Game One Box Score
Game Two Box Score

JOHNSTOWN, Pa. - It was a tale of two completely different games for the Mercyhurst baseball team on Saturday.

After being limited to one run on three hits in game one's 5-1 loss against Pitt-Johnstown, the Lakers came back with 12 runs in the first three innings of game two and cruised to a 15-1 victory to earn the split. Mercyhurst moved to 13-5 overall on the season, while Pitt-Johnstown sports a 9-8 overall mark.

The Lakers could muster just three hits in game one against two Mountain Cat pitchers, John Fees and Rylan Schnably - a double by Anthony Tomasone, and singles by Ryan Siegel and Matt Adamczyk.

Pitt-Johnstown took a 2-0 lead on a two-run home run by Kyle Morrow off of Mercyhurst's game one starter, Eric Aschley. The Laker senior would last five innings, giving up five runs (four earned) on seven hits. The righthander walked six and struck out six. He dropped to 2-2 on the season.

Mercyhurst got a run back in the fifth inning against Schnably. Andrew Fitzpatrick led off the inning with a walk and then was sacrificed to second by Tomasone. After an error moved Fitzpatrick to third, the Laker junior would score Mercyhurst's only run on a wild pitch.

The Mountain Cats would get three runs in the bottom half of the inning on an RBI single by Drew Westover and a two-run single by Mike Palkovitz.

Jeremy Cressley pitched a perfect sixth inning in relief of Aschley.

In game two, however, the Laker bats woke up.

Mercyhurst plated 12 runs in the first three innings of the second game, and cruised to a 15-1 victory. The Lakers scored four runs in the first inning on RBI singles by Zak Blair and Matt Adamczyk and a pair of wild pitches by Mountain Cat starter Elliot Chamberlain, who lasted just an inning and a third.

Pitt-Johnstown would get a run back in the bottom half of the inning against Mercyhurst starter Ben Rawding. But, the Lakers would eliminate any doubts with seven runs in the second inning to take an 11-1 lead. Shane Latshaw would start the barrage with an RBI triple, followed by a run-scoring double by Blair. Siegel would drive in the third run of the inning with a single, and after Ethan Santora crossed home plate on a balk, Andrew Fitzpatrick would drive home a pair with a base hit. Tomasone would close out the scoring in the inning with an RBI single.

The Lakers would tack on another run in the third inning. Blair led off the inning with a double and would later be driven home by Siegel for a 12-1 Mercyhurst advantage.

Mercyhurst would close out the scoring with three more runs in the sixth inning on run-scoring hits by Fitzpatrick and Latshaw and an RBI groundout by Kolin McMillen.

Rawding improved to 3-0 on the season, scattering eight hits over five innings. The southpaw stuck out five and walked one. Matthew Jimenez and Samuel O'Neill closed out the game, with each pitching perfect innings.

At the plate, Blair finished game two with a 4-for-4 performance while driving in a pair of runs. Fitzpatrick finished 3-for-5 with three runs batted in. Four other players - Siegel, Latshaw, Adamczyk, and Jake Janeczko - each had two hits.

Mercyhurst and Pitt-Johnstown will play another doubleheader on Sunday afternoon with first pitch scheduled for 12:00 p.m.