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GREENSBURG, Pa. - Sophomore Hank Morrison combined to go 5-for-5 with three runs scored and two runs batted in on Saturday as the Mercyhurst University baseball team played to a second consecutive split against Seton Hill. After splitting with the Griffins on Friday in Erie, the Lakers dropped game one by an 8-3 score in Greensburg on Saturday. Mercyhurst rebounded, however, for a 14-2 thumping of the 13th-ranked Griffins in game two to salvage the split. Mercyhurst is 22-12 overall and 14-8 in the PSAC West. Seton Hill moved to 31-14 overall and 18-6 in conference play.

Junior Joe Gnacinski started on the mound in game one and could not get out of the third inning as he suffered his first loss of the season (4-1). He allowed four runs, three earned, on four hits in two and one-third innings. He walked one and did not strike out a batter. Sophomore Jake Hall came on in relief and did not fare any better, getting tagged with four runs on three hits in one and a third innings. He struck out two. Redshirt junior Jordan Bray and senior Dan Parker pitched the fifth and sixth innings, respectively, and each pitched around a hit in scoreless innings of work. 

The hosts scored an unearned run in the second inning against Gnacinski to take a 1-0 lead. Mercyhurst countered with an unearned run in the top of the third inning against Griffin starter, Brad Schnelle, to tie the game at 1-1.

Seton Hill then blew open the contest with seven runs over the next two innings to take an 8-1 advantage. Gnacinski was pulled with one out in the third after allowing three runs, two on a two-run single by the Griffins' Brandon Jossey. Hall came in and got the final two outs to prevent further damage. However, in the top of the fourth, Hall allowed four runs, three on a home run by Nick Sell, before getting pulled for Bray with two outs in the inning.

In the top of the fifth, Mercyhurst got a run back on an RBI triple by senior Anthony Tomasone, which drove home Morrison who led off the inning with a single.

The Lakers scored their final run in the top of the seventh on a run-scoring fielder's choice by junior Angel Martinez.

Morrison and Tomasone combined for six of Mercyhurst's eight hits in game one. Both Lakers went 3-for-3 in the opener.

Mercyhurst exploded for 14 runs on 15 hits in the nightcap to earn the split against the PSAC-leading Griffins. After a scoreless first inning by both teams, the Lakers scored four in the top of the second inning to take a 4-0 lead. Highlighting the four-run rally was a two-run, inside-the-park, homerun by Martinez - his first career homerun with the Lakers. Senior Joe Pantano had an RBI triple and Morrison had a sacrifice fly to drive home the other two runs of the frame.

The Lakers scored four more times in the third and five times in the fourth to take a 13-0 advantage. In the third, Mercyhurst got an RBI single from sophomore Dan Popio and a two-run double by Pantano for the big blows of the inning. Mercyhurst, then, took advantage of three Seton Hill errors in the inning to get the other run across.

In the fourth, the Lakers received run-scoring singles from Morrison and Tomasone, an RBI double from Martinez, and a two-run single from junior Giancarlo Saia to plate the five runs in the inning.

Mercyhurst scored its other run on an RBI fielder's choice by Popio in the top of the sixth.

Meanwhile, senior Tanner Delahoy was dealing, not allowing a hit until the bottom of the fourth inning. The Griffins broke through with an unearned run in the bottom of the fifth and a run in the sixth for the final margin.

Delahoy went six innings and allowed two runs, one earned, on three hits to improve to 5-1 on the season. He walked two and struck out five. Sophomore Colin McKee finished off the night allowing a hit, while striking out two, in a scoreless seventh.

Pantano went 3-for-4 with three runs scored and three RBI. Five other Lakers, including Morrison's 2-for-2 performance, had a pair of hits in the victory.

Mercyhurst will be on the road on Tuesday afternoon, April 22, when it travels to IUP for a PSAC doubleheader. First pitch is scheduled for 1:00 p.m.