March 15, 2008

Box Score

Game One
Game Two

Clarksburg, W.Va. - For the first time in two weeks, the Mercyhurst baseball team took to the field Saturday and showed little signs of rust, rolling to a doubleheader sweep of Salem International by scores of 7-2 and 6-2.

Wes Craig cruised through five innings in the opener, allowed just two earned runs and fanned eight batters to earn his first win of the season. Still, the Lakers trailed 2-0 heading into the top of the sixth.

Josh Schmidt opened the inning with a double, and Greg Turk followed with an RBI single to put the Lakers on the board. Dan Bertolini and Adam Gray each added RBI doubles, Scott Monzel drove in a run with a single and John Blike finished the five-run, seven-hit inning with an RBI single of his own.

Jonathan Keppler and Jamie Walczak each drove in two runs in the seventh for insurance. James Ludwig entered pitched the final two innings to earn his second save the season.

Gray, Monzel, Walczak and Turk all tallied two hits for the Lakers.

Mercyhurst wasted no time getting started in the nightcap. Keppler and Gray opened the game with back-to-back walks and Monzel followed with an RBI single to put the Lakers on top, 1-0.

Salem International tied the game in the bottom of the inning off of red-shirt sophomore Steve Grife (2-1), but he settled in after that and limited the Tigers to just four hits and two runs, one earned, through four innings.

The Lakers slowly extended the lead. Keppler drove in a pair in the seventh with a double to boost the Laker lead to 7-2. The Mercyhurst bullpen did the job, as well. Ludwig gave up no hits through 1.2 innings and John Morris picked up the save, working 1.1 innings.

Freshman Craig Denman and Gray each recorded two hits and Gray swiped one base.

The Lakers improve to 9-4 with the sweep while Salem International falls to 2-15.

The two teams return to the field for another doubleheader Sunday afternoon beginning at 1 p.m.