LAKEWOOD, N.J. (5/19/11) – Sophomore right-hander Kevin Herget tossed a three-hit shutout while senior leftfielder Ken Gregory drove in three runs as top-seeded Kean University remained alive in the NCAA Mid-Atlantic Regional with a 6-0 victory over No. 5 seed Messiah College in Game 5 of the tournament at FirstEnergy Park on Thursday afternoon.

The Cougars (37-8) broke the game open with a five-run ninth inning as they rebounded from a 3-2 loss to Catholic on Wednesday evening. Kean will face the loser of the Rowan/Alvernia contest on Friday, May 20 at 1:15 pm.

Junior first baseman Wes Hollenbach was 1-for-3 for Messiah, which finished its season at 25-19. The Falcons were making their fourth appearance in the NCAA Division III Baseball Championship having earned its berth by claiming the automatic bid with the Commonwealth Conference title.

Herget improved to 7-0 with his second shutout of the season as he allowed just three singles. He struck out six and walked two in posting his third complete game of the season.

Kean grabbed a 1-0 lead in the top of the fourth inning as first baseman Lee Cavico doubled down the left field line with one out.  Gregory, after fouling off several two-strike pitches, stroked a single through the right side scoring Cavico.

Messiah threatened in the bottom half as John Brubaker was hit by pitch to open the inning. He would go to second on a sacrifice and third on wild pitch, but was stranded as Herget induced a pair of ground outs to first base.

Herget and Falcons starter Tory Arnesen traded zeros on the scoreboard until the Cougars broke the game open in the ninth.

Chris Carrano singled in the infield with one out and Cavico slapped a single through the right side putting runners on first and second. Gregory followed with a double driving in two as Kean gave Herget some breathing room with a 3-0 advantage. An error on a potential double-play ball allowed Gregory to score and Eddie Jennings delivered the final two runs with a single as the Cougars expanded their lead to 6-0.

That would be more than enough for Herget, who allowed a leadoff single in the bottom of the ninth before getting the next three outs to cap of his 113-pitch outing.

Arnesen (7-3) took the loss allowing four runs and eight hits in 8 1/3 innings. He fanned four and issued one walk.

Cavico finished 3-for-4 for Kean, which had nine hits in the game.