Johnstown, Pa. - Mercyhurst Baseball got back out on the road against the Mountain Cats Saturday afternoon and were able to win a pair of games, 10-6 and 3-0. The Lakers improve to 20-9 on the season while now sitting at 14-2 in the PSAC.

How It Happened

Game One

Mercyhurst was able to crack the scoreboard in the opening inning with a trio of runs. Luke Jackson, Zachary Kourous, and Lucas Folmar each had RBI singles with the trio of hits coming in a row as the Lakers staked themselves to an early lead. UPJ had a response in the bottom half of the stanza with four, showing they were going to be able to hang around all day. 

The offense picked up right where they left off for coach Spano's crew in the second inning as they plated five runs to take an 8-4 lead. A triple off the bat of Eric Chorba helped drive in two runs as he hit one to center, making it 5-4

He did not have to wait around all too long to make it home as Vincent Stutz doubled in the next at-bat for a one-run hit with the Laker's lead swelling to two.

After that, Kourous and Folmar both got in on the action again as the Lakers took a four-run advantage into the bottom of the second. Once again, the Mountain Cats had a rebuttal with a pair of runs to cut the lead to just two. 

The bats fell silent after the early offense with four consecutive clean frames. It wasn't until the top of the seventh that the Lakers scored again with two insurance runs coming across to make it 10-6. It was once again Kourous and Folmar being the catalysts, as they both had RBI singles to close out the game and help secure the four-run win.

Game Two

The finale of the series proved to be a much quieter game on offense for both teams with just three runs in the game. The trio of runs came in the top of the second for the Lakers as they worked their magic with the bases loaded. Lucas Folmar continued to be an RBI machine during the second game, picking up his fourth of the day. He did it the hard way as he was hit by a pitch with the bases loaded to make it a 1-0 game. Joe Trivisonno followed with a walk to bring in another while a sacrifice fly off the bat of Matt Christopher brought in the final tally.

The Mountain Cats looked like they were going to crack the scoreboard in the bottom of the second after a leadoff double, but Mercyhurst's hurler, Corbin Foy, did not allow things to go any further. The second inning was UPJ's best offensive inning, getting multiple baserunners on in the same inning only for the one frame. Foy proved to be more than up for the task on the bump for the Lakers as he sat down the side in order on three occasions, doing so in back-to-back frames in the third and fourth. The senior righty proved to be a tough task for the opposition and was able to get his first shutout of the season and career while fanning eight.

Highlights

Eric Chorba and Lucas Folmar tied for the team-high in hits on the day with four apiece over the two games. Chorba got his team-leading fourth triple of the season while Folmar knocked in four, accounting for nearly 25% of the team's runs on the day. Corbin Foy was lights out in game two, going seven innings while allowing just four hits and striking out eight to tie his career-high which he got against Notre Dame (Oh.) in 2022, needing only 3.1 innings to do so.

Playoff Picture

Mercyhurst is now 14-2 in the conference, sitting in second place in the PSAC West. They trail only Seton Hill who has yet to lose a PSAC contest, going 16-0 to this point in the season with a 28-8 overall record. Cal (Pa.) rounds out the top three in the PSAC West while East Stroudsburg and Millersville are tied atop the East at 11-2 while West Chester sits at 8-5 for third.

Next Game

The Lakers are scheduled to see Lake Erie next on Tuesday, April 18th, before returning to PSAC play next weekend with the Vulcans of Cal (Pa.). Cal makes the trip to Erie first on Friday, April 21st, before going to back California, Pa. to round out the series on Saturday.