WASHINGTON - After splitting day one of the Landmark Conference semifinals series on Saturday, The Catholic University of America topped the University of Scranton Royals 7-5 on Sunday afternoon.

Jack Hennessy started the mid-morning showdown on the mound for Catholic, pitching to 31 hitters and tossing two strike outs. Christopher Hutton closed out the game pitching the final 2.2 innings and earning the win.

With a spot in the Landmark Conference final series on the line, both the Cardinals and Royals drove in a run in the first inning. Catholic's run came off a sacrifice fly from Eric Scamardella to score Daniel Hinchcliff.

The Cardinals broke away from the 1-1 tie in the third inning with three runs. Mike McFarland led off the inning with a walk and advanced to second on a sacrifice fly from Hinchcliff. Wyatt Schmidt singled to left field, sending McFarland to third, and Stefan Poggioli crushed a three-run homer, bringing the Cards to a 5-2 lead.

Scranton answered with two runs in the bottom of the inning. Each team notched another in the sixth and the Royals tied the game at five in the seventh inning.

With two outs and a tie score in the top of the ninth, Scamardella sent a grounder to the second baseman and reached first base on an error that scored Hinchcliff. Anthony Ferlise followed with an RBI-single scoring Poggioli and bringing CUA to a 7-5 lead.

The Royals were unable to answer in the bottom of the inning as Catholic earned the ticket to their fourth Landmark Conference Finals.

The Landmark Conference final series will begin with a nine inning game on Friday, May 8, at 3:30 p.m. The fourth seeded Catholic University will take on the second seeded Moravian College for the conference crown.