Erie, Pa. - Mercyhurst Baseball got back out on the diamond Sunday afternoon with two games against Clarion with the Lakers coming out on top in both. They used a strong second inning in game one to take home the 6-0 win while game two went into extra innings with Mercyhurst winning 4-3 to move to 11-6 on the year.

How it Happened

Game One

After failing to plate a run in the first run, Mercyhurst broke through and hung a four spot on the board to help them claim a lead they would never relinquish. Luke Jackson helped start the scoring with a two-run home run, his third of the season, over the center field wall to make it 2-0.

From there, a sacrifice fly off the bat of Ryan Hill followed by a single from Eric Chorba helping the Lakers score two more runs as they had established themselves in the early going.

Coach Spano and company scored two more times in the game with one run in the third while plating another in the sixth to give the team some insurance. It did not seem to be needed, as Jarrett Heilman proved to be nails on the mound. The Mercyhurst hurler rolled right along after his team took the lead with him going the complete game in the 6-0 victory.

Game Two

The backend of the doubleheader was a much closer game with the Lakers needing a late rally to help them secure their sixth home win in seven tries. Coach Spano's crew was able to fire the opening salvo once again with two runs in the bottom half of the third inning. A single from Chorba gave the team their first run while a patient plate appearance from Chris Juchno plated the other as we drew the walk with the bases loaded.

Clarion's offense continued to be stymied as they were not able to score a run through the first five innings of the game. The sixth proved to be a different story, though, with them scoring twice to tie things up at 2-2 after a pair of RBI singles. They then took the lead in the top of the eighth with another single with them taking their first lead of the afternoon at 3-2.

Mercyhurst did not lay down with them having a rebuttal in their half of the eighth. Nerves seemed to get to the Golden Eagle's pitcher with a passed ball leading to a run to tie things up.  Zachary Kourous finished off the job and hit in the winning run with one out in the inning with a fly ball to deep left field for Juchno to come in.

Highlights

Eric Chorba and Zachary Kourous led the team in hits with three apiece with all six of their combined hits being singles. Chorba added two RBIs to his line with one run scored as well while having one RBI and one run. Jackson had the lone extra-base hit on the day with his home run in the first game for his third on the year, the most of any Laker. Jarrett Heilman continued his strong season with seven shutout innings in game one while collecting his third win on the year. He now boasts a 1.91 ERA while allowing a batting average of .178 to go along with 33 Ks in 33 innings. 

Next Game

The Lakers are back in action tomorrow with a pair of games to round out their series with Clarion. The two teams would play at Slippery Rock in their final two games with first pitch at 2:00 p.m.