Indiana, Pa. - Mercyhurst baseball went on the road to Indiana, Pa. to round out their regular season Friday afternoon, falling in the pair of games. It was a low-scoring affair in game one that ended up going IUP's way, 3-1, before they used a 10-run inning in game two to jump out in front and secure the 13-8 win.

How it Happened

Game one started off with little offense for both teams as it stood a 0-0 game going into the third. IUP did manage to get a pair of runners on but the first was wiped out with a caught stealing with the second never making it past first thanks to a strikeout to end the inning. They then got two more runners on in the second, but were once again turned away. The Crimson Hawks would not be denied for a third time as a two-run home run over the left field wall made it a 2-0 game.

Mercyhurst found ways to get on base, but could never quite string anything together through the first several innings. They managed to have a hit in each of the second through sixth innings, but one was all they could fare. It was not until the seventh that they began to put something together with two hits and a walk in the frame. The first hit belonged to Luke Jackson who doubled to lead off the inning before Chris Juchno followed with a single. Jackson eventually came around to score as Jayden Walker hit a sacrifice fly to center field. That was all the team could muster, though, as their late rally fell short in the two-run loss.

Just like the first game, IUP was the first to strike with the team able to score one run in the first on an RBI single. The Lakers responded quickly with a run in their half of the second as a double from Matt Christopher plated one before a single in the third from Walker helped give the Lakers the lead, 2-1. That advantage did not last long, though, as the Crimson Hawks managed to score 10 runs in the bottom of the third to take a commanding 11-2 lead thanks to four hits, five walks, and a pair of hit batters.

Mercyhurst got going on offense in the fourth with fours, showing they would not go away quietly. Mitchell Grosch brought in the first two runs of the canto with a single up the middle before John Susnik followed with his eighth home run of the season, a two-run shot to left to make it 11-6. They then added on with two more in the seventh thanks to back-to-back hits from Jackson and Juchno, but that was not enough in the end to come away with the win in the five-run decision.

Highlights

Jayden Walker led the way on offense with five hits on the day, collecting two in game one and three in game two. He was followed by Matt Christopher and John Susnik who each had three base knocks while recording an extra base hit with Christopher hitting a double and Susnik a home run.

Next Game

The Lakers have secured the three spot in the PSAC West and will compete in the PSAC Tournament this upcoming week beginning on Wednesday, May 8th, at Slippery Rock.