April 11, 2007

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ERIE, Pa. - Mercyhurst defeated Gannon 9-3 in game one of a doubleheader, but needed an RBI single from Adam Gray in the bottom of the seventh to pick up the sweep with a 4-3 win in game two.

Game One
A Tim Echan three-run home run in the bottom of the fourth broke a scoreless tie and helped lead Mercyhurst to a 9-3 win.

Echan finished the game 2-for-3 with four runs batted in. Joe Luli went 3-for-3, scoring twice and driving in two more.

Mercyhurst starter Eric Drobotij cruised through the first five innings allowing just a hit and a walk, while picking up all nine of his strikeouts in the game.

Jamie Walczak added an RBI double in the inning as Mercyhurst claimed a 4-0 lead, then added four more in the bottom of the fifth.

David Lough led off that inning with a double down the right field line, and scored on an single by Joe Luli. After Gannon replaced starter Frank Lauria with reliever Drew Rojek, Sean Weyant doubled in both Josh Schmidt and Luli for a 7-0 lead. Echan followed with a single to score Weyant.

Gannon finally got Drobotij in the sixth inning, scoring twice. RBI singles by Chris Miller and Brad Kozak cut the Laker advantage to 8-2.

Luli drove in the Lakers final run in the sixth, and Jim Travers scored on a fielder's choice for Gannon in the top of the seventh to cap the scoring.

Drobotij improved to 2-1 on the year. He allowed just three hits and two walks in five-plus innings, fanning nine.

Lauria took the loss for Gannon and is 1-3. He gave up the first seven Mercyhurst runs on seven hits and two walks.

Sean Weyant had a pair of hits and two RBIs for the Lakers.

Game Two
Adam Gray singled with two outs in the bottom of the seventh to score Sean Weyant and give the Lakers a sweep in the doubleheader with a 4-3 win.

Brian Espersen rebounded from a three-run first to hold the Golden Knights to just three hits and three walks over six innings. Just one of the three runs was earned and the righty struck out eight.

With two outs in the seventh, Weyant hit a grounder up the middle that he beat out for a single. After pinch hitter John Blike walked, Gray hit a pop up down the right field line that landed in no-man's land allowing Weyant to come home with the game-winner.

Gannon had had a chance in the top of the seventh against reliever James Ludwig, who picked up the win to improve to 2-0. After the lefty walked Matt Amory on four pitches, Ludwig picked off the runner then struck out the next two batters to end the inning.

The Lakers had trailed 3-1 until scoring twice in the sixth. Weyant led off that inning with a base hit and scored on a two-out single by Jamie Walczak. Trey Bennett's single down the right field line tied the score and chased Gannon starter Greg Radwan from the game.

The Lakers had scored their first run in the third on a single by Josh Schmidt.

Gannon got all of its scoring in the first inning with three runs on two hits, three walks and a Laker error.

Weyant, Bennett and Dan Bertolini all had two hits for Mercyhurst.

Rob McNerney had a two run single for the Golden Knights.

Matt Heslop fell to 0-2. After getting out of a jam in the sixth, he allowed the winning run to score in the seventh on two hits and a walk.

Mercyhurst improved to 18-11 with the wins and 6-4 in the GLIAC. Gannon dropped to 5-23 overall and 1-7. The Lakers now lead the all-time series 63-20 and have won nine in a row over their crosstown rival.