AUBURN, N.Y.--For the first time in program history, Swarthmore College Baseball will make a trip to the NCAA Division III Baseball Championship in Appleton, Wisconsin.

In their first NCAA Tournament appearance since 1985, the Garnet (37-9) were crowned New York Region Champions on early Monday morning after defeating No. 24-ranked Southern Maine 9-3.

Swarthmore didn't lose any of its four games in the regional tournament, taking out the Huskies twice, No. 9 SUNY Cortland (35-12) once and Baldwin Wallace (33-14) once.

The final game began on Sunday at 9:20 p.m., and the Garnet found themselves down 1-0 in the top of the 1st inning. Eventual Tournament MVP Charlie Levitt had Swarthmore's first hit in the bottom of that inning. It was one of his three triples and five extra-base hits in the tournament. He scored on a sacrifice fly by junior Jackson Roberts, and sophomore Cole Beeker eventually scored on a passed ball to give the Garnet an early lead.

Southern Maine (30-15) regained a 3-2 lead in the fifth and also loaded the bases with no outs. Junior Charles Groppe (6-0) struck out the next three hitters. Those were the starting pitcher's final batters, and that was the turning point in the game.

In the bottom of the fifth, sophomore AJ Liu scored on a Levitt triple to tie the game. That was a common sight over the week as both players had 10 hits in 16 at-bats, accumulating .625 averages. Levitt slugged 1.125, and Liu scored nine runs.

In that same inning, Swarthmore took a 5-3 lead that it would never give up. Levitt scored on a wild pitch, and Beeker scored on a bases-loaded walk issued to senior Matt Palmer.

Senior Max Kassan came on to pitch the sixth, and he threw 1.2 scoreless innings. Junior Zach Gonzalez helped him close out the seventh by retiring the only batter he'd face.

Junior Conor Elliott provided the Garnet with an insurance run in the sixth on a groundout that drove in Liu, but the big separation came in the eighth inning. Roberts hit a double to left field that allowed Liu and sophomore Holden Bridge to reach home. Roberts also scored the game's final run on an error.

Sophomore Jack Corkery shut the door as he has all season by pitching two scoreless innings and recording his eighth save.

In the title-clinching game, Levitt secured his MVP honor by going 4-for-4 with an RBI, two triples, two runs scored and a walk. Liu locked up All-New York Region Tournament Team recognition with a 2-for-4 game in which he scored three runs.

Roberts and junior pitcher Ricky Conti were also named to the all-tournament team.

The NCAA Division III Baseball Championship is set to take place from Friday, May 25 until Tuesday, May 29 at Neuroscience Group Field at Fox Cities Stadium in Appleton, Wisconsin. More information will be added once available.