FREDONIA, N.Y. -- The 21st-ranked Mercyhurst baseball team defeated NCAA Division III opponent Fredonia, 6-5, in 11 innings during a non-conference game on Tuesday.
Brendan Cox scored the game-winning run on a Fredonia error; credit
Chris Gonzalez with the game-winning RBI in the 11th.
Hank Morrison led the Laker offense, batting 3-for-3 with a homer, double, stolen base, three runs and three RBI.
Jimmy Latona (double) added a 2-for-5 game and
Collin Fantaskey went 2-for-4 with a stolen base. Also for Mercyhurst (38-10), Gonzalez was 2-for-6 with two runs, one RBI and one stolen base.
Matthew Keating was the winning pitcher, working three innings of scoreless relief. He allowed two hits while registering one strikeout and one walk.
Jake Hall pitched the 11th -- and struck out the side -- to earn the save.
Josh Crocetti was 3-for-5 with two RBI for the host Blue Devils. James Krolikowski added a 2-for-4 game with two runs. Josh Koepsell was the losing pitcher.
Mercyhurst was down to its final out in the ninth inning before Morrison plated Gonzalez with an RBI double, tying the game at 5-all.
Morrison had given the Lakers its first lead in the opening inning, cranking a two-run homer. Fredonia scored once in the third and twice in the fourth to build a 3-2 advantage before an RBI single by
Cameron Balego pulled Mercyhurst back to even at 3-3.
The Devils (20-19) scored twice in the sixth, going up 5-3.
Drew Borowski had a sacrifice fly in the Mercyhurst eighth before Morrison tied the game in the ninth.
The Lakers will return to action on Sunday when they take on Shippensburg in a Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference Tournament matchup at 6:30 p.m.
