Erie, Pa. - Mercyhurst Baseball finished out the home portion of their 2023 regular season schedule on a high note as they broke out the brooms against Seton Hill. The Griffins came in with an unblemished 24-0 record in the PSAC, but now find themselves with a pair of losses in the 5-0 and 4-1 finals.

How It Happened

Game One

The Lakers did not waste any time getting on the board in the first game, scoring three runs in the bottom of the second inning to take a 3-0 lead. After the first two outs of the frame were recorded to begin things, Zachary Kourous singled up the middle while Lucas Folmar walked, giving John Susnik the chance to hit his third home run over the last three weeks, making it 3-0.

Luke Jackson sent the second Laker homer of the game over the left field wall the following inning to make it a 4-0 game as Mercyhurst had begun to take control. Jackson's dinger also came with two away as the Lakers proved to have some two-out magic.

From there, the Laker starter Jarrett Heilman was lock down, garnering his fourth complete-game shutout of the season. The native of Freeport, Pa. was on point throughout the contest as he never allowed multiple base runners to reach in any inning. In the final frame, Seton Hill managed to get a lead-off hit with that being all Heilman was willing to concede, sitting down the next three batters in the 5-0 victory.

Game Two

Mercyhurst once again fired the opening salvo with one run in their half of the first inning. Jackson once again proved to be the offensive catalyst, hitting a single through the right side of the infield to bring in Matt Christopher and take a 1-0 lead. The Griffins showed they were not going to be shut out again with one run in the top of the second as a rebuttal to the Laker's score, tying things at 1-1.

Jackson once again helped the Lakers take a lead with his second home run of the day in the bottom of the fourth. Unlike his last one, this one came at the beginning of the inning, giving Mercyhurst a jolt and a 2-1 advantage.

The native of Erie, Pa. kept the ball rolling in the fifth frame with a double off the left field wall to bring in Eric Chorba and make it a 3-1 game while Lucas Folmar brought in Mitchell Grosch in the sixth for some insurance, 4-1. 

That proved to be all the Lakers needed as their pitching held up the rest of the way. After a solid outing from Jacob Bazala to begin the second game, John Bufford Jr. shut the door with two scoreless innings and a strikeout to end the threat in the sixth.

Highlights

Luke Jackson had the hottest bat in this one, going 4-6 with a trio of extra-base hits including a home run in each game while adding four RBIs to his ledger. John Susnik joined Jackson as the only other Laker with multiple extra-base hits in the pair of contests with a double and a home run, going 2-5 with three RBIs. Jarrett Heilman continues his strong season with his fourth complete-game shutout of the season, pitching seven innings while giving up just four hits and one walk. Jacob Bazala earned his fourth win of the season, going five innings while allowing just one run and striking out five.

Playoff Picture

The Lakers have secured the number two spot in the PSAC West, now sitting at 21-5 in the conference. They trail only Seton Hill who is now 24-2 with this being their first two losses in PSAC play on the year. Coming in third in the West is IUP at 12-12 while Cal (Pa.) is right behind at 11-13. Atop the East is Millersville (18-3) while East Stroudsburg (15-7) and West Chester (13-9) round out the top three.

Next Game

Mercyhurst finishes their regular season schedule tomorrow as they travel to Greensburg, Pa. to play Seton Hill in a pair of games with first pitch set for 1:00 p.m.