New/Sortable Box Score 1 | New/Sortable Box Score 2
Traditional boxscores: Game 1 | Game 2


Ryan Siegel slapped a single up the middle to push across the winning run in the first game. Brendan Cox received a bases-loaded walk to plate the decisive run in the second game.

With the wins, the Lakers improved their season records to 23-13 overall and 8-6 in PSAC-West action.

The losses were the fourth and fifth suffered by The Rock in the last six games and dropped their season records to 21-13 overall, 5-5 in division action.

The Rock and Lakers close out their four-game season series with a 1 p.m. doubleheader Saturday at Jack Critchfield Park in Slippery Rock.

Saturday's games are part of the first SRU Baseball Homecoming event. Former Rock players gather for a tailgate party prior to the first pitch and will be honored between games of the twinbill.

Junior center fielder Jake Weibley had a pair of doubles and a single to headline a Rock offensive attack that mustered only eight hits Friday.

Weibley, who recorded the only extra-base hits of the day, was one of five Rock players who had one hit in Game 1 and had two of SRU's five Game 2 hits.

The Rock offense squandered several opportunities to score at least a run and possibly blow the game wide open in Friday's first game.

SRU left the bases loaded on two occasions and had a runner on second base with one out in three other frames.

The most glaring failure came in the top of the sixth inning. SRU loaded the bases with no outs, only to see the golden opportunity wither away as the next three batters struck out, popped out and grounded out.

Three innings earlier, The Rock had their first chance to break the scoreless tie. Weibley led off the top of the third with a double to left-center field. Two outs later, junior shortstop Will Kengor was intentionally walked and junior utilityman Graeme Zaparzynski was issued a base on balls to load the bases. The threat ended harmlessly with an inning-ending groundout.

SRU also had runners on second base with one out in the fourth, fifth and seventh innings. The first and last of those scoring opportunities were negated by back-to-back strikeouts, while the fifth-inning rally was snuffed out by a double play.

While his teammates were spinning their wheels offensively, Rock pitching ace Lou Trivino was throwing blanks at the Lakers.

The first Mercyhurst baserunner reached base on an error to open the bottom of the third inning, moved to second on a wild pitch and advanced to third on a sacrifice bunt. Trivino stranded him there by striking out the next batter and inducing an inning-ending groundout.

A leadoff single through the right side of the infield by Joe Pantano in the bottom of the seventh ruined Trivino's no-hit bid. Three of the next four batters followed suit with singles to plate the only run of the game.

Trivino, who saw his season record drop to 5-3, struck out seven and did not walk a batter in six and one-third innings of work.

Dan Altavilla picked up the win for Mercyhurst despite issuing seven bases on balls. He struck out eight and scattered five hits while improving his season record to 4-4.

Game 2 was also a pitching duel as The Rock and Lakers combined for only five hits.

Mercyhurst took the early lead when it manufactured a run from a walk, a sacrifice bunt, a wild pickoff throw by Rock starting pitcher Garret Peterson and a run-scoring groundout by Zac Blair in the bottom of the first inning.

SRU quickly erased that deficit as Weibley smacked his second double of the day to open the top of the second, moved to third on a groundout and scored on a sacrifice fly by junior right fielder Brandon Myers.

As was the case in Friday's first game, Weibley's double was the first hit recorded by The Rock in Game 2. Weibley also had SRU's third, and ultimately final, hit when he stroked a two-out single in the fourth. Junior catcher Ryan LaRose had the second hit, a harmless single immediately following Myers' sacrifice fly.

Mercyhurst threatened to break the 1-1 tie in the fourth inning, when the host team loaded the bases with two outs thanks to a pair of walks and a  hit batsman, but Peterson shut the door by inducing an inning-ending flyout.

The Lakers got their first hit of the game with two outs in the bottom of the fifth when Kolin McMillen singled through the left side of the infield off Rock relief pitcher John Kovalik.

A junior right-hander, Kovalik walked the next two hitters, the second one (Blair) intentionally, to load the bases before he struck Cox out swinging to slam the door and keep the score knotted at 1-1.

Mercyhurst manufactured the winning run from three walks, Cox drawing the final one, and an infield single by Blair.

Kovalik was tagged with the loss, his second in three decisions this spring, after he allowed one earned run on two hits, struck out three and walked five in the final two and two-thirds innings.

Peterson allowed one hit, walked four and struck out one in the first four innings. 

Notes:

Kengor, who entered the game tied for the conference lead in batting average with a .418 mark, singled in his only official at-bat in Game 1. He was issued four bases on balls in Friday's twinbill, three of which came in the opening game … The Rock-Mercyhurst twinbill was the only PSAC-West action that took place Friday as the first games in the California-Lock Haven and Clarion-Indiana series were postponed until Sunday … Gannon swept a PSAC “crossover” doubleheader from Mansfield, 5-4 and 5-1, in the only other action involving Western Division teams Friday.