Erie, Pa. - Mercyhurst Baseball adds one more win to their tally Wednesday afternoon in a 3-2 win over Notre Dame (Oh.), moving to 24-10 on the season overall. The biggest blow of the game came from Mitchell Grosch with a two-run home run in the bottom of the eighth to help lift the Lakers to a one-run win.

How It Happened

The Falcons were the first to strike with a run in the top of the first coming via a home run to left field. Notre Dame then plated another run in the top of the second to take a 2-0 lead thanks to their second home run of the game.

The Lakers did not stay off the scoreboard for long, managing to scratch across a run in the bottom of the third. Luke Jackson came to the plate with runners on second and third with one away and hit a liner over the third baseman's head to drive in the first Mercyhurst run of the game.

From there, the bats on both sides were quiet as no one scored in the fourth, fifth, sixth, or seventh innings. Ryan Rafalski took the mound in the top of the third for the lakers and did his part in earning his second win of the season. He pitched seven scoreless innings while striking out 10 batters with six coming in a row from the fourth to the sixth frames.

It wasn't until the bottom of the eighth that Mercyhurst was able to claim their first lead of the game, coming off of a two-run home run. An error on the infield allowed Chris Juchno to get to second base before Grosch came to the plate. The Laker DH battled during a long at-bat, ending with a ball sent over the left field wall to make it a 3-2 game.



From there, Rafalski sat down the Falcons in order in the ninth to claim the victory.

Highlights

Ryan Rafalski moves to 2-0 on the season, going seven innings in relief while giving up just two hits and fanning 10, the second most by a Laker in a game this season behind Daniel Thomas' 12 against West Chester at the end of February. Mercyhurst finished with three hits on the day with two going for extra bases with Grosch's home run and a double off the bat of Eric Chorba.

Playoff Picture

Mercyhurst retains their place in second in the PSAC West, three games behind Seton Hill who currently sits at 20-0 in the conference while Gannon rounds out the top three at 11-9. Millersville leads the East at 16-2 with a nine-game win streak while East Stroudsburg (12-6) and West Chester (11-7) finish out the top three.

Next Game

The Lakers play again tomorrow with he team traveling to IUP to take on the Crimson Hawks in a doubleheader, beginning at 1:00 p.m.