Baseball | 3/1/2017 12:00:00 PM
The Mercyhurst baseball team travels to Columbus, Ohio to take on Urbana and Ohio Dominican Sunday, March 5 and Monday, March 6. The Lakers play Urbana Sunday in a doubleheader beginning at noon followed by a single nine-inning game versus Ohio Dominican on Monday at 2 p.m. Game dates were switched from their original Friday and Saturday times due to the weekend's weather forecast. All games will be played at ODU's Panther Valley/Frank Damien Field.
Here is a list of the official changes to the schedule:
|
Vs. Urbana |
Vs. Ohio Dominican |
| Original Schedule |
Saturday, 3/4 DH starting at 12 p.m. |
Friday, 3/3 at 3 p.m. |
| New Schedule |
Sunday, 3/5 DH starting at 12 p.m. |
Monday, 3/6 at 2 p.m. |
Scouting the Competition
Urbana holds a 3-3 record with a current two-game win streak. The Blue Knights scored 13 runs in consecutive games to beat Ohio Valley.
Infielder Isac Franklin leads the Urbana lineup through six games with a .500 batting average (10-for-20) and nine runs scored.
Ohio Dominican enters the weekend with a perfect 3-0 record after sweeping West Liberty in a three-game set last weekend. The Panthers' bats are off to a hot start, compiling 30 runs through three games.
Infielder Justin Childers and catcher Colin Kaucher lead the Panthers with six hits and two doubles each.
Laker Outlook
After a scorching hot weekend in Holly Springs, N.C., Lakers senior
Jimmy Latona received National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association (NCBWA) Atlantic Region Hitter of the Week and Pennslyvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) West Division Athlete of the Week. Latona compiled seven hits in eight at-bats against Post to raise his season batting average to .556 (10-for-18). Latona reached base 11 of 12 times for a .917 on-base percentage in the three-game sweep. He also had two home runs, including one walk-off, three RBI, and six runs scored.
Cameron Balego (7-for15),
Matthew Schneider (8-for-18), and
Drew Delsignore (8-for-20) each have batting averages at-or-above .400.
Matthew Minnick picked up his second win in as many starts with seven-inning complete game on Feb. 25. He allowed just four hits and one run while striking out six.
National and Regional Rankings Update
Listed below are the updated rankings for Mercyhurst baseball in multiple Division II national and regional polls. Links for each poll are provided in the table below.
RV – Received Votes; NR – Not Ranked; Blank – No Release/Update
Coming Up Next
Mercyhurst travels to Wilmington, Del. to face Goldey-Beacom in two doubleheaders March 10-11. First pitch for both days will be at noon.
