Erie, Pa. - Mercyhurst Baseball is now 6-5 on the season after their 15-11 loss to Ashland Tuesday afternoon. The Lakers now turn their attention to the PSAC as they begin their conference schedule this weekend with Slippery Rock on Friday, March 24th, on the road with the two teams coming back to Erie on Saturday for a doubleheader.
1. Owning the Competition
Mercyhurst has seen SRU plenty in the past with the two teams playing 45 times before. The Lakers have found plenty of success over that time as they hold a 33-12 record against their counterpart. Coach Spano and company are 6-4 against The Rock in their last 10 tries with a few major wins to their line with four games in which they have scored 10 or more runs. Slippery Rock got the better of the matchup with a 9-1 win in the 2022 regular season finale, so the Lakers have revenge on their minds this time.
2. Going Streaking
Before the loss against Ashland, the Lakers had won five-straight games with all five coming against Salem. Pitching and defense had been major focal points for the team's success as they allowed only 12 runs over the streak with two shutouts mixed in. It is the team's third-longest win streak over the last five years with Mercyhurst winning half a dozen three other times over that span and the longest one happening in 2019 when the Lakers won nine in a row.
3. PSAC Ready
Mercyhurst has found plenty of success against conference opponents in recent seasons as they finished the 2022 campaign 16-12 against PSAC foes for the third spot in the PSAC West. The Lakers have finished with a winning record in the conference in every season they have been in the PSAC including four straight years of 20 or more wins from 2015-18. They'll hope to repeat their prior success and compete for one of the top spots in the conference once again.
4. Scouting Slippery Rock
So far, the Rock are 9-4 on the season after taking two out of three games against Wilmington (De.) this past weekend. SRU has had no issues scoring runs this season as they average 10 runs per game. They hit their stride to open the month of March as they had three consecutive games of scoring 20 or more runs including a 25-0 shutout against WVSU. They routinely hit for extra bases, averaging close to five a game, making pitching imperative in the matchup.
5. Next Game
The Lakers round out the month of March with Clarion at home next Friday, March 31st, with start times of 1:00 and 3:00 p.m. They then go on the road to face the Golden Eagles the next day with the same start times.
