Game 1: Mercyhurst 9, SRU 6
Game 2: SRU 13, Mercyhurst 9
SLIPPERY ROCK, Pa. – The Mercyhurst College baseball team split a doubleheader at Slippery Rock to wrap up a four-game series with The Rock and occupy second-place in the PSAC Western Division, just two games back of division leader California (27-8, 12-2 PSAC West).
The Lakers (24-13. 11-5 PSAC West) took the first game by a 9-6 count before falling in the nightcap 13-9 to finish the weekend 3-1 against SRU (26-12, 12-8).
In Game 1, Mercyhurst banged out 14 hits and used a six-run sixth inning to break open a game the Lakers had tied 3-3 an inning earlier. The Rock countered with three of its own in the bottom of the sixth but reliever Eric Aschley stopped any further threats.
Mercyhurst scored in the first when Jeff Stoll doubled home Jamie Walczak after he singled with two outs.
SRU added one in the bottom frame, but the Lakers again answered in their top half as Adamy Gray singled home Trey Bennett.
The back-and-forth action continued as The Rock plated two in the bottom of the second to take a 3-2 lead and keep it until the fifth when Bennett's single knocked in Walczak.
In the sixth, the Lakers put together four straight hits to take the lead for good after Gray was hit by pitch and Jonathan Keppler walked.
Starter John Mang earned his sixth win of the season, going 5 1/ 3 innings while allowing five earned runs on six hits. For The Rock, Hocanson took the loss and moved to 1-3 on the year after allowing six earned runs on four hits in 1/3 an innings work.
In Game 2, both teams came out swinging as the home-standing Rock opened with three runs in the bottom of the first before the Lakers came back with four in the top of the second. However, SRU pushed across four in the third and five in the fourth innings to take a commanding lead it would not relinquish.
The Rock added an insurance run in the bottom of the sixth after the Lakers plated two more in the top of the fifth and withstood a seventh-inning rally that saw Mercyhurst add three to scoreboard for the game's final score.
Dziomba and Greg Turk paced the Lakers with three RBI as Dziomba went 2-for-5 and Turk 2-for-4. Gray, who went 3-for-4, also added an RBI along with Walczak and Adam Schlessel.
On the mound, Ryan Schreiber took the loss as SRU's Vince Lloyd improved to 6-1.
Next up for the Lakers is a doubleheader at Clarion on Friday, April 17.
