Feb. 24, 2008

Box Score

Fort Myers, Fla. - After allowing three runs in three innings, Laker red-shirt sophomore Steve Grife dug in and allowed just two hits over his final four innings of work and the Mercyhurst offense did its part, scoring seven runs to complete a 7-4 come-from-behind win over Concordia St. Paul Sunday afternoon.

Grife (1-0) fanned eight and walked one in seven innings to earn the victory. James Ludwig pitched a scoreless eighth, and John Morris notched his first save of the season with a perfect ninth. It was the first time in Lakers' first four games that they held an opponent to fewer than eight runs.

The Laker bats came to life, as well, after being limited to four runs in two games against Lynn Saturday. Joe Luli led the way three hits in four at bats, and four other Lakers recorded at least two hits.

Head coach Joe Spano shook up the batting order Sunday, moving the hot-hitting Scott Monzel to the leadoff spot and Trey Bennett to second in the order. Bennett came in with two hits in 12 at bats, but went 2-for-4 and drove in his first run of the season.

Junior catcher Joseph Furner also broke his 0-for-7 start by going 2-for-3. And with the Lakers trailing 3-2 in the fourth, Furner drove in sophomore Adam Gray with a two-out single, tying the game with his first RBI as a Laker.

With Grife cruising, Mercyhurst began to pull away. Jamie Walczak, who has had a hit in each of the Lakers' first four games, and Jeff Stoll ripped back-to-back doubles with two outs in the fifth. Luli followed with a single to put the Lakers up 5-3.

In the sixth, Gray led off with a single and scored for the second time on an RBI ground out from Dan Bertolini. Bennett later plated Monzel with an RBI single. That proved to be all the scoring that Mercyhurst would need as Ludwig and Morris kept Concordia St. Paul off the board in the eighth and ninth.

Mercyhurst improves to 2-2 with the victory and will take on Wheeling Jesuit in a doubleheader Monday afternoon in Boca Raton, Fla.