Erie, Pa. - Mercyhurst baseball gets back out on the diamond this upcoming weekend in a four-game set with Seton Hill. The Lakers begin the conference portion of their season schedule on Friday, March 22nd, when they go to Greensburg, Pa. to see the Griffins for a doubleheader beginning at 1:00 p.m. They then come home for the first time in over a month for two games with Seton Hill on Saturday to wrap up their weekend.
A Look Back
It has been some time since the Lakers were last on the diamond, not playing since March 10th. Most recently, the team ended up going to Salem, WV for a trio of games in which they came away with a win in one. They started their time on the road with Salem on the 9th in a pair of games and coming away with a 6-1 win in game one to end the Tiger's 10-game win streak. After that, they ended up falling to Salem 7-6 before a 12-10 loss at the hands of Findlay the following day.
Laker Leaders
Mitchell Grosch currently leads the team in hitting with the highest batting average (.472), on-base percentage (.578), slugging percentage (.611) and OPS (1.189) in 36 at-bats. He is currently second on the team in doubles with three, trailing only Luke Jackson's four while coming in tied for the team-lead in triples with one alongside Chris Juchno and Zachary Kourous. Kourous' 13 RBIs is good enough for the most on the team while his four stolen bases are first as well. On the mound, Ben Berdine currently has the best ERA at 2.25 in 12.0 innings of work while Corbin Foy's 20 strikeouts and .167 batting average against as tops on the team.
Recent History
Last season, the Lakers and Seton Hill battled in seven games in total with Mercyhurst going 3-4 during that time. The Griffins went into the final series of the regular season undefeated in conference play before Mercyhurst spoiled things in a home series sweep with their 5-0 and 4-1 wins. They then defeated Seton Hill in the first of three contests in the NCAA DII Atlantic Regional, 8-6, thanks to a walk-off grand slam off the bat of Luck Jackson. The major moments of last season have set the stage for what promises to be another competitive series between the two teams.
Scouting Seton Hill
The Griffins are 12-5 to this point in the season and found themselves at 24th in the most recent NCBWA poll. They have won each of their last four contests and eight of their last 10 with the first of that stretch being a 6-5, 11-inning win over then top-ranked University of Tampa. Seton Hill has been nearly impossible to beat at home so far with a 6-1 record inside their friendly confines while going 3-3 in away game, showing themselves to be more vulnerable. Jack Oberdorf leads the way at the plate for the team up to this point with an OPS of 1.044 and eight extra-base hits to his line including a team-high three home runs and 18 RBIs. On the mound, Aidan Layton has been the team's ace with an ERA of 2.20 in 28.2 innings of work, fanning a team-high 37 to go along with a .206 batting average against.
Next Game
Mercyhurst remains within their friendly confines for their next set of games, hosting Notre Dame on Tuesday, March 26th, for one game before Slippery Rock comes to town on the 29th for a pair of games. The team then makes the trip to see the Rock on the 30th for a doubleheader, beginning at 1:00 p.m.
