Box Score

FREDONIA, N.Y. – The Gannon baseball team jumped out to a 6-0 lead after its first two at-bats and coasted to an 8-6 victory during non-conference action Thursday afternoon at Fredonia State. Eight of the Golden Knights' nine starters recorded hits during the win. In the process, the program moved seven games over .500 this late in the season for the first time since at least the 1980s.

Gannon went right to work during the first inning. Kyle Harpster (Erie, Pa./McDowell) manufactured a run when he led off the game with a walk. After moving to second on a Dylan Schwegler (Aliquippa, Pa./Hopewell Area) sacrifice bunt, the senior centerfielder stole third base and scored on a throwing error by the catcher.

Head coach Nate Cocolin's club blew the game wide open with a five-spot during the second inning. Tim Lipp's (Beaver Falls, Pa./Blackhawk) two-run, two-out single capped the outburst. The first three runs scored on a Jeff Bellanca (Grand Island, N.Y./St. Joseph's Collegiate Institute) RBI double, an Eric Bradley (Mount Pleasant, Pa./Mount Pleasant) RBI ground-out and a Michael Brosius (North Tonawanda, N.Y./North Tonawanda) RBI single.

Fredonia State cut the deficit to five twice, scoring single runs during the bottom of the second and fourth innings. However, Gannon countered both times with RBI singles from Bradley in the third and fifth.

Five different Fredonia State pitchers held Gannon scoreless over the final four innings. Meanwhile, the Blue Devils plated a pair of runs during both the fifth and seventh innings to claw within 8-6.

Phil Cacchione (Erie, Pa./Mercyhurst Prep) kept Fredonia State at bay with an inning-ending double play during the eighth inning. Landon Wahl (Somerset, Pa./Somerset Area) then recorded his fifth save of the season by retiring three of the four batters he faced during the ninth inning. The save moved Wahl into a tie for the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference's lead with IUP's Austin Mock and Shippensburg's Kody Kibler.

Michael Tomko (Sharon, Pa./Sharon) led the 12-hit attack with a 3-for-5 showing. Baldelli finished 2-for-3 with three runs scored. Bradley went 2-for-4 with three RBIs. Harpster scored twice while Lipp drove in a pair of runs.

Don Marchione (Markham, Ontario/Br. Andre Catholic) earned his first victory of the season with three innings pitched, allowing one run and one hit. The senior right-hander struck out one and walked four. Per statistics guidelines, Marchione was credited with the victory despite not throwing five innings because Gannon entered the game with a predetermined pitching rotation.

Six Golden Knights saw action on the mound. David Spaeder (Erie, Pa./Cathedral Prep) tossed a scoreless sixth inning. Cacchione threw 1 1/3 innings out of the bullpen, surrendering zero runs and only one hit.

Fredonia State dropped to 9-13 with Thursday's loss. Gannon improved to 21-14 with its second consecutive victory overall and fourth straight non-conference win. The Golden Knights are two victories shy of tying the school's single-season record of 23. The squad returns to action Saturday, April 14 against 17th-ranked Seton Hill at Gannon University Field. The non-conference doubleheader is slated for 1 p.m.