ERIE, Pa. – The 15^th ranked Mercyhurst baseball team won its first two home games of the season behind a pair of solid pitching performances and a walk-off win to down California (Pa.) on Friday.
 
Mercyhurst (10-3) won game one 1-0 on a walk-off hit by freshman Matthew Gibson and also took game two 4-0 to collect victories in its first two Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) games of the season.
 
Recaps to both games are listed below:
 
Mercyhurst 1, California (Pa.) 0
It took an extra inning, but the Lakers collected the only run it needed on the last at-bat of the game to come out on top in game one.
 
Gibson proved to be the hero with a single in his first at bat of the game in the eighth inning to score Alex O'Donnell.
 
Gibson entered the game in the seventh inning as a pinch runner, but he and two other Lakers were left stranded with the bases loaded and no outs to send the game to extra innings.
 
In the bottom of the eighth, O'Donnell, Drew Delsignore, and Daniel Elliott strung together three-straight singles to load the bases for Gibson's moment.
 
Chris Vallimont was dominant on the mound for the Lakers as he struck out 15 Vulcans over 8 full innings while allowing only three total base runners. He improved his record to 3-1 with the win.
 
Zach Mitchell was the lone Laker to collect multiple hits and was 2-for-2 with a hit-by-pitch. There were no extra base hits by either side in the game.
 
Mercyhurst 4, California (Pa.) 0
The Lakers racked up their sixth shutout of the season with a four-run win in game two.
 
After a couple scoreless frames to open the game, Mercyhurst broke through with three runs in the bottom of the third.
 
Jimmy Standohar earned an infield single while Hunter Synder scored on an errant throw to score the first run. O'Donnell followed up next at bat with a two-run home run to center, his first of the season.
 
Mercyhurst tacked on another run in the sixth on Jack Elliott's RBI single, but starting pitcher Russell Lamovec and reliever Andrew Ciolli already had the run support they needed.
 
Lamovec earned his second win (2-1) after completing six frames with ten strikeouts. He allowed only two hits and walked three.
 
Ciolli allowed a lead-off triple in the seventh put retired the side with three-straight punch-outs to end the game.
 
 Mercyhurst's pitching staff is now tied for the most shutouts (6) in Division II.
 
The Lakers take on the Vulcans in a doubleheader tomorrow at Wild Things Park in Washington Pa. First pitch is set for 1 p.m.