ERIE, Pa. -
Mark DeVita (Pittsburgh, Pa./North Hills) went 4-for-4 with four RBIs,
Matt Wilwohl (Erie, Pa./McDowell) picked up his first victory of the season and
Brian Fisher (Coal Center, Pa./California Area) earned his first career save as the Gannon baseball team held off a furious Indiana (Pa.) rally during a 12-9 victory Saturday afternoon. The nightcap victory at Gannon University Field gave the Golden Knights a Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) Western Division doubleheader split after falling 3-2 in the opener.
The nightcap went from a laugher to a white-knuckler to a sigh of relief. Gannon cruised through most of the game, building a 10-1 lead after four innings. The Golden Knights were off and running after plating five runs during the second inning.
DeVita's one-out, RBI single through the right side started the explosion.
Scotty Cloudy (Valley City, Ohio/Buckeye) and
Sean Sutton (Toronto, Ontario/Brebeuf College) pushed the next two runs across with bases-loaded walks.
Taylor Anderson (Niagara Falls, Ontario/A.N. Myer Secondary) capped the blitz with a two-run, two-out single to right center.
Three more runs scored during the third inning on Cloudy's two-run single to left field and
Jared Wiesen's (Girard, Ohio/Liberty) RBI single up the middle. After IUP finally got on the board with a single run during the top of the fourth inning, DeVita doubled the Crimson Hawks with a two-out, two-run single through the left side in the bottom of the frame. At that point, the Gannon lead had ballooned to 10-1.
But just when the fans were ready to pack things up, IUP rallied with a run during the fifth inning and seven runs in the sixth. The Crimson Hawks sent 13 men to the plate during a long sixth inning. They scored seven runs on five hits, four walks and an error. Leading 10-9 with the bases loaded, Fisher was called out of the bullpen to strike out pinch hitter Aaron Lupia to end the threat.
Gannon produced two insurance runs during the bottom of the sixth inning on back-to-back RBI singles by
Bob Roach (Erie, Pa./McDowell) and DeVita. Fisher then closed the book on a 12-9 victory with a four-batter seventh inning.
The scoring outburst represented Gannon's third game this season with at least 12 runs. DeVita went 4-for-4 with two runs and four RBIs. Anderson,
Zack Ranta (Hamilton, Ontario/Orchard Park Secondary) and Roach added two hits each. The bottom seven Golden Knights in the lineup all scored. Anderson,
Aaron Cox (Dorchester, N.J./Millville), Roach, and
Andrew Wagner (Akron, Ohio/Walsh Jesuit) joined DeVita with two runs scored.
Wilwohl logged 5 1/3 innings to pick up his first victory of the season. Fisher earned his first career save with 1 1/3 scoreless innings of relief. The true freshman is now 2-0 with one save in three career appearances.
An unearned IUP run proved to be the difference in the opener. IUP's John Beatty reached second base to lead off the top of the seventh inning after his fly ball to right field dropped. Rick Jones proceeded to lay down a sacrifice bunt. Cox raced off the mound, spun around and threw to third base. But the umpire ruled Beatty safe on the bang-bang play. It proved to be a crucial call as he scored the winning run one out later on a fielder's choice. Kyle Zaorski set Gannon down in order during the bottom of the seventh inning to secure the victory.
Gannon opened the game with a run during its first at-bat. Wiesen led off with a single, before moving to third base on a walk and sacrifice bunt. The sophomore then scored the opening run on Ranta's fielder's choice.
Both teams held serve until midway through the contest. IUP knotted the game with a run in the fourth and took the lead with another run in the sixth. Gannon pulled even again during the bottom of the sixth inning. Sutton had a lead-off double to right field, moved to third on a sacrifice bunt and tied the contest on Cox's two-out single through the left side.
Five different Golden Knights had one hit each during the opener. Cox was the tough-luck loser, falling to 6-5 despite recording his ninth complete game of the season. The sophomore allowed two earned runs on four hits, striking out seven and walking two.
Gannon moved to 15-25 overall and 10-14 in the PSAC with its second consecutive doubleheader split. The Golden Knights have split seven twinbills and swept No. 13 Seton Hill during their last eight play dates. IUP is now 14-21 overall and 8-14 in divisional play.
Head coach
Nate Cocolin's club concludes the regular season next weekend against Pitt-Johnstown. The two clubs open a four-game series Friday, April 25 on Senior Day at Gannon University Field. The PSAC twinbill is scheduled for 1 p.m. Gannon's seniors will be honored between games. The four-game series concludes Saturday, April 26 at Pitt-Johnstown with a 1 p.m. first pitch.
