ERIE, Pa. -- Mercyhurst posted of pair of victories over visiting Slippery Rock Sunday afternoon and qualified for the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference playoffs in the process. 

With a 4-2 win in game one and a 7-6 victory over The Rock in the nightcap, the Lakers have secured the No. 2 seed in the Western Division. California (Pa.) is the division's top seed while Gannon finishes as the No. 3 seed.

Mercyhurst will now play in the first round of the PSAC playoffs on April 21-22 at Shippensburg. The Lakers three-team playoff pod features Shippensburg and Indiana (Pa.).  Shippensburg finished the season as the Eastern Division's top-seeded team.  The winners of the three pods (at #1 East, #1 Central and #1 West) will then square off on April 29-30 at a site to be determined.

In the opener, Slippery Rock jumped out to a 2-0 lead after the first frame but the Lakers used a four-run rally in the third to take back the lead and hold on for the victory. Andrea Sauers began the inning with a single, then advanced to second on an error before advancing home on Kara Gorgos' RBI-single to center field. Two batters later Samantha Eimers reached on a walk, and Courtney Smith added an RBI-single to plate Gorgos. Michelle Schmitz then reached on an error by the shortstop to load the bases before Julie Harmon's RBI-ground out gave the Lakers a 3-2 lead. Amanda Walker's single to right field finished the game's scoring. 

In the nightcap, the Lakers rallied for three runs in the fifth inning and two in the sixth inning to edge The Rock. In the fifth, Amber Rapose scored on a passed ball before Emily Redig added a two-run home run. In the sixth, the Lakers again benefited from the long ball as Smith and Walker each blasted home runs.

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