KANNAPOLIS, NC - Susquehanna baseball dropped the Sunday finale of the D3 Baseball Showcase at Atrium Health Ballpark witha 16-6 defeat at the hands of Berry (Ga.) in eight innings.

Berry got the scoring started off first-year Ben Gearhart in the bottom of the first, with three consecutive doubles, a flyout, and then a sacrifice fly that amounted to three runs.

After Gearhart set down the side in the second, the River Hawks rallied to tie the game in the top of the third. Tyler Hmielewski and Vito Demonte singled, Dylan Heyduk walked, and then Tony Rossi came through with a two-run single to center that plated Hmielewski and Demonte. Sophomore infielder Michael Gagliardi followed with an RBI groundout that scored Heyduk.

Alex Knapp scored a run for Berry in the bottom half of the inning, walking, stealing second and third, and scoring on a fielder's choice by Andrew Pendleton. The Vikings added four more to make it 8-3 in the fourth on three hits, all off Gearhart, who was relieved with one out and the bases loaded by Dominic Giglio, who punched out two batters to strand three on base.

The Vikings loaded the bases in the bottom of the sixth before scoring two on back-to-back sacrifice flies. Aidan Proctor was summoned from first base to take the mound in place of Giglio, whose final line saw him throw 2.1 innings while punching out three. Proctor did not allow a run over 1.1 innings, although he allowed a single that plated a runner he inherited, which got the River Hawks through the seventh still trailing 11-3.

Proctor gave the River Hawks life in the top of the eighth, blasting a three-run double to right center after a two-out rally featuring singles by Rossi and Gagliardi and a walk by Jaden Buechler. Hoyt Smith behind him walked, as did Hmielewski, but the River Hawks left the bases loaded with the potential tying run on deck.

Berry added five more runs in the bottom of the eighth, sealing the game by way of the run rule. Susquehanna will be back down south as the team sets to prepare for a week in Fort Pierce, FL after a midweek clash at Wilson on Wednesday.