Charleston, SC.- Mercyhurst closed out their opening weekend with a pair of losses on Saturday. The Lakers opened the day with a 20-3 loss to UAB before they took on Maryland and dropped that contest 19-1. Mercyhurst officially closes their first weekend of play 0-3 and will still be searching for their first ever Division I win when they take the field against Gardner-Webb.
 
How it Happened:
Game 1:
Jacob Bazala got the start against UAB and he tossed two hitless innings before the Blazer offense got going in the third inning. Gavin Lewis got things going for them after he batted in Camden Hayslip, who reached base on an error. Logan Braunschweig then hit that double that drove in two more runs. The next batter, Todd Clay, then drove Braunschweig in as the Blazers ended the third inning with a 4-0 lead.
 
Andrew Malec entered the game in the fourth inning in relief for Bazala. Lewis once again got UAB on the board just a few batters into the inning as he drove in a pair on a double. The Blazers then took advantage of the second of two errors in the inning to grab another run. Jaden Anderson brought in the final run of the inning on single. In the top of the fifth, Eric Chorba finally got the Lakers on the board with a two-run home. It was Mercyhurst's first home run of the young season. The Blazers added four more in the bottom of the sixth. The inning was highlighted by a Braunschweig inside the park home run. UAB had another scoring outburst in the seventh. This time they brought in seven runs on just four hits. The final Laker run of the game came courtesy of a Zachary Zimmerman single that drove in Chorba.
 
Game 2:
Brandon Arnold took the mound to start game two for Mercyhurst. Arnold had a solid first inning, but Jordan Crosland got the scoring going for Maryland as he hit a homer. Ranciel Ventura tied the game at one with an RBI triple that drove in Chorba in the third. It was the only run that Mercyhurst scored in the matchup. In the fourth inning, Maryland retook the lead when Elijah Lambros drove in Alex Calarco. The Terps added another when Lambros was driven in by Brayden Martin.
 
Calarco got his team on the board again when he hit a grand slam in the fifth. The Terps scored six in the fifth inning. Calarco hit his second home run of the day in the sixth inning, this time driving in three. It was three of five runs scored in the inning. The Terps added some extra insurance with five more runs in the eighth.
 
Next Game:
Mercyhurst will get back on the field next Friday when they open up a four-game series with Gardner-Webb. The series kicks off on Friday, February 21^st at 4:00 p.m.
 
 
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