Baseball vs. Cal U 4-4-22
9
Winner Gannon GAN-B 25-13, 16-7 PSACW
5
IUP IUP-B 23-21, 12-11 PSACW
Winner
Gannon GAN-B
25-13, 16-7 PSACW
9
Final
5
IUP IUP-B
23-21, 12-11 PSACW
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 R H E
Gannon GAN-B 0 0 0 0 2 1 6 9 9 1
IUP IUP-B 1 0 0 0 0 2 2 5 6 2

W: Reitebach, Joe (3-1) L: Jimmy Tooley (6-1) S: Borrello, Kyle (1)

6
Winner Gannon GAN-B 26-13, 17-7 PSACW
4
Indiana (PA) IUP-B 23-22, 12-12 PSACW
Winner
Gannon GAN-B
26-13, 17-7 PSACW
6
Final
4
Indiana (PA) IUP-B
23-22, 12-12 PSACW
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 R H E
Gannon GAN-B 0 0 0 0 0 0 6 6 8 1
Indiana (PA) IUP-B 0 0 1 0 3 0 0 4 4 1

W: Boyer, Jaret (3-1) L: Jeremiah Williams (2-4)

Game Recap: Baseball | | Bob Shreve, Assistant Director of Athletics Media Relations

Gannon Scores Six Runs in Seventh Inning Twice to Complete Four-Game Sweep of IUP as Hess Breaks Career HR Mark

INDIANA, Pa. – As if one game-winning, six-run, seventh-inning rally wasn't enough, the Gannon baseball team decided to make it two on Saturday afternoon. To top it off, let's set the school record for career home runs while hitting the game-winner in the second game.

All that happened on Saturday afternoon as the Golden Knights shocked host Indiana(Pa.) in both games of their PSAC doubleheader. In the opener, Gannon broke a 3-3 tie with six runs in the top of the seventh and held off the Crimson Hawks 9-5.

In the nightcap, IUP was three outs shy of a win, taking a 4-0 lead into the top of the seventh. Gannon used a six-run uprising to rally for a 6-4 win. The winning runs came home on a three-run homer by Ian Hess (Canonsburg, Pa./Canon-McMillan). It was his school-record 28th of his career, eclipsing the previous record of 27 by Nate Cardy.

Gannon swept IUP for the second straight day to win all four games in the two-day series. The Golden Knights, who came into the week ranked third in the initial NCAA Atlantic Region rankings, are now 26-13 overall, and more importantly 17-7 in the PSAC West. They are now two games ahead of second-place Slippery Rock (15-9) and three games ahead of Mercyhurst and Cal (both at 14-10).

The Golden Knights have four games remaining in conference action, with all four games at Pitt-Johnstown on Friday, May 6 and Saturday, May 7. Gannon is unable to play at McConnell Family Stadium with the replacement of the artificial surface underway. They will first play a single nine-inning game at Lake Erie on Tuesday, May 3 beginning at 12 noon.

GAME 1 – Gannon 9, IUP 5
What started out as a pitching duel turned into a high-scoring affair. IUP scored a run in the first inning and that stood up until Gannon broke through with two runs in the top of the fifth. Cameron Vozel (Cranberry Township, Pa./Seneca Valley) drove in Connor Rakow (Franklin, Pa./Franklin) and Jared Bielanin (Erie, Pa./McDowell) with a two-out single to left field. Rakow had reached on a single and Bielanin was hit by a pitch.  Gannon made it 3-1 in the sixth with Luke Callahan's (Chardon, Ohio/Chardon) two-out single plating Jorge Mejia (San Juan, Puerto Rico/Colegio San Jose). Mejia had walked, stolen second, and reached third on a throwing error. Jacob Visha (Cleveland, Ohio/Trinity) had cruised after the first inning but a pair of walks, his only two of the game, led to the Crimson Hawks tying the game at 3-3 in the bottom of the sixth. Joseph Reitebach (Hamburg, N.Y./Hamburg) came in and got the final two outs of the inning and ultimately . The score wasn't tied for long, as Bielanin led off the top of the seventh with a home run to left field. The home run was the fourth of the season for the sophomore who was inserted into the lineup recently with shortstop Trey Zeroski (Clinton, Pa./West Allegheny) out with an injury. Andrew Bryan (Bridgeville, Pa./South Fayette) followed with a single, and Cameron Vozel (Cranberry Township, Pa./Seneca Valley) walked. Following a pitching change, Hess was hit by a pitch to load the bases, and Brandon Wetherholt (Gibsonia, Pa./Mars Area) hit a single through the right side to drive in a run. Ryan Kalbfus (Penfield, N.Y./Penfield) made it 7-3 with a two-run double to left. Wetherholt and Kalbfus would both end up scoring on passed balls. All told, the six-run inning featured four hits, two walks and a hit by pitch. IUP would hit a two-run homer in the bottom of the frame but Kyle Borrello (Hamburg, N.Y./Hamburg) came in to get the final out of the game. Gannon made the most of nine hits and three walks while outhitting the Crimson Hawks 9-6. Kalbfus was 2-for-4 with a pair of RBIs, while Vozel was 1-for-3 with 2 RBIs. Bielanin scored a pair of runs, one on the solo homer. Visha turned in his third straight strong start. The southpaw went 5.1 innings, allowing three hits and a pair of earned runs with two walks and four strikeouts.

GAME 2 – Gannon 6, IUP 4
After being shut out for five innings and managing just three hits, the Gannon bats exploded for six runs on five hits in the sixth inning to shock IUP. Up until that point Gannon had just one runner reach second base. The final five runs in the inning came with two outs. Ryan Kalbfus (Penfield, N.Y./Penfield) opened the frame with a single. Jorge Mejia (San Juan, Puerto Rico/Colegio San Jose) followed a single to right, moving Kalbfus to third. Connor Rakow (Franklin, Pa./Franklin) hit a sacrifice fly to center to get Gannon on the board. A strikeout made it two outs, but Jared Bielanin (Erie, Pa./McDowell) singled to left to put runners on first and third. The inning was kept alive when Andrew Bryan (Bridgeville, Pa./South Fayette) reached on an error, loading the bases. Brandan Rea (Washington, Pa./Canon-McMillan) proceeded to bring in two runs with a single up the middle, pulling the Golden Knights to within a run at 4-3. That brought Hess to the plate. The redshirt junior first baseman drove a pitch over the wall in left center to give Gannon a 6-4 lead and break the school record for career home runs.  Freshman Jaret Boyer (New Wilmington, Pa./Wilmington) retired the side in order in the bottom of the seventh to improve to 3-1 on the season. He hurled the final three innings, allowing just one hit and a walk with a strikeout. Hess finished the game 2-for-4, with a double and home run, driving in three runs. He now has 102 RBIs, moving into seventh place in career RBIs. The home run was his 10th of the season, which is tied for third in a season. He hit 12 home runs in 2019.  

 
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