Senior Jared Wiesen scored on a fielder’s choice grounder to short in the bottom of the seventh inning Sunday, giving the Gannon University baseball team a walk-off win over Mercyhurst, 5-4, at McConnell Family Stadium.
That was the only victory the Knights, could manage in their weekend set with their rival Lakers (23-9, 11-4).
The two teams entered the weekend tied for first with California University of Pennsylvania in the PSAC West.
Mercyhurst swept a doubleheader Friday, 9-4 and 10-3, and was leading the second game of Sunday’s twinbill, 5-0, when the game was suspended because of snow in the top of the fifth inning.
That game will be resumed at noon Wednesday at McConnell Family Stadium, and the Knights will be in action Friday in a 1 p.m. doubleheader at Slippery Rock.
In the Knights’ only win of the weekend, they moved to a 2-0 lead with single runs in the first two innings on Matt Oruch’s RBI single and Mark DeVita’s run-scoring base hit.
In the top of the third inning Mercyhurst cut its deficit in half, but Gannon fired right back when Chris Beer smacked a two-out, two-run home run to left field, giving the Knights a 4-1 lead.
The Lakers scored once in the fourth, and tied the contest with a pair of runs in the sixth.
Mercyhurst had a chance to move ahead in the top of the seventh, however, Gannon closer Nico DiPaolo threw the lead runner out on a sacrifice bunt attempt forcing an inning-ending double play.
Wiesen led off in the bottom of the seventh with a walk, and stole on the next pitch,then moved to third on a wild pitch.
Oruch then followed with a grounder to short, and Wiesen beat the throw home for the walk-off victory, 5-4.
The last game of the doubleheaderwas scoreless through two.
In the top of the third, the Lakers scored first with a pair of runs. They then added three more runs in the top of the fourth inning to put themselves on top 5-0.
The game was ultimately postponed in the fifth inning due to snowy field conditions.
In the first game of Friday’s doubleheader, the Knights took an early 3-0 lead.
Following two walks, Charles Benack’s bunt brought Wiesen home, Beer scored from second on a throwing error and Kyle Cox’s sacrifice fly scored Benack to make it 3-0.
The Lakers quickly answered back with four runs of their own during the bottom of the first to take a 4-3 lead.
In the top of the third, Benack tripled to left-center, and shortly thereafter scored the tying run on a wild pitch.
Mercyhurst answered in its half of the third when Cameron Balego singled home a run to make it 5-4, and the Lakers put the game away with four in the sixth. Gannon’s redshirt junior, Aaron Jackson, suffered his second consecutive loss.
As they did in the first game, the Knights raced out to a quick 3-0 lead in game two.
After drawing a two-out walk, Beer scored on a double to right-center by redshirt freshman John Davis in the second.
Gannon extended its lead to 3-0 in the third on Oruch’s bases-loaded walk and an RBI groundout by junior Nick Restuccia.
The Lakers responded quickly in the third with a single run, and pulled ahead in the fourth with five more runs.
Mercyhurst then added four more insurance runs in the fifth to put the Knights away 10-3.

ALEC SCHEMMEL
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