Box Score

FORT PIERCE, Fla. - Sophomore righthander Dan Altavilla pitched seven innings of two-hit ball and the offense blew the game open in the late innings, as the Mercyhurst University baseball team shutout the Griffins of Chestnut Hill 8-0 on Wednesday afternoon, giving head coach Joe Spano his 400th career victory as the Laker skipper. Mercyhurst improved to 4-5 on the season while Chestnut Hill dropped to 3-5.

Spano, in his 14th season as Mercyhurst's head coach, is already the program's winningest coach after surpassing Joe Jordano on April 25, 2009 with his 290th career victory. In his 13 seasons, he has won at least 25 games in 11 campaigns, including a school-record 42 wins in 2011, and has posted a winning record in ten of his seasons, including the last eight.

Picked to finish first in the PSAC West in 2013, the Lakers (39-17 in 2012) have won the Western Division three of the four seasons since joining the league for the 2009 campaign. Mercyhurst won the PSAC Championship in 2011 after winning the division, then won the west again last season. Mercyhurst also advanced to the Atlantic Regional playoffs last season for the second straight year and third time in the last four seasons.

Altavilla was dealing all afternoon, helping the Lakers get back to within a game of the .500 mark. The sophomore from Greenock, Pa. went seven innings on Wednesday in his longest, and best start of the season. He allowed just two singles - one to Desmond Lites in the bottom of the first inning and one to Brendan Looby in the bottom of the second. He walked one and struck out eight, lowering his season's earned run average to 2.00 and improving his record to 2-1 in his first year as a starter.

After the single by Looby in the second, Altavilla did not allow a batter to reach base until a one-out walk to Joseph Mullin in the seventh - a string of 14 consecutive batters retired.

In his three starts this season, Altavilla has allowed 11 hits in 18 innings (.175 batting average) and has struck out 21.

The game was scoreless until the top of the fifth inning when Mercyhurst plated a pair of runs to take a 2-0 advantage. Freshman Joel Yeagley led off the inning with a walk and then advanced to second on a sacrifice bunt by sophomore Kyle Hagerich. Freshman Brendan Cox then laced a double to left center to drive home Yeagley for the game's first run. After a single by sophomore Jake Marinelli put runners on the corners with one out, junior Anthony Tomasone laid down a squeeze bunt that scored Cox for Mercyhurst's final run of the inning.

In the Lakers' seventh, Mercyhurst would add three runs, all with two outs, to take a 5-0 lead. Sophomore Kolin McMillen drove in the first run of the inning with a double that scored Tomasone, who beat out a potential inning-ending double play to reach base. Junior Joe Pantano followed with a single, putting runners at the corners. Then, senior Zak Blair dealt the big blow with a two-run double to right center, driving home both McMillen and Pantano for the 5-0 Laker advantage.

Mercyhurst would add two more runs in the eighth inning on a two-run single by Marinelli, plating freshmen Hank Morrison and Stephen Scaccia.

The Lakers tacked on one more in the top of the ninth inning when Morrison drove home sophomore Ryan Siegel with a single.

Altavilla went the first seven innings then was followed by freshman Jake Hall, who allowed one hit in the eighth, and junior Dan Parker, who also allowed one hit in the ninth.

Robert Hopkins started for the Griffins and allowed five runs on ten hits in seven innings. He walked one and struck out three.

All told, Mercyhurst outhit Chestnut Hill 14-4. Marinelli led the way with three hits while McMillen, Pantano, Blair, and Cox each had two hits. Looby had two of the Griffins' four hits on the afternoon.

Mercyhurst will continue its spring trip on Thursday night with a nine-inning game at Palm Beach Atlantic. First pitch is scheduled for 7:00 p.m.