Erie, PA—The Mercyhurst Baseball team will take this field this weekend to take on the IUP Crimson Hawks in a four-game series. The Lakers will make the two-and-a-half hour drive to Indiana, Pennsylvania on Friday before returning home on Saturday for the final two games of the series.
Laker Overview
The Lakers will look to get back in the win column after splitting their first 12 PSAC West matchups of the season. Last weekend, Mercyhurst was able bounce back on both days after dropping the first game on each day.
On Friday, the Lakers dropped game one after Cal hit a three-run home run in the top of seventh to give them a 4-3 lead. Mercyhurst was unable to respond in the bottom half. In game one Tyler Zaluski was able to drive in a run while Matthew Gibson was able to drive in two runs.
In game two on Friday the Laker bats came out hot putting up four runs in the first three innings. In the bottom half of the first Josh Surowiec was able to hit a deep sac fly to center field that was dropped which gave the Lakers the 1-0 lead. Gibson added to his big day with a solo shot in the second inning while Jack Elliott and Philip Ferranti went back-to-back in the bottom of the third. Elliott followed that up with a three-run homer in the fourth to put the Lakers up 7-3. Cal would add one more in the seventh but that was all. Frank Fraschetti and Michael Krauza only allowed seven hits and four runs while striking out eight as Krauza picked up his fourth win of the season.
In game one on Saturday the Lakers scored six runs thanks to RBI's from Zaluski and Gibson who homered while Surowiec and Ferranti each had two in the game. Six different Lakers toed the rubber and were able to strikeout six.
Game two featured 17 combined hits but the final score was 4-2. Cal jumped out a 2-0 lead in the first but that would be all they push across. Mercyhurst would respond in the second inning with a Ferranti homer. With the score being 2-1 in the sixth, Surowiec blasted a two-run homer to right to give the Lakers the lead. In the seventh, the Lakers would push across another run after a throwing error by Cal. Brett Whiteman and Chase Stewart allowed just six hits and two runs while striking out five.
By the Numbers
Mercyhurst currently sits in ninth in the PSAC with a .282 batting average. The long ball has been a huge factor this season as the Lakers have hit 28 homers this season which is third in the conference. On the bump Mercyhurst has a combined ERA of 4.61 which is fifth in the conference. Mercyhurst is holding opposing hitters to .220 which is tops in the conference. Krauza is fourth in the conference in ERA with a 1.63.
Free 90s
The Lakers are currently fifth in the PSAC in walks while being second in hit-by-pitches with 28 on the season.
Scouting IUP
The Crimson Hawks are 2-18 this season while having a 1-11 PSAC West record. They faced UPJ this weekend and was able to go 1-3 with a 11-2 win over the Mountain Cats. Two Talons are hitting above .300 this year with Harrison Pontoli and Nick Hess hitting .338 and .329 respectively. Mark Edeburn has a 5.68 ERA in five appearances which is good for the lowest on the team. IUP has the third lowest batting average in the PSAC and the highest ERA at 10.56 in 2021. The Talons are led by Ryan Rebyanski who is in his fifth season as head coach at IUP.
Looking Ahead
After the Lakers complete their series with IUP they will face Number Seven Seton Hill on April 23rd at home before going to Seton Hill on the 24th.
