Box Score - Game One
Box Score - Game Two

ERIE, Pa. - The Mercyhurst University baseball needed to win one game on Saturday afternoon to claim its second consecutive PSAC West regular season championship. After Gannon won game one in eight innings by an 8-6 final, it all came down to game two.

Senior Zach Leitten was superb in game two on senior day and pitched the Lakers to an 8-1 victory in game two to clinch its second consecutive PSAC West crown. Leitten allowed just three hits in his complete-game victory and Mercyhurst held off Gannon in the Western Division standings and enter the conference tournament as the top seed in the west. Mercyhurst finished the regular season with a 35-13 overall record and a 16-8 mark in conference play. The Golden Knights dropped to 25-21 overall and 14-10 in the west.

Game one was a scoreless dual between Mercyhurst senior righthander Brad Duffy and Gannon's David Spaeder until Gannon scored three unearned runs in the top of the fourth inning to take a 3-0 advantage. Two errors on back-to-back plays to lead off the fourth started the rally for the Golden Knights, who managed to score three runs on just one hit - an RBI double by Eric Bradley.

Mercyhurst came back in the bottom of the fifth inning when senior Ethan Santora, already the program's all-time home run leader, hit his fifth home run of the season, and 33rd of his career, off of Spaeder, cutting the Gannon lead to 3-2.

The Lakers then took a 4-3 lead in the bottom of the sixth inning. A one-out walk to junior Andrew Fitzpatrick followed by a double by freshman Jake Janeczko, put runners at second and third with one out. Freshman Kolin McMillen singled, driving home Fitzpatrick, knotting the game at 3-3. Then, senior Shane Latshaw reached on a two-out error by Gannon's shortstop Tim Lipp, giving the Lakers a 4-3 advantage.

But, the Golden Knights would come back in the top of the seventh. With Duffy still on the mound, Taylor Anderson drove in the tying run with an RBI single and then an RBI fielder's choice from Michael Brosius gave Gannon a 5-4 lead.

Again, the Lakers would come back. Sophomore Colin Loughner singled to right field with one out and then moved to second on a groundout by Fitzpatrick. With two outs, Janeczko laced a single to left field, scoring Loughner from second, and tying the game at 5-5.

Senior Samuel O'Neill came on in relief of Duffy in the eighth inning and the Golden Knights touched him up for three unearned runs, all with two outs. An error by senior Matt Adamczyk started the inning for Gannon, leading to the unearned tallies. With two outs and a runner at third, former Laker Nico Baldelli chopped an infield single to third, giving Gannon a 6-5 lead. Then, four consecutive walks by O'Neill - two coming with the bases loaded - gave Gannon an 8-5 lead. Junior Matthew Jimenez came in and recorded the final out of the inning.

The Lakers would get a run back in the bottom of the eighth inning on an RBI single by Adamczyk, but it would not be enough.

Duffy went seven innings and allowed five runs (two earned) on six hits. He walked one and struck out a season-high 11 batters. O'Neill suffered the loss in relief, allowing one hit and four walks in two-thirds of an inning. Offensively, seniors Ethan Santora and Shane Latshaw, along with freshman Jake Janeczko each had two hits.

After senior day fesitivities, game two belonged to the Lakers and to senior righthander Zach Leitten. Leitten went the distance, allowing one run on three hits. He walked two and struck out five to improve to 4-4 on the season.

Mercyhurst would score a run in the first inning on an RBI single by junior Zak Blair, driving home Tomasone, who scored three of Mercyhurst's eight runs in game two.

The Lakers would provide Leitten with plenty of offense in the bottom of the third inning, striking for four runs on six hits to take a 5-0 lead. Santora drove in the first run of the inning with an RBI single up the middle and Blair followed suit, also singling up the middle for a 3-0 lead. Loughner then drove home a run on an infield single, followed by a sacrifice fly by Fitzpatrick, accounting for the final run of the inning.

Gannon scored its only run of the game, and had two of its three hits, in the top of the fourth inning. Evan Baglieri got Gannon on the board with an RBI single. But, Leitten got out of the inning with an further damage and Mercyhurst would score single runs in each of the fourth, fifth, and sixth innings to put the game out of reach.

In the fourth, Santora grounded into a 6-4-3 double play, but McMillen scored, giving the Lakers a 6-1 lead. Janeczko hit a sacrifice fly in the fifth inning, while Adamczyk drove home the final run of the game with an RBI single in the sixth inning.

McMillen, Tomasone, Blair, and Adamczyk each had two hits in the nightcap.

The Lakers enter the PSAC Tournament as the top seed in the West for the second straight year. Mercyhurst will play the fourth seed in the East, Millersville, in the team's first game of the double elimination tournament. The tournament gets underway on Wednesday, May 2, with the Mercyhurst-Millersville game being the final game of day one. First pitch is scheduled to begin around 6:30 p.m. from Pullman Park in Butler, Pennsylvania.

To follow all of the action from the tournament, and to see the other matchups, you can check out PSAC Baseball Tournament Central.