ERIE, Pa. -- The Mercyhurst baseball team split a Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference West Division doubleheader with California (Pa.), winning game one, 11-1, before dropping game two, 6-3, on Friday at the Mercyhurst Baseball Field.

Individual game recaps are below.


Game One: Mercyhurst 11, California 1
Chris Gonzalez homered twice during Mercyhurst's 10-run third inning as the Lakers cruised to victory in the opener.

Gonzalez batted 2-for-3 with four RBI and the two dingers. Hank Morrison added a 3-for-3 game with a double, run and RBI while Cameron Balego went 3-for-4 with a double, run and RBI.

Also for the Mercyhurst offense, Austin Alonge batted 2-for-3 with two runs and one RBI. Brendan Cox had a double, two runs and two RBI. Collin Fantaskey added two RBI and Jimmy Latona contributed a double.

Colin McKee was the winning pitcher, giving up one run on six hits while totaling seven strikeouts and three walks. Jake Collins worked one scoreless inning of relief.

Mercyhurst took a 1-0 lead in the first inning as Morrison ripped an RBI double. The host Lakers led the rest of the way from there.

In the 10-run third, Gonzalez had a pair of two-run home runs. Other run-scoring hits included a Cox two-run double, a Fantaskey two-run single and RBI singles by Alonge and Balego.

The Vulcans scored their only run in the sixth.

Jack Dennis was the losing pitcher, allowing nine runs on nine hits in 2 2/3 innings pitched. He had three strikeouts, one walk and one hit batsman.

Mick Fennell led the California offense, going 3-for-4. Austin Logan was 2-for-3 with an RBI.


Game Two: California 6, Mercyhurst 3
Morrison stayed hot at the plate, batting 3-for-3 with a triple, run and two RBI, but sloppy play on defense led to a Laker loss in the nightcap.

The Lakers (30-10, 17-5) fell behind in the first inning, 3-0, as Cal's Joe Yourgal had a two-run single during the inning.

Mercyhurst eventually pulled even at 3-all in the fourth. Morrison hammered a two-run triple to right-center field before scoring on a groundout by Daniel Elliott.

The Vulcans broke the 3-3 tie in the sixth, pushing acrosse two runs on an error and another via wild pitch.

Cam Knott suffered the loss on the hill. A total of five runs were scored against Knott -- only three of them earned -- as the MU starter allowed seven hits in five innings pitched. He finished with seven strikeouts, five walks and one hit batter.

Carter Krick went the distance for California, allowing three runs on six hits while accumulating five strikeouts and one walk.

Fennell batted 2-or-3 with two runs scored and one stolen base for the Vulcans (22-16, 15-7).

The same two teams will meet again on Saturday as Cal is set to host Mercyhurst.