Slippery Rock, Pa. - Mercyhurst baseball went on the road to close out their series with the Rock Saturday afternoon, coming away with a win in game one, 8-1, before falling in game two 5-3 with a seventh inning rally helping Mercyhurst making things interesting.
How it Happened
The Lakers came out of the gates hot in game one, jumping out to a big lead by the end of the third. Mercyhurst managed to scratch across a run in the top of the second thanks to a ground ball out off the bat of Ranciel Ventura to make it 1-0. In the third they ended up making some big noise and scoring five to take complete control of the first half of the doubleheader. It was a home run off the bat of Chris Juchno that helped get things rolling as the junior lefty drove in three. An errant throw from the catcher followed by a single up the middle from Jack Malec allowed Mercyhurst to add on, making it 6-0 going into the fourth.
From there, the Laker's starter, Corbin Foy, shut down the opposition. After giving up the lone run of the game in third on a home run, Foy had to work around an error and a walk in the fourth but managed to come up with an infield fly to end the inning. In the fifth he added two Ks to his line to begin the frame to help him get back in a rhythm with him adding one more punch out in the sixth to help limit Slippery Rock to one run. In the seventh, the Laker's righty set the Rock down in order with a swinging strikeout to end the game and put an exclamation point to a dominant day.
In game two, the Rock managed to flip the script as they jumped out to the early lead. The team was able to get on the board first with one run in the first with an RBI single to left. After a scoreless second, Slippery Rock managed to move their lead out to four with a three-run triple clearing the bases and helping them to a 4-0 advantage. They then added on with one more in the fifth which proved to be more than enough to grab the win.
The Lakers were faced with a tough task when at the plate in Michael Kitko who managed to lower his already outstanding 1.64 ERA. Mercyhurst found it tough to get anything going with their first base runner not coming until the fourth inning on a single from Zachary Kourous. They then mustered some life in the fifth with a walk by Ranciel Ventura with one away gave them a runner while Jack Malec followed with a single.Â
Mercyhurst was held silent until the seventh and final inning, looking to complete the comeback. A pair walks helped them get their first two base runners of the innings while a third allowed the first run of the game for the Lakers to come across. Kourous helped add on and make it a 5-2 game in favor of the Rock with a single to right while Luke Jackson followed with a single of his own to make it a two-run game. That was as close as Mercyhurst could get, though, as their rally fell just short in the end.
Highlights
Five different Lakers registered multiple hits on the day with Luke Jackson's four being the most of anyone while Jack Malec registered three to come in second. There were two extra base hits for Mercyhurst, both coming in game one with Chris Juchno's third long ball of the season to go along with a double from Mitchell Grosch. Zachary Kourous picked up a stolen base in game two to give him eight on the year, leading the way on the base paths for the Lakers. On the mound, Corbin Foy turned in a dominant effort in game one, going seven innings with just four hits and one earned run to his line while striking out eight for the second-most this season.
Next Game
The Lakers see Lake Erie come to town this upcoming Tuesday, April 2nd, for one nine inning game with first pitch set for 2:00 p.m. After that, the team returns to conference play with Clarion on the 5th and 6th with the Golden Eagles making the trip to see Mercyhurst on day one while the Lakers return the favor on the 6th with the doubleheader beginning at 1:00 p.m.
