Game One Box Score

Game Two Box Score

MURFREESBORO, N.C. - The Mercyhurst baseball team knew that, coming into the season, its pitching staff in 2012 would be the strength of the team. The Laker hurlers did not disappoint on Saturday afternoon.

Mercyhurst pitchers allowed just five hits in two games against Chowan University on Saturday, as the Lakers got the 2012 season off on the right foot with 2-0 and 8-1 victories in North Carolina. The Lakers begin the season 2-0 while the Eagles dropped to 3-5 on the young season.

Senior third baseman Ethan Santora hit a solo homerun to lead off the fourth inning of game one to become the all-time homerun leader in school history. The blast was the 29th of his career, breaking the record of 28 which he held along with former Laker great Pat Cutshall (1994-97). Cutshall is a member of the Mercyhurst Athletic Hall of Fame and was drafted in th 17th round of the 1997 draft by the Houston Astros.

In game one, senior Eric Aschley pitched five scoreless innings, allowing just one hit while striking out eight. The only hit he allowed was a leadoff single by Josh Catalano to begin the bottom half of the first inning. Aschley gave way to senior Samuel O'Neill, who got the final six outs for his first save of the season. O'Neill allowed one hit and two walks in his two innings of work.

Offensively, the Lakers scored single runs in the third and fourth innings. In the top of the third, sophomore Colin Loughner led off the inning with a walk and went to third on a single by sophomore Anthony Tomasone. Then with one out, freshman Kolin McMillen drove in his first career run with a single to left center field, scoring Loughner. Santora then led off the fourth with his 29th career blast over the left field fence.

Chowan's starter John Deschamps went the distance, allowing seven Mercyhurst hits and three walks. McMillen finished game one with two hits, the only Laker with multiple hits.

In game two, the game was scoreless until the fourth inning, when the Lakers scored three runs on four hits. Mercyhurst would score two more runs in the fifth and sixth innings, and then would score a single run in seventh for an 8-0 win.

Senior Ben Rawding got his season off to a fine start, going five-and-two-thirds innings, allowing just one unearned run on three hits. The lefthander walked three and struck out four in his season debut. Senior Jeremy Cressley came in and retired the final four batters in a row to finish out the game.

Santora led off the fourth inning with a single and then was sacrificed to second base by redshirt freshman Ryan Siegel. Back-to-back singles by junior Andrew Fitzpatrick and senior Matt Adamczyk got the Lakers on the board. Loughner would then hit a sacrifice fly that scored Fitzpatrick, giving the Lakers a 2-0 lead. Then, with two outs, McMillen drove home Adamczyk for the final run of the inning.

In the fifth, Santora led off the inning with a double and then went to third on a single by Siegel. After Siegel stole second base, Adamczyk came through with a one-out, two-run single, giving the Lakers a 5-0 lead. Mercyhurst would tack on two more runs in the sixth thanks to a sacrifice fly by Santora and senior Shane Latshaw scoring on a wild pitch. In the seventh, Tomasone led off with a triple and then scored on a single by McMillen for the final run of the contest.

Santora and McMillen both went 3-for-4 in game two, while Adamczyk went 2-for-3 with three RBIs. The Lakers had 14 hits, five walks, and a hit batter in the second game, leading to the 8-1 victory.

Mercyhurst will play a single game with Chowan on Sunday with the first pitch scheduled for 12:00 p.m.