ERIE, Pa. – The Mercyhurst baseball team swept Friday's home doubleheader against Indiana (Pa.) The Lakers won game one 9-4 and game two 7-4. The games were the first two Pennslyvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) games of the season for both teams. Recaps for both games are below.
Game 1: IUP 4, Mercyhurst 9
The Lakers scored nine runs on ten hits with hitters one through seven in the starting lineup recording at least one hit to give the Lakers a 9-4 win in game one.
Chris Gonzalez began the scoring with a solo home run in the first inning paired with a
Matthew Schneider RBI-single to give the Lakers the initial 2-0 lead.
IUP took a 3-2 lead in the second inning before the Lakers bounced back to tie the game on a bases-loaded walk drawn by
Dan Popio in the third inning. The Lakers took the lead for good in the fourth inning after
Drew Delsignore had one RBI and
Daniel Elliott drove in two more to give the Lakers a 6-3 advantage.
Gonzalez added another RBI with a single in the fifth inning.
Cameron Balego also had an RBI-single in the frame.
Chris Vallimont started the game on the mound for Mercyhurst and finished 4.1 innings while allowing four runs (three earned) on three hits and six walks. The sophomore also struck out four.
Matthew Keating earned the save in extended relief for Mercyhurst after entering in the fifth inning with a two-run lead and the potential tying run at the plate. Keating closed the door with 2.2 scoreless innings and just one hit allowed while striking out four.
Game 2: IUP 4, Mercyhurst 7
The Lakers scored five runs in the first four innings and shut the door on a comeback effort by the Crimson Hawks to win game two 7-4.
With the Lakers already ahead 1-0, Gonzalez hit his second home run of the afternoon in the third inning. His two-run shot scored
Jimmy Latona and put the Lakers up three.
Colin Fantaskey's sacrifice fly and an RBI-single from Latona extended the Laker lead to 5-0 in the fourth inning.
IUP chipped away to bring the game within one run in the fifth and sixth innings with two home runs off Lakers' starting pitcher
Russell Lamovec. Lamovec ended the game with a solid stat-line featuring six innings pitched and ten strikeouts. He only had one earned run.
Mercyhurst tacked on insurance runs in the bottom of the sixth with back-to-back RBI-doubles by Gonzalez and
Cameron Balego to make it 7-5.
Andrew Ciolli entered in the seventh inning to earn the save. He walked one and forced a double play.
The Lakers will be the away team against IUP tomorrow, March 25, despite the doubleheader being played at Mercyhurst. First pitch is scheduled for 1 p.m.
