Erie, Pa. – The Mercyhurst baseball team defeated Gannon 11-2 in the first game Sunday, and had to work extra innings for a 9-6 victory to complete the four-game weekend sweep in their first PSAC West series. 

Mercyhurst has won seven games in a row and is 12-7, having swept Gannon for a 4-0 PSAC West record. Gannon is 2-15, 0-4 in the PSAC West. 

Adam Gray pitched the last two innings in the second game to earn the win, while Jeff Stoll launched a solo home run in the third inning and scored the game-winning run after hitting a double to lead off the top of the ninth. Craig Denman drove in the wiinning run in game two, one of this hree RBI in the game.

Game two proved to be a tightly contested ballgame, requiring extra innings. Mercyhurst took a 2-0 lead in the first inning, as Denman knocked in two runs with a double. The Lakers scored one more run in the top of the second to boost their lead to 3-0. The Golden Knights stormed back to tie the score at three apiece in the bottom of the second. Stoll homered to left to give Mercyhurst a 4-3 lead in the top of the third inning. 

Mercyhurst staked a 6-3 lead after Keppler and Adam Schlessel posted RBI singles in the top of the fifth. Gannon answered with a pair of runs in the bottom of the fifth inning and tied the game with two outs in the seventh, forcing extra innings to be played. 

The Lakers threatened in the top of the eighth, but were unable to bring anyone home with the bases loaded and two outs. After a scoreless bottom half of the eighth, the Lakers took control with three runs in the top of the ninth. 

Stoll clobbered an offering from Adam Gunnell into left center field for a double to lead off the ninth inning. Denman stroked an RBI single, giving the Lakers the lead. With Denman on second due to a balk, Gray laced an RBI single and advanced to third on a throwing error. Gray scored on a groundout, and Mercyhurst took a 9-6 lead into the bottom of the ninth. The Golden Knights went one-two-three in the ninth, and fell 9-6. 

In game two, Denman went 4-for-5 with a double and three RBI, including the game-winning RBI. Stoll's home run gave him three in the four-game weekend series and five for the season. He batted 2-of-5 with a double, homer and one RBI. Gray earned the win with two scoreless innings pitched. He added two hits, as did Keppler. 

In game one, the Lakers jumped out to a 9-0 lead after three and a half innings. Mercyhurst scored five runs in the first inning, with Joseph Furner knocking in two runs with an RBI single, while Gray crossed the plate on an errant throw by the catcher. The Lakers added one run in the top of the second inning, and plated three runs in the top of the fifth, with John Blike hitting an RBI double for a 9-0 edge. 

After Gannon scored two runs, Jamie Walczak knocked in Thomas Kufel with a sacrifice fly in the top of the seventh, and Jonathan Keppler scored on a Jonathan Dziomba double to make the final score 11-2. 

Blike and Furner each recorded two runs batted in. John Mang pitched five innings and earned the win, giving up one run on two hits with three strikeouts. 

Mercyhurst and Gannon will face each other May 1 at Jerry Uht Sadium to close out the regular season. 

Next, Mercyhurst will take on IUP in a home-and-home series, hosting the Crimson Hawks Friday, March 14 before traveling to play at Indiana (Pa.). Doubleheaders will be played both days.