AUBURNDALE, Fla. - A late rally in game two turned up a little short as the Gannon baseball team dropped both ends of a doubleheader against former Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC) foe Northwood (Mich.) Friday evening at the Russ-Matt Invitational in Auburndale, Florida.
The nightcap was a wild affair that featured 17 runs and lasted eight innings. Northwood initially jumped out to a 6-0 lead after its first three at-bats. Gannon cut the deficit in half with three runs during the bottom of the third inning.
Jeff Bellanca (Grand Island, N.Y./St. Joseph's Collegiate Institute) pushed the first run across with a bases-loaded hit by pitch.
Jared Wiesen (Girard, Ohio/Liberty) and
Nick Restuccia (Ormond Beach, Fla./Father Lopez Catholic) drove home the next two runs with RBI ground-outs.
Gannon completed the comeback with another three runs during the bottom of the sixth inning. The Golden Knights loaded the bases with two walks and a hit by pitch, before
Zack Ranta (Hamilton, Ontario/Orchard Park Secondary) pushed the fourth run across home plate with another walk. A Bellanca RBI fielder's choice cut the deficit to 6-5, before
Aaron Cox scored the tying run on a passed ball.
The comeback turned awry after the two teams needed extra innings. Northwood erupted for five runs against three Gannon pitchers during the top of the eighth inning. The Golden Knights then went down in order during their last at-bat.
Both Sutton and Cox recorded two hits and scored twice. Cox was the only one of five Gannon pitchers to not allow a run, tossing a scoreless seventh inning.
In the opener, Northwood scored six runs during the first three innings and rolled to a 7-1 victory. Gannon's only run came on an RBI ground-out with the bases loaded in the second inning.
Gannon dropped to 2-8 with Friday's losses. Northwood improved to 3-2. The Golden Knights conclude their spring trip Saturday, March 8 against Ohio Dominican. The doubleheader is scheduled for 1 p.m.
