ERIE, Pa. – The Gannon baseball team continues Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) Western Division action this weekend when it locks horns with first-place Clarion. The four-game series begins Friday, March 23 at Gannon University Field and concludes Saturday, March 24 at Clarion. Both doubleheaders are scheduled to begin at 1 p.m.

Live gameday statistics will be available for Friday's twinbill at http://www.gannon.edu/athletics/men/baseball/lstats/XLIVE.HTM. No live gameday statistics will be available for Saturday's contests.

Gannon has played consistent baseball this season, producing a 10-10 overall record and 2-2 PSAC Western Division mark. The Golden Knights are coming off a four-game split against Slippery Rock last weekend, ending the series with a 20-0 victory.

Five Golden Knights are hitting .300 or better, led by Michael Tomko (Sharon, Pa./Sharon) and Evan Baglieri (Niagara Falls, Ontario/St. Michael's). Both players are hitting .333 through 20 games. Tomko has a .651 slugging percentage and a .408 on-base percentage to go along with four doubles, two triples and four home runs. He ranks third among all PSAC hitters in home runs and triples. Baglieri leads the PSAC in doubles (9) while scoring 10 runs and driving in 17.

Terry Carson (Erie, Pa./Villa Maria Academy) is Gannon's third-leading hitter with a .320 average. Kyle Harpster (Erie, Pa./McDowell) and Jeff Bellanca (Grand Island, N.Y./St. Joseph's Collegiate Institute) complete Gannon's group of .300 hitters with .308 and .304 averages, respectively.

The Gannon pitching staff owns the PSAC's fifth-lowest earned-run average with a 3.82 mark. Paul McKenna (Oakville, Ontario/Iroquois Ridge) has been the anchor, going 4-1 with a 1.81 ERA. The senior leads the PSAC and ranks second nationally with four complete games. He ranks second among PSAC pitchers in strikeouts (32), fourth in victories, seventh in inning pitched (30) and 10th in opponent batting average (.229).

Seven Gannon pitchers have an ERA of 4.00 or lower. Freshman Matt Tobin (Erie, Pa./Mercyhurst Prep) has the lowest ERA among pitchers with at least 10 innings, producing a 1.59 mark in 17 innings of work.

Clarion (5-7 overall) rides a four-game winning streak into the weekend after opening PSAC play with a four-game sweep of Lock Haven last week. The Golden Eagles are off to a 4-0 start in league play for the first time in at least 35 years, having swept a PSAC West opponent in a season series for the first time since 1987. It represents Clarion's first four-game conference win streak since winning five in a row during the 2000 season. It's the first time Clarion has won four straight in the PSAC West since the conference changed it scheduling format in 2003 from two games on the weekend and two games during the middle of the week to four games on back-to-back weekend days.

Eight Golden Eagles are hitting .300 or better. The reigning PSAC Western Division Player of the Week Jerico Weitzel leads the way with a .465 average, .558 slugging percentage and .538 on-base percentage. The senior shortstop has scored eight times and driven in eight runs. Juniors Kasey Clinton and Jon Kemmer are hitting .364 and .361, respectively.

Pitching has been the issue for Clarion, which ranks 13th among 14 PSAC teams in earned run average (7.97). Sophomore Mike Dunn has been the Golden Eagles' best starter, going 2-0 with a 2.81 ERA in three starts.

Gannon and Clarion have split four-game series twice in the last three seasons - 2009 and 2011. The Golden Knights swept a four-game series from the Golden Eagles in 2010.