WINTER HAVEN, Fla. – The Gannon baseball team concluded play at the Russ-Matt Invitational Saturday afternoon by splitting a pair of nine-inning games. The Golden Knights opened the day with a 7-3 victory against Lewis (Ill.), before falling to Atlantic region foe West Virginia Wesleyan 15-4.

Mark Carlozzi (Poland, Ohio/Poland Seminary) had one of the team's strongest pitching performances of the week in the opener, before the game turned into the Michael Tomko (Sharon, Pa./Sharon) show. One day after Lewis posted 22 runs in a single game, Carlozzi held the Flyers in check. The junior limited the Great Lakes Valley Conference (GLVC) team to three runs on five hits in eight innings. He struck out five and walked four while picking up a win in his first decision on the year.

Despite Carlozzi's strong performance, Gannon still found itself down 2-0 headed to the bottom of the seventh inning. Tim Lipp (Beaver Falls, Pa./Blackhawk) and Shaine Patsilevas (Cranberry Township, Pa./Seneca Valley) opened the frame with back-to-back singles. After Kolten Hoffman (West Middlesex, Pa./West Middlesex) advanced the runners to second and third with a sacrifice bunt, Tomko cleared the bases with a blast over the centerfielder's head. The ball rolled to the wall and Tomko raced into third base with a game-tying triple. Ryan Turner (Pickering, Ontario/Dunbarton) then pushed the Golden Knights ahead 3-2 with an RBI single to center field during the next at-bat.

Gannon worked out of a tight jam in the top of the eighth inning, but not before Lewis tied the game. Carlozzi walked into the jam by issuing free passes to the first two hitters. But he only gave up the tying run after a sacrifice bunt, sacrifice fly and pop-out.

The Golden Knights immediately responded with a huge offensive inning in the bottom of the eighth, plating four runs to grab a 7-3 edge. Kyle Harpster (Erie, Pa./McDowell) led off the inning with a single and moved to second on Lipp's push bunt that got past the pitcher for a hit. Patsilevas tried to bunt the runners into scoring position and eventually reached first when the pitcher threw wild to third base.

For the second straight inning, Tomko stepped up with the big hit. The sophomore outfielder drilled a ball into the right-center gap, clearing the bases with another triple. And as he did the previous inning, Turner followed a Tomko blast with an RBI single, giving the Golden Knights a 7-3 lead.

Landon Wahl (Somerset, Pa./Somerset Area) made his fifth appearance of the trip and set the Flyers down in order during the top of the ninth inning to preserve the 7-3 victory. The junior did not allow an earned run in 14 innings during the 12-game week.

Turner and Evan Baglieri (Niagara Falls, Ontario/St. Michael's) both recorded three hits in the victory. Tomko finished 2-for-5 with two runs and five RBI. Lipp was also 2-for-5 with two runs scored. Gannon's top five hitters combined for nine hits, six runs and seven RBI.

In the nightcap, Gannon dented the scoreboard first in the second inning. Tomko led off the inning by reaching on a fielding error. He later moved to second on a failed pick-off attempt and scored on Baglieri's double to left field.

West Virginia Wesleyan then put Gannon in a hole with two runs in the bottom of the inning and four more in the third. A one-out, two-run single in the second gave the Bobcats a 2-1 lead. West Virginia Wesleyan used an RBI single, a two-run single and a bases-loaded walk in the third to assume a 6-2 lead.

The West Virginia Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (WVIAC) club extended its lead to 8-2 with two runs in the fifth, before putting the game away with seven runs in the sixth. Four runs during the seven-run outburst were unearned.

Gannon scored twice in the sixth inning on Hoffman's RBI double over the centerfielder's head and Tomko's single down the left field line. The Golden Knights added a final run in the eighth inning on another RBI triple into the right-center gap by Tomko.

Tomko went 3-for-4 with one run and two RBI in the second game, finishing Saturday's two games with five hits in nine at-bats. He scored three times and drove in seven runs on the day. Hoffman had two hits in three at-bats, scoring twice and driving in one. Michael Brosius (North Tonawanda, N.Y./North Tonawanda) added two hits in three plate appearances.

Eight of West Virginia Wesleyan's runs were credited as unearned due to six Gannon errors. Gannon concluded its 12-game schedule at the Russ-Matt Invitational with a 4-8 record. Lewis (Ill.) dropped to 5-2 while West Virginia Wesleyan improved to 3-1. The Golden Knights return to action Tuesday, March 15 against Penn State Beaver at Gannon Uniiversity Field. The home-opening doubleheader is scheduled for 1 p.m.

For a complete box score from Saturday's Gannon-Lewis baseball game, please click here.

For a complete box score from Saturday's Gannon-West Virginia Wesleyan baseball game, please click here.