Jarod Morrison
Sophomore Jarod Morrison's two-hit shutout propelled Gannon to a 4-0 victory against top-ranked Mercyhurst.
10
Winner Mercyhurst MER 31-2, 18-1 PSAC-W
4
Gannon University GAN 16-21, 6-13 PSAC-W
Winner
Mercyhurst MER
31-2, 18-1 PSAC-W
10
Final
4
Gannon University GAN
16-21, 6-13 PSAC-W
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 R H E
Mercyhurst MER 2 1 1 3 2 1 0 10 14 3
Gannon University GAN 0 0 1 0 2 0 1 4 5 0

W: Vincenzo Lucente (4-0) L: Cricks, David (5-3)

0
Mercyhurst MER 31-3, 18-2 PSAC-W
4
Winner Gannon University GAN 17-21, 7-13 PSAC-W
Mercyhurst MER
31-3, 18-2 PSAC-W
0
Final
4
Gannon University GAN
17-21, 7-13 PSAC-W
Winner
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 R H E
Mercyhurst MER 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 2
Gannon University GAN 2 1 0 0 1 0 X 4 7 1

W: Morrison, Jarod (5-1) L: Matthew Keating (2-1)

Next Game:

Slippery Rock University

4/28/2017 | 1:00 PM

Next Game

Full Schedule
Apr. 28 (Fri) / 1:00 PM
 Slippery Rock University

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

Morrison's Two-Hit Shutout Spurs Gannon Baseball Team to Split Against Nation's Top-Ranked Squad in Mercyhurst

THE RUNDOWN
  • Game One Score: No. 1 Mercyhurst 10, at Gannon 4
  • Game Two Score: at Gannon 4, No. 1 Mercyhurst 0
  • Records: Gannon (17-21, 7-13 PSAC West), Mercyhurst (13-3, 18-2 PSAC West)
  • Location: Erie, Pa. - McConnell Family Stadium
  • The Short Story: Sophomore Jarod Morrison (Hamilton, Ohio/Hamilton)'s two-hit shutout during the nightcap helped the Gannon baseball team split a Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) Western Division doubleheader against No. 1 Mercyhurst Saturday afternoon at McConnell Family Stadium. The Lakers posted a 10-4 victory during the opener, before the Golden Knights rebounded for a 4-0 win during the second game.

GAMEDAY MEDIA CENTER
HOW IT HAPPENED - GAME ONE
  • Mercyhurst opened a 4-0 lead with two runs during the first inning in addition to single runs in the second and third innings.
  • Gannon got on the board during the bottom of the third inning. Junior Cody Callaway (Elyria, Ohio/Midview) was hit by a pitch to lead off the frame, moved to third on a single by junior Gregory Nicolia (Grand Island, N.Y./Grand Island) and scored on a fielder's choice by junior Charles Benack (Jefferson Hills, Pa./Thomas Jefferson).
  • Mercyhurst continued its trend of scoring every inning with three runs in the fourth and two in the fifth to assume a 9-1 advantage.
  • Gannon was able to push two runs across during the bottom of the fifth inning. Junior Matt Oruch (Blue Bell, Pa./Wissahickon) led off by reaching on a throwing error and later scored on Nicolia's triple into the right center field gap. Nicolia then scored on Benack's RBI ground-out.
  • Mercyhurst added another run in the sixth that was countered by one for Gannon during its last at-bat. Oruch had a one-out single to right field. Four hitters later, he scored on an error. The run accounted for the final 10-4 count.

GAME NOTES - GAME ONE
  • Nicolia recorded two of Gannon's five hits, finishing 2-for-4 with one run and one RBI.
  • Benack drove home two runs without a hit due to an RBI fielder's choice and RBI ground-out.
  • Oruch went 1-for-3 with two runs.
  • Junior David Cricks (Gibsonia, Pa./Hampton) started on the mound, logging 3 2/3 innings with five strikeouts.
  • Sophomores Cory Hegedus (Greensburg, Pa./Hempfield) and Matthew Yough (Chicora, Pa./Karns City) cleaned up the final 3 1/3 innings out of the bullpen.

BEYOND THE BOX SCORE
  • Mercyhurst is tabbed No. 1 in the latest National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association (NCBWA) Top 20 Poll and NCBWA Atlantic Region Poll.
  • Gannon is listed among others receiving votes in the latest NCBWA Atlantic Region Poll.
  • Cricks moved past Andy Chalot (2000-02) and into ninth place all-time at Gannon since 2000 with 150 1/3 innings pitched.
  • Junior Kyle Cox (Dorchester, N.J./Millville) extended his team-high hit streak to five games.
  • Nicolia recorded his seventh multiple-hit game of the season.
  • Benack produced his fifth multiple-RBI performance in 2017.
  • Oruch scored multiple runs for the third time this season.

