Baseball | 3/22/2017 11:00:00 AM

The Mercyhurst baseball team hosts Indiana (Pa.) in its first Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) action of the season on Friday, March 24 in a doubleheader beginning at 1 p.m. It is also the first time the Lakers will play on their home field this season.
 
The Lakers follow up Friday's games with another doubleheader on Saturday at IUP also beginning at 1 p.m.

The Lakers' game scheduled for Tuesday, March 21 against Notre Dame (Ohio) has been moved to next Tuesday, March 28, at Mercyhurst Baseball Field beginning at 2 p.m.
 
Scouting the Crimson Hawks
IUP enters the weekend with a 3-9 overall record. The Crimson Hawks were swept by PSAC East Division member Millersville in three games down in Williamston, N.C. last weekend.
 
Jeff Allen has been IUP's most effective starting pitcher after compiling a 1.26 earned-run average in 14.1 innings over three starts this season. Dan Sepic leads IUP's lineup with 13 hits and 19 total bases.
 
Laker Outlook
This weekend's games will be the first time the Lakers (8-1) take the field since March 6. Inclement weather has postponed or canceled all Mercyhurst's games since then.

Lakers' starting pitcher Matthew Minnick was featured in a story on the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) website last week. The story can be found at this link: Mercyhurst's Matt Minnick Delivers As A Newfound Ace  
 
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.

  

	Collegiate Baseball	NCBWA	D2Baseball	Perfect Game	NCBWA (Atl. Region)	D2Baseball  (Atl. Region)	Lakers Record
Preseason	#9	#12	#7	#16	#2	#2	0-0
Feb. 13-19			#6			#2	2-1
Feb. 20-26		#14		#16	#2		5-1
Feb. 27-March 5	#12	#13	#6	#13	#2	#2	7-1
March 6-12	#12	#8	#5	#13	#1	#2	8-1
March 13-19	#11	#6	#3	#13	#1	#2	8-1
March 20-26	#15	#6	#3	#13	#1	#2

RV – Received Votes; NR – Not Ranked; Blank – No Release/Update
 
Coming Up Next
Mercyhurst takes on Seton Hill in another PSAC West Division showdown spanning four games. The first doubleheader will be down in Greensburg, Pa. beginning at 1 p.m. with Saturday's doubleheader at Mercyhurst scheduled for 1 p.m.