ERIE, Pa. – The Gannon baseball team used a five-run sixth inning to post a come-from-behind 6-3 victory during the first game of a Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) Western Division doubleheader Saturday evening at Slippery Rock. The win enabled the Golden Knights to clinch a share of the PSAC West regular-season crown, representing the program's first divisional title in school history. Slippery Rock returned the favor in the nightcap by breaking a 1-1 tie with a two-run fifth inning to salvage a split with a 3-1 victory.
Gannon concluded the regular season with a 23-17 overall record and a 15-9 PSAC Western Division mark. The Golden Knights broke the school record for conference victories, surpassing the previous mark of 14 set by last year's squad. Gannon is two overall wins shy of the school's single-season record of 25 also set by last year's edition.
Head coach
Nate Cocolin's club clinched its second consecutive PSAC Tournament appearance during Friday's action. The double-elimination event is scheduled for May 8-11 at Point Stadium in Johnstown, Pennsylvania. Gannon enters the tournament as the PSAC West's second seed after losing the tiebreaker to California (Pa.) based on the Vulcans 3-1 record against third seed Mercyhurst. The Golden Knights will face the PSAC Eastern Division's third seed East Stroudsburg during their first game Wednesday, May 8 at 3:30 p.m.
Gannon fell behind early during the opener, allowing two Slippery Rock runs in the first frame. The Golden Knights cut the deficit in half on
Michael Tomko's (Sharon, Pa./Sharon) sacrifice fly that scored
Jeff Bellanca (Grand Island, N.Y./St. Joseph's Collegiate Institute) in the third inning. Bellanca had reached on a one-out double and moved to third on
Taylor Anderson's (Niagara Falls, Ontario/A.N. Myer Secondary) single through the left side.
The sixth inning then unraveled for the Slippery Rock pitching staff. Tomko and
Nico Baldelli (Ellwood, Pa./Riverside) led off with consecutive singles.
Aaron Cox (Dorchester, N.J./Millville) followed with a game-tying double and
Shayne Herold (LeRoy, N.Y./LeRoy) got the go-ahead run across with an RBI ground-out.
The battling Golden Knights weren't done though. Gannon added insurance runs on
Dylan Schwegler's (Aliquippa, Pa./Hopewell Area) RBI single and Bellanca's two-run single. Both hits came with two outs and extended the lead to 6-2.
Slippery Rock scored an unearned run in the bottom of the seventh, but
Matt Tobin (Erie, Pa./Mercyhurst Prep) stranded runners on second and third by getting Kevin Jovanovich to ground out to first.
Bellanca led the offensive troops with a 3-for-4 showing, scoring once and driving home two runs. Baldelli and Cox added two hits each. Eight of Gannon's nine starters recorded a hit.
Tobin evened his record at 4-4 with his fifth complete game of the season. The sophomore left-hander allowed three runs, but only one was earned. He struck out three and walked three.
In the nightcap, Slippery Rock rallied from an early 1-0 deficit to prevent Gannon from winning the PSAC Western Division regular-season title outright. The Golden Knights scored their only run of the game during their first at-bat. Anderson followed a Bellanca single with a double to put runners at second and third. Baldelli was hit by a pitch to load the bases and Cox drew a two-out walk to push Bellanca across the plate.
The Rock knotted the game on an RBI fielder's choice with the bases loaded in the third. The home squad grabbed the lead with a sacrifice fly and a bases-loaded walk in the fifth.
Gannon was unable to rally in the second game, going down in order during the last two innings with the exception of a one-out walk in the seventh.
Bellanca recorded two of Gannon's five hits during the nightcap.
David Spaeder (Erie, Pa./Cathedral Prep) made the start, allowing three runs in 4 1/3 innings.
Matt Wilwohl (Erie, Pa./McDowell) tossed 1 1/3 innings of scoreless relief.
