Box Score BUTLER, Pa. – The Mercyhurst University baseball team saw its run in the 2014 Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference tournament come to an end on Friday afternoon, suffering a 7-6 loss to Millersville in the semifinals at Kelly Automotive Park. Mercyhurst dropped to 29-13 overall and had its eight-game winning streak snapped at the hands of the Marauders, who improved to 36-13 on the season.
The Lakers, ranked fourth in the latest NCAA Atlantic Region rankings, will now have to put their postseason fate in the hands of the regional committee. The 2014 NCAA Division II baseball selection show will be broadcast on NCAA.com on Sunday, May 11 beginning at 10:00 p.m. EST.
Mercyhurst held leads of 4-2 and 6-4 but could not put away the Marauders in either instance. Millersville's Dan Johnson completed the comeback with one out in the bottom of the ninth inning, lacing a walk-off single to left center against Mercyhurst reliever
Joe Gnacinski, sending Millersville to the PSAC Championship game on Saturday against the winner of Kutztown/Pitt-Johnstown.
Senior
Anthony Tomasone came through in the top of the sixth inning with a two-run double down the left field line to snap a 4-4 tie. The senior's only hit of the game brought home both sophomore
Stephen Scaccia and junior
Angel Martinez.
Gnacinski retired Millersville in order in the bottom of the sixth – his first inning in relief of redshirt junior
Jon Klein. But, in the seventh, the Marauders touched up the righthander for a pair of runs to knot the game at 6-6. With two outs and Millersville's Dan Neff at third base, Gnacinski seemingly made a perfect pitch to Millersville's best hitter, Zach Stone, to get out of the inning. However, Stone threw his bat at the low and outside curve ball and was able to beat out an infield single to drive home Neff and to keep the inning alive. Johnson doubled home Stone to tie the game at 6-6.
Both teams were quiet at the plate in the eighth. In the Mercyhurst half of the ninth, sophomore
Brendan Cox drew a one-out walk to give the Lakers an opportunity to retake the lead. Sophomore catcher
Dan Popio then launched a deep fly ball to left field that looked like it would have been a two-run home run when it left the bat. But, the wind held it up and Neff made the catch a couple of steps in front of the wall. Senior
Joe Pantano then flied out the center to end the inning.
Millersville took a 2-0 lead in the bottom of the fourth inning against Klein, who went five innings and allowed four runs on seven hits, walking one and striking out four. The redshirt junior balked in the first Millersville run and Kurt Seiders followed with an RBI single for the two-run lead.
Mercyhurst responded with four runs in the top of the fifth inning, started by a one-out double from Scaccia, to take a 4-2 lead. Scaccia scored the Lakers' first run on a wild pitch by Millersville starter Jim McDade. Popio drove home a pair with a two-run single to right field, later in the inning, to give the Lakers their first lead of the afternoon. Junior
Giancarlo Saia drove home the final run of the four-run burst with a bases-loaded walk.
Millersville responded with two runs in the bottom of the fifth, ending the afternoon for Klein, and tying the game at 4-4.
Gnacinski suffered the loss, dropping to 5-2 on the season. He allowed three runs on five hits in three and one-third innings. Millersville's Adam Zipko pitched the eighth and ninth innings to improve to 7-0 on the season. He walked one and struck out two in two scoreless innings.
Scaccia was the only Laker with multiple hits, going 2-for-4 with two runs scored. The sophomore had a fantastic tournament, going 4-for-8 with two runs scored and two RBI in Mercyhurst's two games. Popio and Tomasone each had a pair of RBI in the loss.
