CARY, N.C. - Three down, one to go.

Evan Kehoe went 2-for-3 and drove in three runs and Guido Knudson pitched 4 2/3 innings of scoreless relief to lead the No. 1 ranked UC San Diego baseball team to a 6-3 victory over No. 13 Franklin Pierce in the NCAA Division II National Championship Semifinals Thursday evening at the USA Baseball National Training Complex in Cary, N.C.

With the win, UCSD (54-7) advances to the national championship game on Saturday at 9:00 a.m. PT. The Tritons will take on the winner of Friday's elimination contest between No. 3 Georgia College & State and No. 9 Southern Indiana. The Bobcats (42-16) handed the Screaming Eagles (50-14) their first loss of the tournament earlier Thursday to stay alive and force a rematch on Friday at 11:00 a.m. local time.

Franklin Pierce finishes fourth at the National Finals with a final record 43-17-1.

The only unbeaten team left in the finals, the Tritons will be making the program's first appearance in the championship game after advancing to the semifinals in 2009. UCSD has won six straight games in the NCAA Tournament and enters Saturday's contest having won 20 of its last 21 overall.

"We found a way to win tonight and that's the bottom line," head coach Dan O'Brien said. "We didn't play our best baseball, but we did a lot of things really well and these guys have just been incredibly resilient all year."

After scoring a total of five runs in wins over GCSU and Central Missouri earlier in the week, the Triton offense pounded FPU pitching for 13 hits and six runs on Thursday, overcoming the team's first deficit of the tournament behind a three-run sixth inning.

Kehoe was one of five different Tritons to finish with multiple hits in the game, driving in two runs in the first inning and coming through with an RBI double that tied it in the sixth. Vance Albitz, Kyle Saul, Aaron Bauman, and Danny Susdorf also had two hits and all five scored runs.

Knudson was brilliant in his fifth relief appearance of the season, allowing just one hit after taking over for starter Kirby St. John with one out and a runner on third in the fifth. The junior right-hander got out of the inning and proceeded to retire 13 of the 15 batters he faced -- the final 10 in order -- to pick up the victory.

The fourth UCSD pitcher to reach the 10-win mark in 2010, Knudson (10-3) struck out four and walked none, turning in yet another dominant pitching performance for the Tritons in Cary.

"Kirby was battling out there and I just wanted to come in and pick him up," Knudson said. "I was just trying to focus on one pitch and pound the strike zone. Kellen (Lee) did a great job back there and we got the job done."  

St. John allowed three runs on four hits in 4 1/3 innings. He fanned two and walked two.

The Tritons jumped on Raven starter Heath Wasylow early, taking a 2-0 lead in the bottom of the first. With two outs and runners on second and third, Kehoe singled to right field to drive in his first runs of the tournament.

FPU came right back with three in the top of the second, with second baseman Cody Kauffman delivering the big blow, a two-run homer to left field.

Trailing for the first time since May 14, UCSD rallied with three runs in the last of the sixth. Kehoe followed back-to-back singles from Bauman and Brandon Gregorich with a roping double to right center, tying the game at 3-3 and chasing Wasylow.

Gregorich, who recorded his 100th hit of the season and ended an 0-for-12 skid, scored the go-ahead run on a wild pitch by reliever T.J. Ferguson and Lee's sacrifice fly to center field made it 5-3 in favor of the Tritons.

Lee added a stand-up triple in the eighth and then scored on a perfectly executed squeeze bunt by Grant Bauer for UCSD's final run.

Knudson then worked a perfect ninth to put the finishing touches on the Triton victory.

"It was just a great team win tonight," O'Brien continued. "We got a dominant performance from Guido and we found a way to score some runs. This program's all about playing team ball and that was a great team win."

Wasylow (3-4) took the loss for the Ravens, surrendering five runs on 10 hits in five innings of work. FPU used four pitchers in the game, with Ferguson, Rob Blanc, and Sean Keeler combining to allow one run on three hits out of the bullpen.

Regardless of Saturday's outcome, a first-time champion will be crowned for the third consecutive season. A win would give UCSD its first national title in any sport since the women's soccer team won in 2001.