April 22, 2006

Stats

Erie, Pa. - Mercyhurst, #6 in the North Central Region, continued to roll with a doubleheader sweep of Northwood Saturday. The Lakers won the opener 6-2 and completed the afternoon with a 9-0 verdict in the nightcap. Mercyhurst, which has won a dozen games in a row and 17 of its last 18, improved to 29-11 overall and 15-5 in the Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC). The Timberwolves dropped to 16-24 and 6-14.

Joe Mariano and Walter Wieczorek had two hits apiece in the opener which saw the Lakers open the scoring with two unearned runs in the third. Marian began the uprising when he was hit by a pitch. Dan Bertolini hit a sacrifice fly in the fourth for a 3-0 lead and Wieczorek's RBI single increased the advantage to 4-0 in the fifth. Bertolini doubled home the Lakers' fifth run in the sixth and Mariano knocked in Bertolini with a base hit to complete the Mercyhurst scoring.

Northwood scored both its runs, unearned, in the seventh against relief pitcher James Ludwig on an infield error, a walk and three singles. Sophomore starter Eric Drobotij (3-1) worked five scoreless innings, allowed four hits, but kept things interesting with six walks. Ludwig got the final six outs. A.J. Eppler (2-3) took the loss.

The Lakers got a quick 2-0 lead against Northwood and starter Champ Rankin in the first inning of the second contest. Sophomore David Lough doubled in one run and sophomore Joe Luli doubled home Lough.

Those proved to be all the runs freshman John Mang (4-0) would need. Mang allowed just three hits and fanned eleven in his complete-game gem.

Meanwhile, the Lakers put the game away with a 5-run third. Wieczorek plated the first run with an infield grounder, junior Josh Schmidt singled in two, Sean Weyant singled home the inning's fourth marker, and the fifth scored on Bertolini's sacrifice fly.

The Lakers put the finishing touches on the scoring with two in the fifth. Weyant hit a sacrifice fly and Jamie Walczak doubled to right center for the Lakers' 9th run.

Schmidt paced a 9-hit Mercyhurst attack with three hits.

Rankin (1-1), the first of three Northwood hurlers, lasted only 2.1 innings, allowing five runs and seven hits.

Mercyhurst's 29 wins are the most since a 35-win season in 2000, Joe Spano's first as head coach and the last time the Lakers reached the NCAA playoffs.

The teams will conclude the weekend series Sunday with a second doubleheader. The first game will start at 12 noon.