Clarion, Pa. – The Mercyhurst softball team used a combination of strong pitching and explosive hitting to sweep a double-header April 13, 2009 at Clarion. The Lakers won both games by identical 9-1 scores, capturing each contest in five innings. 

With the victories, the Lakers are now 15-20 on the season. The Golden Eagles fall to 5-25 in 2009. 

After a scoreless first inning in the opening game, the Lakers put three runs on the board in the top of the second, as Jen Bower stroked a double, plating two runs. Kara Gorgos followed with an RBI single to give Mercyhurst a 3-0 lead. The Lakers added two tallies in the top of the third, as Amber Rapose hit a sacrifice fly that scored Michelle Schmitz. Anna Glomb then singled in Emily Redig for Mercyhurst's fifth run. 

Three more Mercyhurst players scored runs in the fourth inning, with Megan Houston lacing an RBI double, Schmitz registering an RBI triple, and Shannon Kissel recording on RBI for an 8-0 Lake lead after three and a half innings. Glomb led off the fifth inning with a home run, and the Golden Eagles only responded with one run in the bottom of the fifth, giving the Lakers a 9-1 victory in five innings. 

Amanda Norman gave up one run on four hits in five innings of work to earn the victory. The Lakers scored nine runs on 11 hits, led by Glomb's 3-for-3, two RBI performance. Bower added two RBI, and Schmitz went 2-for-3 with a triple, two runs scored and one RBI. 

The Lakers recorded two runs in the first innings of the second game, with Schmitz hitting a sac fly that scored Elizabeth Maier. Redig followed with a solo home run to give Mercyhurst a 2-0 lead. Clarion sliced the deficit in half in the bottom of the first, but they would get no closer. After a scoreless second inning, the Lakers doubled their run total with two markers in the top of the third. Schmitz launched a two-run shot in the top of the third for a 4-1 Mercyhurst edge. 

The Lakers piled up five more runs in the top of the fifth, beginning with an RBI single from Bower. Houston doubled in three runners, and Redig registered a double that plated Houston to cap the scoring as Mercyhurst prevailed 9-1 in five innings. 

Kristi Janoske worked three innings, allowing one run on three hits to notch her eighth win of the season. Kari Amboyer pitched the final two innings in relief. The Lakers had 11 hits in game two, as Erica Beidler, Maier and Redig each recorded two base hits. Maier scored three runs, while Redig knocked in two. Houston and Schmitz each registered three RBI. 

Mercyhurst returns to their home diamond Tuesday, April 14, hosting Lake Erie College in a non-conference double-header, with the first pitch scheduled for 3 p.m.