CLARION, Pa. -
Aaron Cox's (Dorchester, N.J./Millville) one-hit shutout combined with a Golden Eagle walk-off gave the Gannon baseball team its fifth consecutive doubleheader split Sunday afternoon at Clarion's Memorial Field. The Golden Knights won the opener 5-0, before falling 7-6 during the nightcap.
Cox was superb during the first game, allowing only a lead-off double in the fourth inning. Despite the one-hitter, the sophomore right-hander set the Golden Eagles down in order only three times as Clarion left five runners on base. Cox ended the game by retiring 11 of the last 12 hitters he faced.
Gannon scored the only run it would need during its first at-bat.
Jared Wiesen (Girard, Ohio/Liberty) led off the game with a single and scored two batters later on
Zack Ranta's (Hamilton, Ontario/Orchard Park Secondary) single to center field.
Head coach
Nate Cocolin's squad broke the game open with three more runs during the second inning.
Sean Sutton (Toronto, Ontario/Brebeuf College) scored the first run on Wiesen's bases-loaded fielder's choice. Ranta then drove home a pair of runs with a two-out, bases-loaded single to right field.
Gannon tacked on an insurance run during the sixth inning without the benefit of a hit. Sutton reached base when his sacrifice bunt resulted in an out at second base. The junior proceeded to steal second base and moved to third on a throwing error. He later crossed home plate with the fifth run after tagging up on
Lou Downey's (Latrobe, Pa./Greater Latrobe) foul-out to the shortstop.
Ranta recorded two of Gannon's four hits during the opener, finishing 2-for-2 with three RBIs. Wiesen and Sutton picked up the other two hits while scoring two times each.
Cox improved to 6-3 with his third career shutout and 14th career complete game. He struck out eight and walked only one.
The nightcap swung back and forth several times. Clarion looked like it would run away with the game early, scoring five times during the bottom of the third inning.
But Gannon rallied to take the lead with two runs in the fourth and four more in the fifth. After three walks loaded the bases during the fourth inning, Wiesen came through with a two-out, two-run single to left field.
Taylor Anderson (Niagara Falls, Ontario/A.N. Myer Secondary) opened the fifth-inning scoring by advancing home on a balk. After a
Bob Roach (Erie, Pa./McDowell) sacrifice fly,
Mark DeVita (Pittsburgh, Pa./North Hills) plated the tying run with a two-out, RBI single to center field.
Andrew Wagner (Akron, Ohio/Walsh Jesuit) followed with another two-out, RBI single to center field, accounting for his first career RBI and a 6-5 lead.
However, Clarion was far from dead. The Golden Eagles tied the game with a bases-loaded ground-out in the sixth, before walking off during the bottom of the seventh inning. Ben Thomas started the rally with a one-out double to left center. Josh Ponsoll was intentionally walked, before Drew Pirritano's single to left field loaded the bases. Derek Danver was then hit by a 2-1 pitch to push the winning run across the plate.
Anderson and Wagner finished the second game with two hits each. Five different Golden Knights scored and four different players had an RBI.
Matt Wilwohl (Erie, Pa./McDowell) suffered the loss while tossing his fourth complete game of the season.
Gannon moved to 11-23 overall and 6-12 in the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) Western Division with its fifth consecutive twinbill split. Clarion is now 7-21 overall and 4-14 in divisional play after splitting the weekend's four-game set. The Golden Knights return to action Tuesday, April 15 against 22nd-ranked Seton Hill at Gannon University Field. The doubleheader first pitch is scheduled for 1 p.m.
