ERIE, Pa. – The eleventh-ranked Mercyhurst baseball team had back-to-back close games in its Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) West Division showdowns with Slippery Rock Friday at Mercyhurst Baseball Field.
 
Mercyhurst (21-6, 11-3 PSAC) lost its first game 4-3 after a seventh-rally by Slippery Rock before returning the favor with a 4-3 walk-off win in game two.
 
Recaps to both games are listed below:
 
Mercyhurst 3, Slippery Rock 4
The Lakers got another complete-game performance from starting pitcher Chris Vallimont but came up on the short end of a one-run game.
 
Mercyhurst took the initial lead in the second inning after Matthew Schneider led off the inning with sixth home run of the season.
 
After a Jack Elliott double the next at-bat, Kenneth Robinson drove in Schneider from second to give Mercyhurst a 2-0 lead.
 
Vallimont cruised through the first three innings before finally hitting a snag in the fourth when Tyler Walters took him deep for Slippery Rock's first run of the game.
 
Two innings later, the Rock's Abraham Mow also went yard with a solo shot to tie the game at two.
 
Vallimont went the distance with 113 pitches and struck out 11 Rock hitters but allowed four runs (three earned). The last two runs came in seventh inning on a bases-loaded single by Kyle Wise which gave Slippery Rock a 4-2 lead entering the bottom half. The loss was his second of the season (5-2).
 
Daniel Elliott began the bottom of the inning with a solo blast to pull Mercyhurst within one and chase SRU starter Alex Pantuso from the game.
 
Schneider walked to put the tying run on base with no one out, but the run wasn't able to make it home as Slippery Rock closer Wyatt Daugherty shut the door to seal the win.
 
Mercyhurst had six hits for the game, all by different players in the starting lineup. The loss was Mercyhurst's first when they scored the first run of the game (19-1).
 
Mercyhurst 4, Slippery Rock 3
More power from Daniel Elliott and clutch seventh-inning rally capped off by a pinch-hit, walk-off single by Parker Shannon gave the Lakers a hard-fought 4-3 win in game two.
 
Elliott followed up his game-one homer with two more solo blasts in the second and fourth innings of game two. Mercyhurst only had three hits off Slippery Rock starter Matt Gordon over six innings: both of Elliott's home runs and a bunt single by Collin Fantaskey in the third.

Elliott now leads the Lakers with eight home runs this season, matching his career-high set during his sophomore season in 2016. 
 
Russell Lamovec was solid in his start for Mercyhurst after pitching 4.1 innings with only one earned run and three hits. He did walk three-straight batters in the fifth inning, but Adam Jeannette came in and forced a double play to get out of the jam.
 
Jeannette threw a scoreless sixth before SRU jumped on him in the seventh. Joe Campagna led off the frame with a solo shot to tie the game 2-2. After allowing a double two batters later, Jeannette gave way for Hunter Treece who struck out the first batter he faced but allowed a two-out RBI-single to Matthew Mendes to put the Rock ahead 3-2. 

Facing SRU's closer Daugherty for the second time on the day in the bottom half, Mercyhurst managed to get a runner to second with two outs to set up a game-tying, pinch-hit single by Michael Montalbano. Montalbano advanced to second on the throw home which proved to be crucial for the next batter, pinch-hitter Parker Shannon.
 
Shannon drove home drove home pinch-runner Russ Mistretta from second with a single up the middle to cap off the come-from-behind with for the Lakers, the second such win for them since Tuesday against Notre Dame College.
 
These two teams remain atop the PSAC West Standings at 11-3 in conference play. They will play another doubleheader tomorrow, April 14, at Slippery Rock set to begin at 1 p.m.