Let’s play three.

IUP’s Davin Landers stroked a three-run homer in the eighth inning Saturday, and the Crimson Hawks edged Seton Hill, 9-8, to even the best-of-three NCAA Division II Atlantic Super Regional series at a game apiece and send the teams to a third, deciding game Sunday.

“Nothing better than playing baseball on Memorial Day weekend,” IUP coach Steve Kline said. “For me, it’s like going back to the pros and playing back-to-back-to-back days.”

Kline, in his third season at IUP, spent 11 years in the major leagues as a relief pitcher, leading the National League in appearances three times from 1999-2001.

Landers’ shot, over the left-field fence off Ian Korn (3-1), erased a 7-6 deficit and set up a Game 3 at 1 p.m. Sunday at Owen J. Dougherty Field in Indiana.

It had been scheduled as part of a Saturday doubleheader, if needed, but was moved back a day because of the threat of inclement weather.

Officials made the decision to make the switch after reports of lightning strikes, which, if detected during the game, would have delayed it by 30 minutes in every instance.

“Sitting around and waiting is the problem,” Kline said.

He said Sunday’s rescheduled game represents “another day to hang out with my team. It’s a beautiful thing.

“And it’s really hard to win a doubleheader,” he said. “Winning two games in one day is tough against a real good opponent.”

The series winner advances to the D-II World Series, beginning Saturday, June 1, in Cary, N.C.

“I’m fine with it,” Seton Hill coach Marc Marizzaldi said of the change in plans. “The way our regular season is, we play a home-and-home (of doubleheaders) anyway. We’re used to playing and then making a trip home after the game. Plus, it’s only 45 minutes (from Indiana to Seton Hill’s Greensburg campus). Our guys get to sleep in their own beds tonight.”

The win, IUP’s first in NCAA super regional play, established a school record for victories in a season for the Crimson Hawks (37-16).

Seton Hill (41-16), which won Game 1 on Friday, 5-4, was ahead of IUP on Saturday after Jack Oberdorf’s two-run double in the seventh inning gave the Griffins their 7-6 advantage.

Landers’ fourth home run of the season put IUP ahead, 9-7, in the top of the eighth before Seton Hill closed within a run in bottom of the inning on Braden Durham’s sacrifice fly.

“I don’t really remember too much about it, honestly,” Landers said. “Just feeling a little bit numb at the moment. But we’ve got to stay focused for (Sunday). We’ve got one more to go until the College World Series, so that’s pretty special.”

While Seton Hill has made three World Series appearances (NCAA in 2014 and ‘21 and NAIA in 2006), IUP is seeking its first trip.

“Whoever plays the best (Sunday) is going to affect the outcome,” Marizzaldi said. “That’s the way it is. We beat them with a home run (Friday), and they beat us with a home run (Saturday).”

Landers homered two outs after Korn walked Andrew Sicinski and Brady Yard to lead off the eighth. It also flipped the script from Friday’s series opener, when Seton Hill’s Max Mandler hit a go-ahead homer in the seventh, and the Griffins prevailed.

IUP starter Derrick Shields was touched for nine hits and seven runs during six-plus innings of work. Jimmy Tooley (3-2) pitched the final three innings, yielding three hits and just the one eighth-inning run.

Seton Hill’s Aiden Layton went 6 1/3 innings and gave up six runs on only five hits. Griffins pitchers walked a total of six batters, three by Korn.

Seton Hill outhit IUP, 12-8.

“We probably were the little bit better team, offensively, and they were definitely the better team pitching-wise today,” Marizzaldi said. “Our pitching has been our strength all year, but we just didn’t throw enough strikes today. Out of their nine runs, at least five got on with free passes. That was the difference.”

Seton Hill threatened to tie the game in the bottom of the ninth after Oberdorf’s one-out single against Tooley. But IUP held on while Tooley retired the final two Seton Hill batters.

“Tooley came in and did a great job,” Kline said. “That’s two times in a row, so we’re happy about it.”

The junior lefthander also was the winning pitcher May 19 in a 10-inning, 2-1 victory over Charleston (W.Va.) in the championship game of the Atlantic Region One Tournament, hurling six scoreless relief innings and giving up just two hits.

The Griffins took a 1-0 lead against Shields in the first as Oberdorf doubled and scored on Owen Mandler’s triple.

The Crimson Hawks reached Layton for five runs in the fourth to take a 5-1 lead.

Yard and David Kessler hit RBI singles during the rally, and IUP added three more runs on a wild pitch, passed ball and Landers’ sacrifice fly.

Seton Hill pulled within 5-3 on Jakob Haynes’ two-run single in the bottom of the fourth before the Griffins tied the score in the sixth on Max Mandler’s two-run homer, a day after his game-winning blow.

Ricardo Aponte’s RBI single in the seventh against Korn gave IUP the lead back at 6-5.

But Oberdorf’s two-run double greeted Tooley in the bottom of the inning to put Seton Hill back in front by a run after Tooley relieved Shields, who gave up Noah Sweeney’s double and a hit batsman to Owen Henne to start the inning.

Oberdorf, a Greensburg Salem product, is a combined 6 for 9 in both super regional games, raising his team-leading batting average to .350. He went 3 for 5 Saturday after a 3-for-4 showing Friday.

“I’ve got to try to figure out how to pitch to him,” Kline said. “He’s a great player, and you honor guys like that. You respect them.”

Then, with a grin, Kline said: “I told Jack, ‘I’m not going to miss you.’”

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