ERIE, Pa. -
Jeff Bellanca's (Grand Island, N.Y./St. Joseph's Collegiate Institute) walk-off single up the middle with two outs in the bottom of the seventh inning helped the Gannon baseball team earn a doubleheader split against Clarion Friday afternoon at a sunny Gannon University Field. The Golden Knights walked off game one by a 2-1 score, before dropping the second game 3-0.
The opener turned into a low-scoring, well-played game. Clarion immediately loaded the bases against Gannon starter
Matt Tobin (Erie, Pa./Mercyhurst Prep) during the top of the first inning. But the junior left-hander allowed only one run to score on a ground-out and left the bases loaded with an inning-ending double play. The first-inning run proved to be Clarion's only tally of the contest.
Gannon tied the affair during the bottom of the third inning.
Lou Downey (Latrobe, Pa./Greater Latrobe) drew a lead-off walk on four pitches while making his eighth appearance of the season. The senior moved to second base on a passed ball, went to third on
Jared Wiesen's (Girard, Ohio/Liberty) sacrifice bunt and scored on Bellanca's ground-out to first.
The deadlock remained intact until the bottom of the seventh inning.
Sean Sutton (Toronto, Ontario/Brebeuf College) led off the frame with a ringing single down the right field line. After Downey moved him to second base with a sacrifice bunt, Sutton scored the winning run on Bellanca's two-out single up the middle.
Seven different Golden Knights recorded a hit during the opener. Tobin improved to 3-2 with a four-hitter, recording his third complete game of the season. He allowed only one run while throwing 77 pitches, struck out two and walked one.
Clarion's Tyler Delval was the story of the nightcap, shutting Gannon out while improving to 2-3. He scattered seven hits, but struck out seven with no walks. The Golden Knights left seven runners on base against Delval. Four were stranded in scoring position.
The visitors tallied single runs during the fourth, fifth and sixth innings. Gannon's only run was wiped off the board when
Zack Ranta's (Hamilton, Ontario/Orchard Park Secondary) home run to right field during the bottom of the fourth inning was ruled to hit under the home run line for a double.
Wiesen and Ranta had two hits each during the second game.
Aaron Jackson (Sugar Grove, Pa./Eisenhower) was the tough-luck loser on the mound despite allowing only three runs during his fourth complete game of the season. The redshirt freshman struck out three and walked one.
Gannon moved to 10-22 overall and 5-11 in the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) Western Division with its fourth consecutive doubleheader split. Clarion is now 6-20 overall and 3-13 in divisional play. The Golden Eagles' victory in game two snapped a nine-game losing streak against Gannon. Clarion's last win in the series was a 2-1 verdict on April 15, 2011.
The two teams will conclude their four-game series Sunday, April 13 at Clarion's Memorial Stadium. The doubleheader was originally scheduled for Saturday afternoon, but was pushed back one day due to field conditions. First pitch is slated for 1 p.m.
