Erie, Pa. - Mercyhurst baseball prepares for another week with five games on the docket. The team starts off with Ashland on the road on Tuesday, April 9th, in one nine-inning game that begins at 3:00 p.m. They then come back closer to home to see Gannon on the 12th for a doubleheader before ending their series with the Golden Knights inside their friendly confines the following day with first pitch set for 1:00 p.m.
Where They Stand
Mercyhurst is 8-4 to this point in the PSAC with that being good enough to tied for first. It's a large group at the top of the PSAC West with California (Pa.), Seton Hill, and Slippery Rock each having an 8-4 record in the conference as well. IUP comes in right behind with a make of 7-5 while Pitt-Johnstown is 4-8, Gannon is 3-9, and Clarion is 2-10. In the East, East Stroudsburg remains undefeated in conference play at 16-0 while Millersville is 15-1 with West Chester rounding out the top three at 11-5.
Pitch Perfect
The Lakers put together one of their better efforts on the mound this past weekend against Clarion, giving up just five runs in four games with three shutouts in that span. That was the fewest runs they have given up in a four-game conference set since last year when they allowed five to Gannon as the team threw two shutouts in that series while outscoring the Golden Knights 20-5. Mercyhurst's pitching has been exceptional over the course of the past few weeks with just 12 runs allowed in their last eight games for a team ERA of 1.93, making for a very effective group going forward.
Scouting the Eagles
Ashland is 24-5 to this point in the season with a mark of 11-3 in the GMAC with a lot of their working coming late as they have won 10 of their last 12 games, winning eight straight at one point. Offense has been key for them over that dozen game stretch with double-digit runs in six of them with a season-high of 17 coming against Ohio Dominican coming on April 3rd. Jeremiah Cangelosi has been the team's top hitter with an average of .449 in 107 at-bats, hitting for an OPS of 1.079 with six doubles and 30 RBIs to his line while going 4-8 on the base paths.
Scouting Gannon
The Golden Knights has struggled to this point in the season with a 5-20 record heading into the second week of April, going 3-9 in the PSAC. The team has been able to get on track here of late, going 4-4 in their last eight games, earning splits against both Pitt-Johnstown and California (Pa.) with a 3-2 win over the Vulcans in their most recent game. Carson Wilbe has been their top hitter with an OPS of .868 to this point with a team-high two home runs and 18 RBIs. On the mount, Kieran Versaw-Barnes has led the way with an ERA of 2.90 in 31.0 innings of work with 35 strikeouts and just four walks to his line.
Next Game
Mercyhurst heads east next week for a pair of games on Tuesday, April 16th, with Shepherd before seeing Pitt-Johnstown for a four game set on the weekend. The Lakers go to see UPJ first on the 19th before hosting the Mountain Cats the following day beginning at 1:00 p.m.
