Gannon Golden Knights
Mike Gallagher

Baseball Dan Teliski, Director of Athletics Media Relations

Gannon and California (Pa.) Baseball Teams Clash with First Place on the Line; Weekend Opener Pushed Back to Saturday with Senior Day on Sunday

The Gannon baseball team is becoming a regular in big PSAC series that determine first place late in the year.
ERIE, Pa. – For the second consecutive season, the Gannon baseball team will play a late-April series that will determine first place in the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) Western Division. The Golden Knights will battle California (Pa.) in a four-game set this weekend. The two programs enter the series tied for first place with identical 9-3 PSAC records.

The series was originally scheduled to begin Friday, April 19 at CONSOL Energy Park in Washington, Pennsylvania. However, the opener has been pushed back to Saturday, April 20 due to projected rain in the forecast. The series will conclude Sunday, April 21 with another doubleheader at Gannon University Field. First pitch is scheduled for 1 p.m. both days. Sunday will also be Senior Day for Gannon as eight seniors will be honored during festivities between games.

Saturday's Live Gameday Statistics: Click Here.
Sunday's Live Gameday Statistics: Click Here.

Gannon-California History: California (Pa.) leads the all-time series 12-4 since Gannon joined the PSAC in 2008-09. However, the Golden Knights took three of four games from the Vulcans last season. Gannon began the 2012 series with home victories by 3-2 and 5-4 scores, before splitting a twinbill on Cal's home field.

Gannon Golden Knights
Head Coach: Nate Cocolin (6th season)
Overall Record: 17-11
PSAC Record: 9-3
PSAC Standing: Tied for 1st place
NCBWA Regional Ranking: 9th
NCBWA National Ranking: N/A
Runs Scored/Allowed: 128/114
Earned Runs Scored/Allowed: 115/92

Hitting Leaders
Average: Jared Wiesen (3B, Fr.) - .349
Runs Scored: Aaron Cox (INF, Fr.) - 20
Hits: Jared Wiesen (3B, Fr.) - 29
Doubles: Nico Baldelli (C, R-Sr.) - 9
Triples: Michael Tomko (OF, Sr.) - 4
Home Runs: Aaron Cox (INF, Fr.) - 6
RBIs: Aaron Cox (INF, Fr.) - 18
Total Bases: Aaron Cox (INF, Fr.) - 48
Slugging Percentage: Aaron Cox (INF, Fr.) - .527
Walks: Michael Tomko (OF, Sr.) - 10
On-Base Percentage: Jeff Bellanca (UTL, R-So.) - .414

Pitching Leaders
ERA (Min. 14 IP): Shayne Herold (R-Sr.) - 0.98
Wins: Shayne Herold (R-Sr.) - 6
Appearances: Shayne Herold (R-Sr.) - 11
Starts: Aaron Cox (Fr.), Matt Tobin (So.) - 6
Complete Games: Matt Tobin (So.), Shayne Herold (R-Sr.) - 3
Shutouts: Aaron Cox (Fr.) - 2
Saves: Shayne Herold (R-Sr.) - 3
Innings Pitched: Aaron Cox (Fr.) - 40.0
Strikeouts: Aaron Cox (Fr.) - 54
Lowest Opponent Batting Average (Min. 14 IP): Shayne Herold (R-Sr.) - .161

Gannon Team Notes
  • Gannon is ranked ninth in the latest National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association (NCBWA) Atlantic Region Poll, representing the highest ranking of the season. The first NCAA Division II regional rankings are scheduled to be released Wednesday, April 24.
  • Senior Michael Tomko ranks third all-time at Gannon with 14 career home runs, needing two to tie Nick Leslie (2000-04) for second place.
  • Tomko ranks third all-time at Gannon with 256 total bases, sitting six behind Phil Gnacinski (2001-04) for second place. He ranks third among PSAC players in triples (4).
  • Freshman Aaron Cox is tied for the PSAC lead in home runs (6).
  • Redshirt senior Shayne Herold leads the PSAC in ERA (0.98), saves (3) and opponents' batting average (.161). He leads NCAA Division II in hits allowed per nine innings (4.66) while ranking seventh in ERA and WHIP (0.76).

California (Pa.) Vulcans
Head Coach: Mike Conte (16th season)
Overall Record: 25-10
PSAC Record: 9-3
PSAC Standing: Tied for 1st place
NCBWA Regional Ranking: 4th
NCBWA National Ranking: N/A
Runs Scored/Allowed: 205/87
Earned Runs Scored/Allowed: 168/71

Hitting Leaders
Average: Kyle Petty (UTL, Sr.) - .414
Runs Scored: Kyle Petty (UTL, Sr.) - 32
Hits: Kyle Petty (UTL, Sr.) - 48
Doubles: David Marcus (INF, Fr.) - 9
Triples: Kyle Petty (UTL, Sr.) - 4
Home Runs: Kyle Petty (UTL, Sr.), Matt Peters (INF, So.) - 3
RBIs: Kyle Petty (UTL, Sr.) - 29
Total Bases: Kyle Petty (UTL, Sr.) - 72
Slugging Percentage: Kyle Petty (UTL, Sr.) - .621
Walks: A.J. Robinson (INF, Sr.) - 20
On-Base Percentage: Kyle Petty (UTL, Sr.) - .481

Pitching Leaders
ERA (Min. 17 IP): Mike Fennell (Fr.) - 1.41
Wins: Justin Taylor (So.), G.J. Senchak (So.) - 5
Appearances: G.J. Senchak (So.), Eric Francis (R-Sr.) - 8
Starts: G.J. Senchak (Sr.) - 8
Complete Games: Justin Taylor (So.), G.J. Senchak (So.) - 4
Shutouts: Justin Taylor (So.) - 3
Saves: Kyle Petty (Sr.), Eric Francis (R-Sr.) - 2
Innings Pitched: G.J. Senchak (Sr.) - 52.0
Strikeouts: G.J. Senchak (Sr.) - 36
Lowest Opponent Batting Average (Min. 17 IP): Jack Dennis (Fr.) - .198

California (Pa.) Team Notes
  • California is ranked fourth in the latest NCBWA Atlantic Region Poll.
  • The Vulcans ranks fifth among all NCAA Division II schools in ERA (2.47), 14th in WHIP (1.21), 17th in walks allowed per nine innings (2.62) and 21st in fielding percentage (.970).
  • Junior infielder Giovanni Morales is the fifth-toughest batter in NCAA Division II to strike out, doing so once every 36.5 at-bats.
  • California leads the PSAC in ERA and shutouts (8).
  • The Vulcans lead the PSAC in stolen bases (83) while ranking fourth in batting average (.306).
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