Erie, Pa.—The Mercyhurst Baseball team earned a big win over the Seton Hill Griffins as the two teams split the first of two weekend doubleheaders.
Game One (W, 14-2)
After a scoreless opening inning both teams put up runs in the second inning. Seton Hill took a 2-0 lead in the top half.
In the bottom half of the inning the Laker offense got started as Matthew Gibson singled with one out. After a groundout, Philip Ferranti blasted his first homer of the game to tie the game at two.
After the Griffins failed to score in the top of the third the Lakers put up another two runs in the bottom half. Casimer Sobaszek started the inning with a single and was bunted over to second by Troy Banks. Jack Elliott stepped to the plate and blasted a homer to center to put the Lakers in the lead.
In the bottom of the fifth the Lakers had one of their biggest innings of the year. Chris Juchno started the inning with a single, the very next pitch Ferranti hit his second homer of the game to make it 6-2 Lakers. After back-to-back outs, Banks homered on a 3-2 pitch to make it 7-2. After a pitching change, Elliott was hit by a pitch and Surowiec stepped to the dish. The PSAC leader in hitting blasted a homer to center to make it 9-2. Luke Jackson started another two out rally as he was hit by a pitch, Gibson followed it up with a double to runners on second and third for Juchno. The freshman dual-sport athlete hit his ninth homer of the season to make it 12-2. Ferranti decided he wanted to back-to-back for his third homer of the game and second of the inning.
The Lakers tacked on their 14th run in the fifth inning as Banks hit his second homer of the game and tenth of the season.
Jarrett Heilmann notched his seventh win of the season as he went seven innings on the mound. He walked just three and allowed six hits while striking out nine in his second complete game of the year.
Game Two (L, 5-0)
The Laker bats cooled down in game two as they notched just five hits after having 15 in game one. Gibson, Juchno, and Ferranti each had hits while Sobaszek went 2-2 at the plate.
Seton Hill scored a run in each of the first three innings and the score was 3-0 until the seventh inning. The Griffins scored twice in the top of the seventh to make it 5-0.
John Bufford Jr. started on the mound and struckout nine. He allowed five runs (two unearned) on eight hits and just one walk.
Corbin Foy took the ball in the seventh with one out and needed just four pitches to get two outs. John Susnik earned two assists as he recovered to cut down a runner at home. Susnik then picked off the runner at first to record the final out of the inning.
Honoring Our Seniors
The Lakers honored their seniors between games. As a group they have won 131 games to this point, 70 of which have been PSAC contests. They have also made two College World Series.
Playoff Picture
Mercyhurst sits tied for second in the PSAC West with Slippery Rock. Gannon has a one game lead over the Lakers and Rock while Cal and IUP have 12 wins. Seton Hill sits in sixth with 11 wins.
Up Next
The two teams travel to Greensburg to close out the weekend series tomorrow.
