ERIE, Pa. -- The Mercyhurst baseball team won both ends of a Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference West Division doubleheader on Saturday, defeating Slippery Rock 3-2 and 4-3 at the Mercyhurst Baseball Field.

Individual recaps are below.

Game One: Mercyhurst 3, Slippery Rock 2
Laker starting pitcher Matthew Minnick fell one out short of a complete game before Matthew Keating finished off the contest with a one-out save.

Minnick worked 6 2/3 innings, giving up two runs on six hits while recording seven strikeouts, one walk and one hit batsman. He was the winning pitcher.

After SRU pulled within one run in the seventh, Keating induced a game-ending flyout with one runnner on base.

The Lakers took the lead in the first inning when Jimmy Latona drew a walk and moved up on three different wild pitches.

Daniel Elliott added a two-run double later for Mercyhurst in the third, helping the hosts to a 3-0 advantage.

Slippery Rock came back with single runs in the fifth and seventh frames. James Divosevic had a sacrifice fly and an RBI single. Mitchell Wood batted 2-for-3 with a double. He scored both runs.

Alex Pantuso was the losing pitcher for SRU. He gave up three runs on three hits in five innings of labor. Pantuso recorded nine strikeouts and eight walks.


Game Two: Mercyhurst 4, Slippery Rock 3
Jared Kapturasky blasted two home runs, including a go-ahead bomb, as the Lakers finished off the Saturday sweep.

Kapturasky's second home run broke a 3-all tie in the sixth inning. Keating pitched the final 1 1/3 innings in relief to earn the win.

Kapturasky finished 2-for-2 with three RBI while teammate Drew Delsignore batted 3-for-3.

Russell Lamovec started on the hill for Mercyhurst and worked into the sixth inning. In 5 2/3 innings, he gave up three runs on seven hits while totaling nine strikeouts, one walk and one hit batter.

Keating inherited a runner from Lamovec in the sixth before recording an inning-ending strikeout. He allowed a single and walk in the seventh, but left those runners on base when he finished off the game with another strikeout.

The teams had traded runs in the first inning: SRU's Carson Kessler had an RBI single before Elliott smacked a sac fly for Mercyhurst.

Kapturasky hammered a two-run dinger in the second inning, giving the Lakers a 3-1 lead.

Wood tied the game for Slippery Rock with a two-run single in the sixth, setting the stage for Kapturasky's game-winner.

SRU's Preston Falascino was the losing pitcher. He gave up four runs on six hits while tallying eight strikeouts and six walks.


Mercyhurst (20-2, 9-1) and Slippery Rock (15-7, 7-3) will meet again on Sunday -- this time at Slippery Rock -- for a 1 p.m. doubleheader.