Feb. 27, 2008

Box Score

West Palm Beach, Fla. - Mercyhurst pounded out 16 hits and senior pitcher Eric Drobotij kept St. Bonaventure off balance as the Lakers earned an 9-2 win over the Division I Bonnies Wednesday evening in West Palm Beach, Fla.

Drobotij was a freshman the last time the Lakers and Bonnies met, and St. Bonaventure won that 2005 meeting in a 17-2 rout. Wednesday, however, Drobotij helped his classmates exact some revenge by allowing just two runs on four hits and striking out three in 5.2 innings of work to notch his first win of the season.

The Laker offense continued to roll, as well, scoring more than seven runs for the fifth-straight game and the sixth time this season. The 16 hits were also a season high.

Red-shirt sophomore John Blike led the way with a 4-for-5 performance, giving him nine hits in his last five games. Senior Josh Schmidt added three hits, and red-shirt junior Scott Monzel drove in a team-high three runs.

Monzel got the Lakers started in the first by hitting a two-out double and scoring on Jamie Walczak's RBI single. In the second, Monzel gave the Lakers a 3-0 lead with two-run single.

St. Bonaventure cut the lead to 3-2 with a pair of runs off Drobotij in the third, but the Lakers answered right back in the top of the fourth with a bases loaded walk from Monzel, a Walczak sacrifice fly and an RBI single off the bat of Blike.

The Lakers tacked on two more in the sixth, and Drobotij exited the game in the bottom of the sixth with an 8-2 lead. Senior James Ludwig worked through 2.1 innings and allowed one run before handing the ball to fellow senior John Morris, who shut the door on the Bonnies with a shutout ninth inning.

Junior Joseph Furner helped the Laker cause with two hits and two RBIs. Freshman Jonathan Keppler tallied one hit and scored twice.

Mercyhurst improved to 5-3 with the win and handed St. Bonaventure their second loss in four games. The Lakers have a day off Thursday but face Division I Mount St. Mary's and C.W. Post Friday afternoon.