April 6, 2006

Stats

ERIE, Pa. - Gannon (21-8, 2-0 GLIAC), the top ranked team in the Great Lakes Region, swept a doubleheader from Mercyhurat (9-16, 0-2 GLIAC) at Gannon Universty Field, 6-2 and 11-6.

Game One
Joanna Fergus cracked a game-winning grand slam in the bottom of the seventh inning to break a 2-2 tie and give Gannon a 6-2 win in the opener.

Mercyhurst had jumped out to a two-run lead in the top of the third inning, scoring twice with two outs. Jacquie Theurer tripled down the right field with one out. After a Dana Moderick fly out, Anne Styn singled to right to score Theurer. Styn advanced to second on an illegal pitch and came home on a single by Kate Conochan.

Laker starting pitcher Kim Griffin retired 12 of the 14 batters she faced and did not allow a hit, but was lifted at the start of the fifth inning in favor of Brittany Strier.

After Strier pitched a scoreless fifth, the Golden Knights rallied to tie the game in the sixth with four straight two-out baserunners. Strier retired the first two hitters before a swinging bunt by Fergus kept the inning alive. Allison Gerger followed with a single to left field and Kara Hensley was hit by a pitch to load the bases. Pinch hitter Steph Blearman knocked in the tying runs with a base hit up the middle.

Katie Clark, who got the final out of the sixth, stayed in to pitch the seventh for Mercyhurst. Jaclyn Corroto and Kristina Damis both singled with one out and Steph Christ was hit by a pitch to load the bases for the second straight inning. Fergus followed with an opposite field shot over the left field fence to win the game.

Fergus was the only player on either team with more than one hit, going 2-for-4 with a run scored and four RBIs.

Lauren Soldner (9-5) went the distance for the Golden Knights inside the circle, allowing five hits and two earned runs. She walked none and struck out three.

Griffin struck out three in her four innings of work for Mercyhurst, walked a batter and hit one batter. Clark (1-2) took the loss, allowing four earned runs in two-thirds of an inning.

Game two
Game two turned into a slugfest, with the two teams combining for 17 runs and 20 hits.

The Golden Knights jumped out to a 7-0 lead through four and a half innings. A wild pitch by Jen Feret and a throwing error on the catcher, Kim Griffin, led to a pair of Gannon runs in the first inning. In the third, Jaclyn Corroto hit an RBI double and later scored on a wild pitch to extend the lead to 4-0.

The Golden Knights added three more runs in the fifth. Joanna Fergus' two-run double scored Holli Michaels and Corroto. Allison Gerger brought home pinch runner Kadie Ondrus with a single up the middle.

Mercyhurst answered back with two runs in the bottom of the inning. Jenn Kulick suffered a bout of wildness, hitting Jacquie Theurer and walking both Melissa Rizzo and Dana Moderick. A single by Danielle Zubek and a fielder's choice off the bat of Brooke Hamilton each knocked in a run.

Mercyhurst got another run in the bottom of the sixth when Kate Conochan doubled to right center, scoring Annie Dragolich to make it 7-3.

Gannon quickly regrouped and used three hits, a walk and two Laker errors to score four runs in the top of the seventh. With two outs, Steph Christ and Fergus singled and scored on a two-run double by Gerger. Two more runs scored as errors extended the inning.

The Lakers tried to come back against reliever Katie Conner. Moderick led off with a walk and Zubek doubled to put runners on second and third. A pair of wild pitches brought both runners home to cut it to 11-5. Hamilton walked and moved over to third after two more wild pitches. She then scored on a sacrifice fly by Kim Griffin for the 11-6 final.

Kulick (8-3) went six innings for the win, allowing three earned runs on five hits. She struck out five and walked three. Conner pitched the seventh and allowed three runs on two hits and a pair of walks.

Feret (5-7) went the distance for Mercyhurst, allowing 11 runs on 13 hits and three walks. Three Laker errors led to three unearned runs.

Zubek went 2-for-2 to lead Mercyhurst. She doubled, scored and drove in a run.

Fergus reached base in all four of her plate appearances, going 2-for-2 with a pair of walks. Gerger went 2-for-4 and drove in three runs. Corroto led all players with three hits and scored three times.

Mercyhurst will look to rebound with a doubleheader at Hillsdale on April 8 and Wayne State on April 9.