Erie, Pa. - Mercyhurst Baseball returned to PSAC play Friday afternoon with a pair of games against the Mountain Cats with each team winning one game. It was an offensive onslaught in the first for the Lakers in a 14-0 victory while falling in game two 5-2. Mercyhurst now sits as 18-9 on the season overall while holding a 12-2 record in conference.
How It Happened
Game One
After holding UPJ scoreless in the first, the Lakers were able to put three on the board in the bottom of the frame. The offense started off with a home run off the bat of Chris Juchno who sent one over the left-center field fence to stake Mercyhurst to a 2-0 lead.
Mercyhurst did not wait around all too long to extend their lead as Luke Jackson followed Juchno's blast with a homer of his own, making it 3-0.
Jackson added on in the bottom of the third with his second home run of the day as he sent another over the left field wall to make it a 6-0 game.Â
An RBI single off the bat of John Susnik helped extend the Laker's lead a little further, making it 7-0 going into the middle innings. The Laker's offensive firepower did not stop there as Mitchell Grosch hit the fourth dinger of the game to lead off the bottom of the fourth, 8-0.
The Lakers added on two more in the fifth and four in the sixth to take a 14-0 lead which was more than enough for their starter Jarrett Heilman. The junior hurler got his third consecutive complete game shutout as he proved to be more than up to the task in the double-digit win.
Game Two
Pitching and defense was the name of the game in the backend of the doubleheader to start out as neither team was able to score through the first three frames. Mercyhurst's Jacob Bazala was on cruise control through the first three innings as he did not allow a baserunner, but that changed when UPJ scratched across a run in the top of the fourth off of a double to deep right field.
The Lakers responded in their half of the frame and took the lead, pulling ahead 2-1. Freshman Zachary Kourous plated the first run with a double to right field while the Laker third baseman came around to score off of a single to right off the bat of Lucas Folmar.
That one-run lead was all the Lakers could muster as the Mountain Cats responded with a trio of runs in the top of the fifth thanks to a three-run home run. They then added one more to their tally in the seventh, making it 5-2.
Mercyhurst looked to make some noise in their final chance at the plate with the first two hitters reaching as Eric Chorba singled up the middle while Vincent Stutz was hit by a pitch. Three straight outs ended up dashing their hopes of a comeback, though, in the three-run loss.
Highlights
Jarrett Heilman once again dazzled on the mound in game one with him earning the complete game shutout. It is the fourth straight game he has pitched a complete game and the third straight shutout as he has allowed only one run in his last 28 innings while fanning 29. Luke Jackson proved to swing the biggest stick on the day with a pair of home runs in game one, going 4-8 overall on the day. His double dinger effort marks the second time he has hit two home runs in a game with the other coming against IUP during the 2022 season in a 12-8 victory.
Next Game
Mercyhurst sees the Mountain Cats again tomorrow with the two teams meeting up in Johnstown for a pair of games to finish out the series with first pitch scheduled for 1:00 p.m.
