Feb. 22, 2008

Box Score

Boca Raton, Fla. - The Mercyhurst baseball team opened its 2008 campaign with a bang Friday, hammering five home runs, including two each from Jamie Walczak and Jeff Stoll, en route to a 10-9 victory at Lynn.

The five homers hit by Walczak, Stoll and red-shirt junior Scott Monzel were the most in a game by a Mercyhurst team since hitting six on March 16, 1997 against Quincy.

The Lakers (1-0) surrendered a run in each of the first two innings to fall behind 2-0. But in the top of the third, Walczak and Stoll hit back-to-back homers to knot the game and then took advantage of two Lynn errors to put runners in scoring position.

Monzel, making his first appearance since the 2006 season, recorded the first of his three hits and the first of his four RBIs with a single through the left side.

Mercyhurst tacked on one more in the inning to pull in front 4-2. The runs kept piling up in the fourth, as Stoll walked and John Blike reached base after being hit by a pitch. Monzel followed with a three-run homer--the first of his career.

Walczak and Stoll went back-to-back again in the fourth to stretch the lead to 10-3.

Starting pitcher Eric Drobotij settled in after giving up three in the first three innings. He completed 4.2 innings, scattering seven hits and walking five but allowing just two earned runs. Chad Ditcher (1-0) came on in relief, pitching two-thirds of an inning to earn the victory.

Despite the 10-3 lead, the Lakers were not yet in the clear. Lynn (6-5), added a run in the seventh and eight to close the gap and in the ninth, the home team quickly cut the lead to 10-9 and put runners first and second. James Ludwig, however, escaped the jam by getting Gabe MacDougall to hit a grounder to Dan Bertolini, who forced the run at second for the third out.

Lynn used five pitchers in the game, and Nicholas Bleau suffered the loss after allowed four runs, two earned, on five hits through 2.2 innings.

Walczak finished 2-for-5 with three RBIs and two runs. Stoll reached base in all five plate appearances, drawing three walks to go with his two homers. John Blike also reached base three times and scored twice.

Laker head coach Joe Spano improves to 3-6 all-time in season openers with the win.

Mercyhurst stays in Boca Raton, Fla., for a doubleheader against Lynn Saturday. First pitch is scheduled for 12:30 p.m.