HOW IT HAPPENED - GAME TWO
  • Gannon went straight to work with the only two runs it would need during its first at-bat. Nicolia and junior Mike Colosi (Niagara Falls, N.Y./Niagara Falls) led off with singles and moved up 90 feet on a wild pitch. Nicolia scored the first run on an RBI grounder by redshirt sophomore Nate Cardy (Franklin, Pa./Franklin) and Colosi scored on sacrifice fly by Cox.
  • The Golden Knights extended their lead to 3-0 during the bottom of the second inning. Nicolia tripled to left center field with two outs and immediately scored on Colosi's double to right center field.
  • Gannon added an insurance run during the bottom of the fifth inning. Cardy reached on a two-out error and crossed the plate on Cox's double down the right field line.
  • It was all Morrison after that. The sophomore right-hander faced his biggest jam in the sixth inning when Mercyhurst put runners on second and third base, before he froze Matthew Schneider on a called third strike to end the threat.
  • Morrison ended the contest by striking out the side during the top of the seventh inning.

GAME NOTES - GAME TWO
  • Nicolia and Colosi combined to go 4-for-7 with three runs and one RBI out of the top two spots in the line-up.
  • Nicolia finished 2-for-4 with two runs.
  • Colosi went 2-for-3 with one run and one RBI.
  • Cox generated one hit in two official at-bats as the clean-up hitter, driving home two runs.
  • Morrison went the distance on the mound, improving to 5-1 with a 101-pitch outing. He allowed only two hits, struck out eight and walked four.

BEYOND THE BOX SCORE
  • Mercyhurst is tabbed No. 1 in the latest NCBWA Top 20 Poll and Atlantic Region Poll.
  • Gannon is listed among others receiving votes in the latest NCBWA Atlantic Region Poll.
  • The Golden Knights defeated a team ranked No. 1 in NCAA Division II for the first time in program history.
  • Gannon posted its first victory against a nationally-ranked opponent since a 7-2 win versus No. 9 Seton Hill at McConnell Family Stadium on April 17, 2015. Saturday's victory snapped a streak of seven straight losses against nationally-ranked teams.
  • Morrison recorded his first career shutout and second career complete game.
  • Gannon posted its first shutout since a 1-0 victory against Seton Hill at McConnell Family Stadium on April 30, 2016.
  • Cox extended his team-best hit streak to six games with a fifth-inning double.
  • Colosi and Nicolia recorded their 11th and eighth multiple-hit games of the season, respectively.
  • Cox moved into a tie with Colosi for the team lead in multiple-RBI games with six.
  • Nicolia scored multiple runs for the fourth time this season.
  • Morrison set a new career-high in strikeouts with eight.

UP NEXT
  • Gannon returns to action Friday, April 28 against Slippery Rock at McConnell Family Stadium. 
  • The PSAC doubleheader is scheduled for 1 p.m.
  • Live gameday statistics will be available at http://www.sidearmstats.com/gannon/baseball.
  • Gannon took three out of four games from Slippery Rock last season, including a doubleheader sweep at McConnell Family Stadium.
  • The Rock swept a four-game series from Gannon the previous season in 2015 after the two programs split three consecutive four-game series from 2012-14.
  • Slippery Rock won an elimination game at the 2012 PSAC Tournament, before Gannon returned the favor at the 2013 conference tournament.
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Players Mentioned

Charles Benack

#4 Charles Benack

UTL
5' 11"
Junior
L/R
Nate Cardy

#35 Nate Cardy

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

#19 Kyle Cox

P/OF
6' 4"
Junior
R/R
David Cricks

#12 David Cricks

P
5' 10"
Junior
R/R
Cory Hegedus

#20 Cory Hegedus

INF
6' 0"
Sophomore
R/R
Jarod Morrison

#1 Jarod Morrison

P
6' 3"
Sophomore
R/R
Gregory Nicolia

#17 Gregory Nicolia

INF
6' 0"
Junior
L/R
Matt Oruch

#10 Matt Oruch

OF
6' 0"
Junior
R/R
Matthew Yough

#25 Matthew Yough

P
6' 1"
Sophomore
R/R
Cody Callaway

#18 Cody Callaway

INF
6' 2"
Junior
R/R

Players Mentioned

Charles Benack

#4 Charles Benack

5' 11"
Junior
L/R
UTL
Nate Cardy

#35 Nate Cardy

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

#19 Kyle Cox

6' 4"
Junior
R/R
P/OF
David Cricks

#12 David Cricks

5' 10"
Junior
R/R
P
Cory Hegedus

#20 Cory Hegedus

6' 0"
Sophomore
R/R
INF
Jarod Morrison

#1 Jarod Morrison

6' 3"
Sophomore
R/R
P
Gregory Nicolia

#17 Gregory Nicolia

6' 0"
Junior
L/R
INF
Matt Oruch

#10 Matt Oruch

6' 0"
Junior
R/R
OF
Matthew Yough

#25 Matthew Yough

6' 1"
Sophomore
R/R
P
Cody Callaway

#18 Cody Callaway

6' 2"
Junior
R/R
INF