SCRANTON, Pa. - The Catholic University baseball team totaled 17 hits and held off a late rally en route to an 8-6 victory over top-seeded Scranton in a Landmark Conference Baseball Championship elimination game Saturday.

The Cardinals (29-11) will face the loser between Susquehanna and Elizabethtown in another elimination game Saturday night at Scranton's Volpe Field.

Junior Ben Nardi totaled four hits and scored three runs while senior Tighe Watson went 3-for-6 with two RBIs as Catholic led 7-1 after six inning.

On the mound, senior Jack Zaffiro did not allow an earned run over 5.1 innings while surrendering just two hits to pick up his second win of the season.

Senior Peter Giombetti got things started with a two-run single to right in the top of the first before the Royals got one back in the second on an RBI-double by Jake Lisicky.

Watson answered with an RBI-double of his own in the third before scoring on an error to push the Cardinal lead to 4-1. Junior Zach Burton highlighted a three-run sixth with his fourth home run of the season, a two-run shot to left as Catholic took a six-run lead, 7-1.

Scranton (28-12-1) answered with three runs in the seventh to cut its deficit to three before Watson scored Nardi with an RBI-single in the eighth for the Cardinals' eighth run of the game.

The Royals threatened in the ninth with RBIs from Lisicky and Corey Zientek, but with the tying run at the plate, senior Matt Tesoriero got John Zarnowski to ground out to end the game.

Led by Nardi and Watson, a total of eight players had at least one hit for Catholic with six recording at least two. Giombetti and Burton each had two hits and two RBIs.