Miguel Vega vs. D'Youville

Baseball Bob Shreve, Assistant Director of Athletics Media Relations

Gannon Opens PSAC Play with Four Games vs. Cal

GANNON GOLDEN KNIGHTS (7-3, 0-0 PSAC West) vs. CAL VULCANS (13-3, 0-0 PSAC West)
DATE/TIME:  Friday, March 25 (at Cal) and Saturday, March 26 (at Gannon), 2022 I 1:00 p.m.
FACILITY/LOCATION:  Wild Things Park  / Washington, Pa. I  McConnell Family Stadium / Erie, Pa.
LIVE VIDEO (at Cal) I LIVE VIDEO (at Gannon)
LIVE RESULTS (at Cal) I LIVE RESULTS (at Gannon)
 
ERIE, Pa. – The Gannon baseball team opens PSAC action on Friday, March 25 with the first of seven straight weekends of home-and-home doubleheaders with PSAC West opponents. Gannon gets things started with a doubleheader at Cal U on Friday, with the Vulcans returning for a pair of games at McConnell Family Stadium on Saturday. The doubleheaders get underway both days at 1 p.m.

There is one difference for the Golden Knights. With McConnell Family Stadium scheduled to undergo renovations in late April, the final four games of PSAC play on May 6-7 will all be played at Pitt-Johnstown.

Gannon and Cal both enter league play with impressive records and winning streaks.  The Golden Knights, under first-year head coach DJ Cannon, are off to an 8-3 start and have won five straight games after sweeping D'Youville in three games last weekend. The Vulcans come in with a 13-3 record with wins in their last eight contests. Gannon and Cal were tied for fourth in the PSAC coaches' preseason poll.

Cal ranks second in batting average with a .335 figure as a team, and also stands second in team ERA at 2.67.  Gannon comes in with a .281 team batting average, good for 11th in the conference, and is ninth in team ERA at 4.96. The Golden Knights are third in the PSAC in fielding percentage (.973), having committed just ten errors.

Despite the team ERA, inflated by two contests, Gannon has a strong pitching staff led by Deven Judy (Belle Vernon, Pa./Belle Vernon Area). The redshirt senior is rewriting the record book. He was an NCBWA preseason honorable mention All-Atlantic Region honoree and a two-time All-PSAC West performer. Judy recently broke the school record for career strikeouts, now with 260, and is also tied for the career lead in shutouts. The right-hander is third in career victories with 17, three shy of the school record, along with fourth in career innings pitched (212), sixth in games started (34), and tied for seventh in complete games (11) and appearances (44). Judy has pitched in three games this year, showing a 2-0 record with a 4.02 ERA. He is tied for the team lead with 18 strikeouts in 15.2 innings.

Eric Sapp (Deerfield, Ohio/Southeast) gives the Golden Knights a strong left-hander at the top of the rotation. The graduate student is 2-0 with a 3.71 ERA. He comes off a five-hit shutout over D'Youville in his last outing. Sapp has struck out 18 in 17 innings.

In addition to Judy, two other All-PSAC West performers return. First baseman Ian Hess (Canonsburg, Pa./Canon-McMillan) was a second team selection in 2021 after pacing the Golden Knights with a .369 batting average. The redshirt junior hit three home runs and drove in 11 runs. He got off to a slow start with a .206 batting average, but has hit his 19th career home run, moving into second place all-time at Gannon. He hit 12 home runs in 2019, the second-highest season total.

Brandon Wetherholt (Gibsonia, Pa./Mars Area) was also accorded second team All-PSAC West honors after leading Gannon in numerous categories, including total bases (59), hits (36), runs scored (24), RBI (23), and home runs (5) while hitting .319.  The redshirt junior is also off to a slow start at .176, but is second on the team with 3 home runs.  
 
Ryan Kalbfus (Penfield, N.Y./Penfield) and Miguel Vega (Florida, Puerto Rico/Carlos Beltran Baseball Academy) are off to hot starts, however. Kalbfus, a redshirt junior, starts at third base and is hitting .405 while leading the team in double (4), home runs (4) and RBIs (16). Vega, a sophomore, has taken over at second base thanks to a .500 batting average. He hit his first career home run on Sunday vs. D'Youville and has a team-leading 10 stolen bases.
 
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Players Mentioned

Ian Hess

#13 Ian Hess

INF
6' 3"
Redshirt Junior
R/L
Deven Judy

#9 Deven Judy

RHP
5' 9"
Redshirt Senior
R/R
Ryan Kalbfus

#35 Ryan Kalbfus

INF
6' 2"
Redshirt Junior
R/R
Eric Sapp

#23 Eric Sapp

LHP
6' 4"
Graduate Student
L/L
Miguel Vega

#3 Miguel Vega

INF
5' 8"
Sophomore
L/R
Brandon Wetherholt

#10 Brandon Wetherholt

OF
6' 0"
Redshirt Junior
L/R

Players Mentioned

Ian Hess

#13 Ian Hess

6' 3"
Redshirt Junior
R/L
INF
Deven Judy

#9 Deven Judy

5' 9"
Redshirt Senior
R/R
RHP
Ryan Kalbfus

#35 Ryan Kalbfus

6' 2"
Redshirt Junior
R/R
INF
Eric Sapp

#23 Eric Sapp

6' 4"
Graduate Student
L/L
LHP
Miguel Vega

#3 Miguel Vega

5' 8"
Sophomore
L/R
INF
Brandon Wetherholt

#10 Brandon Wetherholt

6' 0"
Redshirt Junior
L/R
OF