Erie, Pa - Mercyhurst baseball got their weekend series with Slippery Rock started off with a split Friday afternoon. It was a pitcher's duel in game one on the Mercyhurst Baseball Field with the Rock coming out on top 2-0 before a big showing by the bats in the backend of the doubleheader for the Lakers that gave them the 7-1 win.

How it Happened

Game number one saw very little offense between the two teams with only two runs scored. Both of those came early in the contest for Slippery Rock with back-to-back doubles to lead off the game putting them in business, helping them push across two runs in the frame. The Laker's hurler, Aiden Kelly, then settled in and found his rhythm on the mound, keeping the Rock's bats at bay the rest of the way. After giving up the two runs early, the junior righty did not allow a hit for 3.2 innings with him striking out four over the course of that time. That hit in the fifth did not turn out to do any damage as Kelly continued to keep his team in the game. 

Mercyhurst's offense was tasked with one of the top pitchers in the country to this point in the season in Gage Gillot who had an ERA just above one coming into the game. While the Lakers did manage to grab two extra base hits off of the Rock's ace, they were never able to string things together and were kept off the board in game one.

After failing to score in each of the first two innings in the second game, Mercyhurst broke through in big way in the third frame, scoring six runs. A leadoff triple from John Susnik let it be known this would be the inning that Mercyhurst started something. Even though the Laker backstop was unable to make it around to score, his efforts started a rally with a single off the bat of Mitchell Grosch bringing in the first run while the second came from an error by SRU's shortstop. The biggest hit of the inning, though, came courtesy of Zachary Kourous who tripled down the right field line to drive in three and make it 5-0.

After the big third inning, Matt Christopher kept things rolling in the fourth as the shortstop hit is first home run of the season over the left field wall to give his team a 7-0 run cushion, one that proved more than enough for the pitching staff.

John Bufford Jr. started the game for the Lakers with the righty coming out strong. He was followed by Jacob Bazala who entered the game for Mercyhurst in the fourth who kept the line moving. The pair of Laker hurlers kept their counterparts out of the hit column until the sixth inning when a two-out pinch hit infield single broke up the combined no-hitter. Mercyhurst did not lose their composure, though, and managed to sail to the six-run win to earn the split.

Highlights

Matt Christopher led the way with the most hits of any Lakers with two, having the lone long ball of the day, coming in game two. His home run was one of six extra base hits in the pair of games for Mercyhurst with Ranciel Ventura, Zachary Kourous, and John Susnik each hitting triples while Luke Jackson and Jack Malec added a double to their ledger. On the mound, Aiden Kelly pitched 6.0 innings while allowing just three hits and two earned runs while fanning six. In game two, John Bufford Jr. pitched three flawless innings while Bazala threw 4.0 innings, giving up one hit and striking out six. For Bufford Jr., he has allowed just two runs over his last 14 innings of work for a minuscule ERA of 1.28 with 22 Ks to his line over that time.

Next Game

The Lakers return to the field tomorrow when they round out their four-game series with the Rock. Mercyhurst goes on the road for that matchup with first pitch set for 1:00 p.m.