Erie, PA—The Mercyhurst baseball team will be back at home four five games this weekend. Mercyhurst will host Salem for three games while then host D'Youville in a doubleheader on Sunday. The Lakers are coming off a weekend in which they went 2-0 at home before dropping their second game of the season against Division I Akron.

Laker Overview

Mercyhurst was finally able to break in their new turf after not playing at home in 657 days, the Lakers defeated Notre Dame College in their home opener by a score of 5-2. Michael McDonough started on the bump for the Lakers and went four strong innings while allowing just three hits and striking out seven. Six different Lakers recorded hits including Matthew Gibson who had three hits and a walk. Troy Banks had the honor of recording the first hit and homerun on the new field as he put the second pitch of the bottom of the first over the center field wall. Michael Krauza picked up his first Mercyhurst win as he was able to go 1.2 innings striking out two and allowing not hits. Jack Goonan picked up his second save of the season as he needed just eight pitches in the ninth to shut down Notre Dame.

On Saturday, the Lakers sent Adam Jeannette to the mound as he went two innings and struck out five for Mercyhurst. The Lakers jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the first inning after Josh Suroweic and Philip Ferranti had RBI singles in the opening frame. However, the Storm came back and held a 7-4 lead after seven innings. In the bottom of the eight the Lakers were able to get men in scoring position and took advantage of a Lake Erie error and scored four runs in the inning to take the 8-7 lead. Krauza once again earned the win for the Lakers as he went 2.2 innings and allowed just one hit while striking out two hitters. On Sunday, Ferranti and Gibson recorded hits while Dominic Cecere drove in the lone Laker run.

Team Leaders

Batting Average: Gibson .467, Zaluski .360, Ferranti .360, Banks .333

Home Runs: Jack Elliott 3, Tyler Zaluski, Banks, Ferranti 1

RBI: Elliott 10, Cecere 6, Zaluski, Ferranti 5

ERA (min 2 appearances): Krauza 1.04, Vincenzo Lucente 2.84, Chase Stewart 3.38

Strikeouts: McDonough 13, Krauza 11, Lucente 8

What they are Saying

Mercyhurst is currently ranked third in NCBWA Atlantic Region poll, while they were one of just three PSAC schools to be in the NCBWA National poll as Mercyhurst received seven votes.

Scouting Salem

The Tigers have opened their season 2-10 and last played Wednesday when they took on Wheeling and lost by a score of 6-3. Before then Salem played on March 14^th when they dropped a doubleheader to California (PA) by scores of 13-10 and 5-1. Salem was able to beat Concord 6-4 and 5-4 on March 5^th and 6^th as their only wins of the season so far. Salem has had 14 different pitchers on the mound this season and have a combined ERA of 7.82. 24 different players have taken at-bats this season and they have a .168 team average with a .294 on base percentage.

Scouting D'Youville

The Saints are in their first season at the Division II level this season and have played four games this season. They have played both Hilbert and Cazenovia and have split each doubleheader. D'Youville has a team batting average of .232 while holding their opponents to just a .186. The pitching staff has a combined team ERA of 3.21 while averaging 9.63 strikeouts per 9 innings.

Up Next

After this weekend the Lakers will open PSAC play as they will take on Gannon in two doubleheaders starting on Friday March 26^th at Gannon.

Event Spectator Policies

· Each Rostered Baseball Player will Receive Two Tickets

· No visiting team spectators will be permitted at the site of the competition.

· Tailgating is prohibited before or after any athletic event.

· There will be no contact with student-athletes or mingling between student-athletes and team personnel before or after events.

· Masks must be worn at all times -indoors and outdoors – while on campus and at an off-campus MU athletic home competition site. Fans must also practice social distancing.

· Gates will open 30 minutes prior to the official game start time. Fans must leave immediately after the completion of the game.

· Before spectators arrive at Mercyhurst campus, they must complete the Mercyhurst Guest Screening. www.mercyhurst.edu/guest

· Upon arrival, spectators will go to the check in table to show successful completion of guest screening on a mobile device.

· Spectators will not be permitted into events without being on game spectator list.

· Spectators sitting in bleachers will sit in designated areas that are marked for proper social distancing.

· Spectators sitting in personal chairs must follow the family groups of 4 or less and social distance from other groups.

· Families will be required to stay in their pods from other groups.

· Concessions will not be available

· Spectators will be required to vacate the facility within 15 minutes of the conclusion of the event.

· Any spectator refusing to comply with these policies will be immediately removed from the facility or denied entry. This policy will be strictly enforced.

Additional Safety Measures

· Signage will be placed throughout facilities encouraging social distancing and mask wearing.

· Hand sanitizing stations and wipes will be placed throughout facilities.

· Any high touch areas will be frequently cleaned before, during and after events.

· Campus staff and administration will be on site to ensure safety measures are followed