierson induced an inning ending double play to wiggle out of the jam.

After reliever RJ Vanvickle hung a zero in the top of the ninth, the Cavs headed to the bat rack with three outs to work with.

Dawson Cagle would work a 10-pitch at bat before flying out to centerfield on a 3-2 pitch before Branham was retired after an eight pitch at bat. Turner would single to keep the game alive only to see Pierson complete the game with a fly out off the bat of Fletcher to end the game.

Pierson scattered 10 hits over his 124-pitch effort. The left-hander struck out four and did not issue a walk to improve to 5-6 on the year.

Thomas and Turner led UVa-Wise with two hits each in what was the final collegiate game for Cal Bailey, Landon Faulkner, Nevill, Thomas, Yates, Brock Smith, Matthew Church and Kellen Larkin.

Thomas finishes his career seventh in school history with 170 games played and seventh in games started with 159. The outfielder finished 10th in school history with 105 RBI, 11th in school history with 168 hits, 11th in total bases with 234 and 19th in doubles with 26.

Yates ranks third in games started with 179, fourth in games played with 189, seventh in hits with 189, eighth in doubles with 38, 11th in RBI with 103 and 15th in runs scored with 95.

The game was also the last for UVa-Wise as a member of the Mountain East Conference, next year the school will compete in the South Atlantic Conference.

The 26 wins are the most by the program since joining NCAA Division II and the postseason appearance was the first since 2012. The Cavs won their first postseason game as a Division II member on Friday with a 19-14 win over Fairmont State.