Slippery Rock, Pa. - Mercyhurst Baseball falls in the first round of the PSAC Tournament in 10 innings. After a back-and-forth affair, the Lakers come up short against West Chester in the 8-7 loss.
How It Happened
Mercyhurst was able to fire the opening salvo with one run in the top of the first. Eric Chorba made it up to second on an error on the infield with the Laker centerfielder coming around to score thanks to a single off the bat of Mitchell Grosch to left field.
After a few clean innings for the Lakers, West Chester found the board in the top of the fourth. A two-run home run off the bat of Luke Cantrell that sailed over the left field wall gave the Golden Rams their first game lead. They then added one more in the top of the fifth to extend their lead to 3-1 with one more in the sixth as they ended up taking a three-run lead into the back half of the sixth canto.
Mercyhurst applied some pressure to their counterpart in their half of the top of the sixth as Luke Jackson and Chris Juchno both reached to begin the frame with the two of them singling. Another single off the bat of Zachary Kourous loaded the bases before a double from Lucas Folmar made it a 3-4 game with Mercyhurst now within one.
The Lakers then took the lead in the very next at-bat as John Susnik sent one over the left field wall for a three-run home run to give his squad their first lead since the first inning with the score standing at 6-4. The Mercyhurst backstop then added on with a double in the bottom of the eighth to make it a three-run lead going into the ninth.
West Chester was able to battle all the way back and tie the game at 7-7 going into the bottom of the frame. After a pair of walks helped them load the bases, a pair of ground ball outs brought in two runs with a runner on second. A single through the left side brought in that runner, knotting it all up. After keeping things tied in the bottom of the ninth, the Golden Rams loaded the bases with a hit by pitch in the top of the 10th with two away. A four-pitch walk then brought in the go-ahead run, proving to be the final run of the game in the 8-7 defeat.
Highlights
John Susnik led the way with three extra-base hits on the day with a pair of doubles and a home run with four RBIs to his line as well. Matt Christopher, Mitchell Grosch, Zachary Kourous, and Vincent Stutz all finished with two hits apiece as well with all of them being singles.Â
What's Next
The Lakers await their fate in the NCAA Selection Show. Mercyhurst currently holds the sixth spot in the Atlantic Region and hope to retain their position and hear their name called on Sunday, May 14th, at 11:00 p.m.
