WINTER HAVEN, Fla. - The Gannon baseball team rallied from a three-run deficit en route to a 4-3 game-one victory and earned a doubleheader split against Ohio Dominican Saturday during the final day of its spring trip.
Ohio Dominican struck first with three runs during the bottom of the second inning. The Gannon bats awoke with a pair of runs during the top of the fourth inning.
Jared Wiesen (Girard, Ohio / Liberty) broke the ice with a one-out RBI single, before
Bob Roach's (Erie, Pa./McDowell) sacrifice fly cut the deficit to one.
One inning later, Gannon manufactured the tying run.
Tommy Roache (Ormond Beach, Fla./Father Lopez Catholic) reached on an error and moved to second on a sacrifice bunt. After advancing to third base on a fly ball, Roache scored on a wild pitch.
Two-out lightning accounted for the game-winner.
Aaron Cox (Dorchester, N.J./Millville) singled with one out and moved to second on a ground-out.
Jeff Bellanca's (Grand Island, N.Y./St. Joseph's Collegiate Institute) two-out RBI single up the middle then drove Cox home with the go-ahead run.
Cox finished up a complete game on the mound by striking out the side during the bottom of the seventh inning. The sophomore improved to 2-1, allowing only one earned run on four hits. He struck out 11 and walked three.
Seven of Gannon's starting nine recorded a hit.
Zack Ranta (Hamilton, Ontario/Orchard Park Secondary) went 2-for-4 with a run. Four different Golden Knights scored a run and three different players had RBIs.
In the nightcap, fortunes were reversed by the same exact score in eight innings. Gannon scored single runs during the second, fifth and seventh innings. The contest featured ties at two after five innings and three after six frames.
Roache gave Gannon an early 1-0 lead with a sacrifice fly during the second inning. A Cox two-out RBI single in the fifth tied the contest at two.
Gannon fell behind 3-2 in the top of the seventh inning, but rallied to force extra innings during its final at-bat. The Golden Knights loaded the bases with two walks and a single, before Ranta's sacrifice fly pushed the tying run across home plate.
Ohio Dominican eventually won the game during the eighth inning with two walks, a bunt single and a throwing error. Gannon was unable to duplicate its seventh-inning rally and went down in order during the bottom of the eighth.
Roach and
Sean Sutton (Toronto, Ontario/Brebeuf College) led the Gannon offensive attack in the second game with two hits each.
Aaron Jackson (Sugar Grove, Pa./Eisenhower) received a no decision after allowing three runs in seven innings, but only one was earned. The redshirt freshman surrendered five hits, struck out four and walked five.
Gannon concluded its spring trip with a 3-9 record. Ohio Dominican moved to 2-3 with Saturday's split. The Golden Knights returns to action Saturday, March 15 at Walsh. The non-conference doubleheader is scheduled for 1 p.m.
