Greensburg, PA—The Mercyhurst Baseball team traveled to Greenburg to take on Seton Hill, the Lakers fell by scores of 6-4 and 5-4 against the Number Seven ranked Griffins.
Game One (L, 6-4)
The Lakers struck first in the top of the second as they were able to load the bases with one out after Josh Surowiec and Luke Jackson singled and Cole Hollins drew a walk. Troy Banks couldn't get on base, but he was able to drive one to deep center field which allowed Surowiec to score on the SAC Fly.
Seton Hill responded in the bottom half of the inning with two runs of their own. *
Mercyhurst would take their lead back in the top half of the third as Surowiec hit his second three run homer of the weekend as he blasted a three-run shot over the center field wall. Jack Elliott and Tyler Zaluski scored on the play as the Lakers took the 4-2 lead.
Seton Hill would score three more runs in the fifth and added another in the sixth.
Mercyhurst was unable to come back. Brett Whiteman started for the Lakers and went 4+ innings and allowed four runs on five hits while striking out three. Michael Krauza then came in and allowed one run on one hit in one inning of work. Nathan Holt pitched the sixth inning for the Lakers and allowed an unearned run on one hit.
*Game Note: In the bottom of the second inning of the game, Mercyhurst put the game under protest due to an umpire decision in the inning prior to the two runs being scored.
Game Two (L, 5-4)
It was Seton Hill who jumped out to an early lead in game two as they were able to take a 1-0 lead in the second inning.
In the third they scored once again pushing the lead to two, before taking a 4-0 in the third thanks to a two run home run.
The Mercyhurst comeback started in the fourth as Zalsuki was able to double to left center which allowed Philip Ferranti to score after he doubled to start the inning.
The Griffins got one back in the fifth to push their lead back to four.
In the sixth the comeback was on as Zaluski homered in his return to Seton Hill which drove in Ferranti to make it 5-3 after six.
In the seventh, Cole Hollins singled up the middle to get a leadoff runner on. Brandon Arnold pinch ran for Hollins. After two outs, Banks came to the plate and doubled to right center which allowed the speedy Arnold to come all the way around with no throw to make it 5-4. Banks moved up to third on a wild pitch but Elliott grounded out to second to end the ballgame.
Six Lakers took the mound in game two with Frank Fraschetti getting the start, he allowed one run on three hits. Chad Cwik, Josh Greggs, Robert Hartman, and Jack Goonan came out of the bullpen for the Lakers.
Playoff Picture
The Lakers currently sit in fifth in the PSAC West after this weekend's results. Seton Hill is first with a 12-2 conference record, Cal and Gannon with a 12-8 record, and Slippery Rock with a 7-5 record are currently ahead of the Lakers.
Team Leaders
Batting Average: Gibson .361 Ferranti .358, Zaluski .323, Surowiec .313
Home Runs: Elliott 9, Banks 6, Ferranti, Surowiec 5, Zaluski 4
RBI: Surowiec 30, Elliott 28, Ferranti 19, Zaluski, Gibson, Banks 18
Runs: Elliott, Banks 29, Surowiec, Gibson 22, Ferranti 21, Zaluski 18
ERA (Min. 7 Appearances): Chase Stewart 2.16, Krauza 2.52, Michael McDonough 3.56, Goona 4.00
Strikeouts: McDonough 51, Krauza 39, Fraschetti 22, Stewart, Brett Whiteman, Vincenzo Lucente 21, Hunter Treece 17
Up Next
The Lakers will be back in action next weekend to take on Slippery Rock. Mercyhurst will travel to Slippery Rock on Friday for a doubleheader and will host on Saturday. Slippery Rock's Spectator Policy can be found here.
