Mark DeVita
Joe Mattis
Redshirt senior Mark DeVita's second home run of the season gave Gannon an 11-1 lead in the fifth inning.
7
Lake Erie LEC 3-8
11
Winner Gannon University GAN 12-5
Lake Erie LEC
3-8
7
Final
11
Gannon University GAN
12-5
Winner
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E
Lake Erie LEC 1 0 0 0 0 0 3 0 3 7 12 1
Gannon University GAN 1 0 4 0 6 0 0 0 X 11 11 1

W: Mendez, Santiago (3-0) L: David Lemasters (1-3) S: DiPaolo, Nico (3)

Next Game:

Indiana University of Pennsylvania

3/17/2016 | 1:00 PM

Next Game

Full Schedule
Mar. 17 (Thu) / 1:00 PM
 Indiana University of Pennsylvania

Game Recap: Baseball | | Dan Teliski, Assistant Director of Athletics for Media Relations

Gannon Baseball Team Wins Seventh Straight Home Opener Against Lake Erie; Home Games Against IUP Moved to Thursday

THE RUNDOWN
  • Final Score: Gannon 11, Lake Erie 7
  • Records: Gannon (12-5), Lake Erie (3-8)
  • Location: Erie, Pa. - McConnell Family Stadium
  • The Short Story: The Gannon baseball team used two big innings to produce an 11-1 advantage and held off Lake Erie 11-7 Tuesday afternoon during the home opener at McConnell Family Stadium. The single nine-inning affair was added to the schedule last weekend after Sunday's doubleheader against Findlay was cancelled due to inclement weather.

GAMEDAY MEDIA CENTER
HOW IT HAPPENED
  • Lake Erie started the scoring quickly during the top of the first inning. Lucas Raley singled with two outs, stole second base and scored on Zak DeCamp's single down the right field line.
  • Gannon answered with a single run during its first at-bat. Senior Jared Wiesen (Girard, Ohio/Liberty) popped up a ball in front of home plate that dropped untouched for a double. Two outs later, redshirt freshman Nate Cardy (Franklin, Pa./Franklin) singled up the middle to tie the score.
  • A four-run third inning provide Gannon with some breathing room. Sophomore Charles Benack (Jefferson Hills, Pa./Thomas Jefferson) broke the tie with a bases-loaded sacrifice fly that scored Wiesen. Sophomore Kyle Cox (Dorchester, N.J./Millville) followed with a two-out, two-run triple to right field. Sophomore Matt Oruch (Blue Bell, Pa./Wissahickon) cleaned up the inning with a two-out, RBI single up the middle.
  • Gannon appeared to put the contest away with a six-run outburst during the fifth inning, pushing its lead to 11-1.
  • Oruch's two-run double to right center ignited the explosion. Wiesen's RBI single chased the Lake Erie pitcher, before redshirt senior Mark DeVita (Pittsburgh, Pa./North Hills) greeted the next pitcher with a three-run blast to left field for a 10-run advantage.
  • Lake Erie didn't go quietly through, scoring three runs during the seventh inning and three more in the ninth to pull within 11-7. The Storm brought the tying run to the plate with the bases loaded and two outs during the bottom of the ninth, before junior Nico DiPaolo (Bridgeville, Pa./Bishop Canevin) came out of the bullpen and induced a ground-out for the one-out save.

GAME NOTES
  • Wiesen, Cox and Oruch led the 11-hit attack with two hits each.
  • Oruch finished 2-for-4 with one run and three RBIs.
  • Cox went 2-for-2 with two runs and two RBIs.
  • Wiesen had two hits in three at-bats from the lead-off spot, scoring three times and driving one run in.
  • DeVita only had one hit, but scored twice and had three RBIs with his home run.
  • Junior Santiago Mendez (Potterville, Mich./Lansing Eastern) remained undefeated at 3-0 after allowing only one run in five innings. He scattered five hits, struck out two and walked none.
  • DiPaolo got one out with the bases loaded to record his third save.

BEYOND THE BOX SCORE
  • Gannon is ranked eighth in the latest National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association (NCBWA) Atlantic Region Poll.
  • The Golden Knights failed to score first for only the third time in 17 games.
  • Gannon reached double digits in runs scored for the seventh time this season, marking the most double-digit games in a season since the 2006 club had the same number.
  • The Golden Knights scored six runs during an inning for the sixth time this season.
  • Wiesen recorded his team-best 11th multiple-hit game of the season while scoring three runs in a game for the fifth time.
  • Gannon's top eight hitters in the starting line-up recorded at least one hit. Six scored a run and six recorded an RBI.
  • The Golden Knights won their seventh consecutive home opener. The squad hasn't dropped a home opener since a 5-4 setback against Slippery Rock on March 21, 2009.
  • Gannon is off to its best 17-game start since at least the 1999 campaign. Game-by-game archives are incomplete prior to that season.
  • Tuesday's contest was the first match-up between Gannon and Lake Erie since April 18, 2010.

UP NEXT
  • Gannon returns to action a day earlier than expected on Thursday, March 17 against Indiana (Pa.) at McConnell Family Stadium.
  • The Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) doubleheader is scheduled for 1 p.m.
  • The conference opener was originally scheduled for Friday, March 18 before moving to Thursday afternoon due to expected inclement weather.
  • Indiana (Pa.) and Gannon split a four-game series that wrapped up last year's regular season. Both teams swept their home doubleheader.
Print Friendly Version

Players Mentioned

Charles Benack

#4 Charles Benack

UTL
5' 10"
Sophomore
L/R
Nate Cardy

#35 Nate Cardy

C
6' 1"
Redshirt Freshman
R/R
Kyle Cox

#19 Kyle Cox

P/OF
6' 3"
Sophomore
R/R
Mark DeVita

#2 Mark DeVita

INF
5' 11"
Redshirt Senior
R/R
Nico DiPaolo

#15 Nico DiPaolo

P
5' 11"
Junior
R/R
Matt Oruch

#10 Matt Oruch

OF
6' 0"
Sophomore
R/R
Jared Wiesen

#20 Jared Wiesen

UTL
5' 11"
Senior
R/R
Santiago Mendez

#27 Santiago Mendez

P
6' 2"
Junior
R/R

Players Mentioned

Charles Benack

#4 Charles Benack

5' 10"
Sophomore
L/R
UTL
Nate Cardy

#35 Nate Cardy

6' 1"
Redshirt Freshman
R/R
C
Kyle Cox

#19 Kyle Cox

6' 3"
Sophomore
R/R
P/OF
Mark DeVita

#2 Mark DeVita

5' 11"
Redshirt Senior
R/R
INF
Nico DiPaolo

#15 Nico DiPaolo

5' 11"
Junior
R/R
P
Matt Oruch

#10 Matt Oruch

6' 0"
Sophomore
R/R
OF
Jared Wiesen

#20 Jared Wiesen

5' 11"
Senior
R/R
UTL
Santiago Mendez

#27 Santiago Mendez

6' 2"
Junior
R/R
P