ERIE, Pa. –
Dylan Schwegler's (Aliquippa, Pa./Hopewell Area) walk-off RBI double in the bottom of the seventh inning killed two birds with one stone. The shot down the right field line gave the Gannon baseball team a 2-1 victory Friday afternoon in the nightcap of a Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) Western Division doubleheader at a warm and sunny Gannon University Field. As a result, the Golden Knights clinched their second consecutive PSAC Tournament appearance. The squad also gave head coach
Nate Cocolin his 100th career victory.
Gannon enters the final day of the regular season tied with California (Pa.) for first place in the PSAC Western Division with a 14-8 conference record. The Golden Knights can clinch at least a share of their first divisional title in school history with two victories Saturday at Slippery Rock or with a split combined with a California split against Indiana (Pa.).
In terms of seeding for the PSAC Tournament, Gannon can only capture the West's top seed with a sweep at Slippery Rock combined with at least one Indiana (Pa.) victory at Cal. The Golden Knights will be the second seed if they finish in a two-way tie with California or a three-way tie with Cal and Mercyhurst. Overall, the squad can still finish anywhere between first and fourth, but it can guarantee at least the second seed with one victory at Slippery Rock.
Gannon continued to use the walk-off as one of its main weapons this season, producing a walk-off hit for the fifth time this season. With the score tied at one,
Bob Roach (Erie, Pa./McDowell) drew a one-out walk against Slippery Rock's John Kovalik who entered the game with a PSAC-best six saves. The sophomore moved to second base on a wild pitch, before scoring the winning run on Schwegler's double down the right field line. It was Schwegler's second walk-off of the season. He ended a 3-2 victory against Wayne State (Mich.) on March 9 with a walk-off single.
Gannon initially took a 1-0 lead during the bottom of the fourth inning.
Aaron Cox (Dorchester, N.J./Millville) and
Shayne Herold (LeRoy, N.Y./LeRoy) reached on a walk and a hit by pitch. The duo moved up 90 feet on a wild pitch moments before a crazy set of plays.
Taylor Anderson (Niagara Falls, Ontario/A.N. Myer Secondary) hit a sharp grounder to the first baseman, but his throw home was offline as Cox slide home with the first run of the contest. On the next play, Roach bunted a ball that appeared to touch the Slippery Rock first baseman before rolling foul and allowing another run to score. But the umpires reversed the call to a foul ball after a short deliberation and the score remained 1-0.
Slippery Rock finally got to Herold in the top of the seventh inning. Austin Benshadle led off with a ground-rule double over the left field fence and immediately scored on Jake Nogalo's single to left field to knot the score at one.
Herold and his defensive unit then did a great job getting out of the jam still tied. After a sacrifice bunt put Nogalo at third with one out, Herold struck out Matt Curtis for the second out. Schwegler got the Golden Knights off the field with a diving catch in center field to end the inning.
Jeff Bellanca (Grand Island, N.Y./St. Joseph's Collegiate Institute) recorded two of Gannon's six hits. Four other Golden Knights had one hit each. Herold remained perfect on the mound, improving to 9-0 with his sixth complete game of the season. The redshirt senior allowed one run on six hits while striking out seven and walking two. His season earned run average sits at 1.09 through 57 2/3 innings.
In the opener, Gannon wasted a strong pitching performance by Cox. Following eight scoreless innings, Slippery Rock plated three runs during the top of the ninth inning for a 3-0 victory.
Cox had a two-hit shutout through eight innings, before the Rock plated three runs on four hits in the ninth. All three runs came on three consecutive two-out singles.
Gannon only advanced runners into scoring position twice.
Michael Tomko (Sharon, Pa./Sharon) reached third with two outs in the first and Schwegler made it to second base with two outs in the third, but both runners were stranded.
Tomko produced two of Gannon's four hits during the first game. Cox suffered his first loss of the season in seven decisions. The true freshman surrendered three runs on six hits. He struck out nine and walked two.
Gannon, ranked 10th in the latest National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association (NCBWA) Atlantic Region Poll, moved to 22-16 overall and 14-8 in the PSAC Western Division with Friday's split. Slippery Rock, tabbed seventh in the same poll, is now 30-18 overall and 12-10 in conference play. The two clubs conclude the regular season Saturday, May 4 with another doubleheader at Slippery Rock. First pitch is scheduled for 4 p.m.
