Erie, Pa.-
Eric Chorba called game for Mercyhurst on Friday with a walkoff homer against the University of Maryland Eastern Shore in the bottom of the 10th inning.
Aidan Kelly and
Jayden Walker also had career days. Kelly went 6.1 innings and struck out eight batters in his impressive outing on the bump, but it ultimately in a no decision.
Jayden Walker had four hits and four RBIs as he came just a triple away from hitting for the cycle in the matchup.
How it Happened:
Jayden Walker got things off in the bottom of the first with a two-run blast to give Mercyhurst a quick 2-0 lead. It looked like the Lakers were going to have a big first inning, but Jonah Stepner was able to recover and leave two stranded on base. Walker continued his hot start in the second inning with a single that drove in the third run of the game to put Mercyhurst up 3-0. UMES finally got themselves on the board in the fourth inning though. Joshua Caldwell singled to drive in Ryan Howe. But it didn't seem to matter what they did, Walker was there to bump the lead back to three. This time with an RBI double that brought in
Nick Jackson.
Both sides continued get runners on base over the next couple of innings. But it was UMES who finally made something out of it. Diego Aponte crossed the plate on a wild pitch to become just the second run that Kelly had allowed through 4.1 innings of work. Jonathon Gonzalez drew the game closer in the seventh inning on a fielder's choice to make it a 4-3 game.
Casey Smith gave Mercyhurst an insurance run in the bottom half of the inning with RBI single. But the Hawks tied things up for the first time in the ninth inning with a double from Julian Jimenez and a groundout from Gonzalez. The Lakers then went down in order as the teams entered extra innings. It wasn't until there was two outs in the 10
th that Mercyhurst finally called game.
Eric Chorba hit a bomb to center field that doinked off the bleachers to give the Lakers an exciting 6-5 walkoff win.
Next Game:
Mercyhurst will be back in action tomorrow at noon against UMES. All the action can be caught on the NEC Front Row.
