Erie, Pa.—The Mercyhurst Baseball team takes on IUP in a four game series this weekend before taking on Ashland on Tuesday on the road.
1. The Matchups
IUP and the Lakers played their first game against each other in 1973, the Crimson Hawks handed the Lakers their first ever losses in program history. In the last 10 years going back to 2012 the Laker have dominated going 28-8 in the 36 games. That also includes a 11 game winning streak from the Lakers from April of 2016 to March of 2018. Last season the Lakers swept the Crimson Hawks and outscored them 27-9 in the four games.
After not playing Ashland since 2008 the two teams will match up for the third time in less than a week in Ashland on Tuesday. The two teams split at the Mercyhurst Baseball Field with the Lakers taking game one and the Eagles bouncing back for game two.
2. Postseason Is Approaching
The Lakers currently have a 23-8 overall record and a 11-5 record which puts them in first place of the PSAC West. They also have the top overall winning percentage in the PSAC West while it is second in the entire PSAC. Despite being in first place in the PSAC West the Lakers are in fifth in the latest NCBWA Atlantic Region poll after being in eighth last week. Seton Hill and Slippery Rock are in fourth and second respectively, those two teams are the final two PSAC West teams the Lakers will face in the regular season.
3. He's Still Hitting
Josh Surowiec is having a career year in his final season as a Laker. He is hitting .473 for the Lakers while leading the PSAC and is one of the top hitters in Division II. He has 11 homers this season while driving in 41 runs which is tops on the team and fourth in the PSAC. His on base percentage is .567 as he has been walked 20 times and hit four times, he has also swiped five bases this season. Hitting in the three hole this season he has scored 37 runs which leads the team.
4. Young Guns On The Bump
The Lakers have a plethora of young pitchers this season, almost every game has been started by a first or second year pitcher. Daniel Thomas has the lowest ERA among pitchers with four or more starts, he is sitting at a 2.08 ERA in 34.2 innings. He has tossed three straight complete games and has allowed just two runs in the three games, two of the three games have been shutouts. He is sixth in the PSAC in ERA and tops in the PSAC in opponent batting average at .151. Fellow sophomore Jarrett Heilman is just behind Thomas as the has a 2.48 ERA and a 5-0 record on the mound this season. Opponents are hitting .209 against him this season while he has struckout 49. As a team the Lakers have a 3.06 ERA which is the best in the PSAC and top five in the country.
5. Scouting The Opponents
IUP sits in third place of the PSAC West with a 10-6 conference record and a 21-15 overall record. They enter the weekend on a seven game winning streak which includes a four game sweep of UPJ last weekend. On Wednesday, they played a non-conference doubleheader against Kutztown and took game one 9-8 and had an offensive explosion in game two winning 26-1. As a team they are hitting .325 this season with six starters hitting over .300 this season. On the mound they have an ERA of 6.64 while none of their pitchers have an ERA under 4.00.
Ashland has a four game series with Ohio Dominican this weekend as the Eagles sit in second place in the GMAC standings. As a team they are hitting .320 while they have hit 32 homers. Micah Allen leads the Eagles in homers with nine this season, in the two games against the Lakers he hit three homers. As a pitching staff they have an ERA just over 5.0 while opponents are hitting .267 against them.
