Baseball vs. Cal U 4-4-22

Baseball Bob Shreve, Assistant Director of Athletics Media Relations

Gannon Meets East Stroudsburg in First Round of PSAC Tournament on Wednesday

No. 1W GANNON GOLDEN KNIGHTS (29-14, 20-8 PSAC West) vs. No. 4E EAST STROUDSBURG WARRIORS (34-15, 15-9 PSAC East)
2022 PSAC BASEBALL CHAMPIONSHIPS
DATE/TIME:  Wednesday, May 11, 2022 I 8:00 p.m.
FACILITY/LOCATION:  Jack Critchfield Park I slippery Rock, Pa.
PSAC CHAMPIONSHIP CENTRAL
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Wednesday & Thursday $15 adults, $7 students / Friday & Saturday $10 adults, $5 students / Free for PSAC Students / PSAC passes honored / No complimentary tickets
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THE 2022 PSAC CHAMPIONSHIPS SCHEDULE
Wednesday, May 11 (single-elimination)
Game 1 – W2 Slippery Rock (32-14, 17-11) vs. E3 Shippensburg (22-22, 16-8) – 9:30 a.m.
Game 2 – E1 Millersville (37-12, 18-6) vs. W4 Cal (31-16, 16-12) – 1 p.m.
Game 3 – E2 West Chester (29-10, 17-7) vs. W3 Mercyhurst (29-15, 16-12) – 4:30 p.m.
Game 4 – W1 GANNON (29-14, 20-8) vs. E4 East Stroudsburg (34-15, 15-9) – 8 p.m.
Thursday, May 12 (double-elimination)
Game 5 – Game 1 winner vs. Game 2 winner – 10 a.m.
Game 6 – Game 3 winner vs. Game 4 winner – 2 p.m.
Game 7 – Game 5 loser vs. Game 6 loser – 7 p.m.
Friday, May 13
Game 8 – Game 5 winner vs. Game 6 winner – 11 a.m.
Game 9 – Game 7 winner vs. Game 8 loser – 3 p.m.
Saturday, May 14
Game 10 – Game 8 winner vs. Game 9 winner – 12 p.m.
Game 11 (if necessary – only if game 9 winner wins game 10) – 4 p.m.
 
GANNON IN THE PSAC BASEBALL TOURNAMENT
Gannon is in search of its first PSAC baseball championship while making its seventh appearance in the tournament. A year ago, Gannon dropped a 6-0 decision to Seton Hill in the first round of the tournament. With no tournament held in 2020 due to COVID-19, the Golden Knights are appearing in their fourth straight PSAC Tournament. Gannon has an all-time record of 3-11 in the PSAC Tournament and is looking to snap a three-game losing streak in the conference championship. In fact, Gannon's last win came against East Stroudsburg, a 5-4 decision in 2019.
 
GANNON IN PSAC TOURNAMENT
2012       vs. Kutztown                      L, 4-5
                vs. Slippery Rock              L, 2-3
2013       vs. East Stroudsburg         L, 5-8
                vs. Slippery Rock              W, 9-3
                vs. Millersville                    L, 5-6
2016       vs. West Chester                L, 2-5
                vs. Shippensburg              W, 4-3
                vs. Mercyhurst                   L, 2-3
2018       vs. Millersville                     L, 9-10 (10)
                vs. Shippensburg               L, 2-8
2019       vs. East Stroudsburg          W, 5-4
                vs. West Chester                L, 1-11 (7)
                vs. Seton Hill                      L, 6-10
2021       at Seton Hill                         L, 0-6
 

ERIE, Pa. – The Gannon baseball team enters the 2022 PSAC Baseball Championships as the top seed out of the PSAC West for the second time in the last years the postseason tournament has been held. The Golden Knights have won seven of their last eight games and enter postseason play with a 29-14 overall record and 20-8 in the PSAC West. The Golden Knights were also the Western Division regular season champions in 2019.
 
Gannon meets East Stroudsburg, the number four seed out of the PSAC East, in the last of four games on Wednesday, May 11. The contest is slated for an 8:00 p.m. start at Jake Critchfield Park on the campus of Slippery Rock. The PSAC Championships run from Wednesday to Saturday, May 14, with the winner receiving the PSAC's automatic berth into the NCAA Division II Tournament. Gannon is in search of its first PSAC baseball title.
 
Host Slippery Rock, the number two seed from the Western Division, gets the day started against Shippensburg, the third seed in the PSAC East, at 9:30 a.m. Eastern Division top seed Millersville follows against Cal, the fourth seed in the West, at 1:00 p.m. At 4:30 p.m., West Chester, the second seed in the East, meets Mercyhurst, the third seed in the West, with Gannon and East Stroudsburg wrapping up the day.
 
Those four games on Wednesday bear even greater significance with the loser of the first-round games eliminated. The tournament is double-elimination the final three days. The winner of the Gannon-East Stroudsburg will play the winner of the West Chester-Mercyhurst game on Thursday at 2:00 p.m.
 
Head coach DJ Cannon is in his first season in charge of the Golden Knights and has guided his squad to a current ranking of second in the Atlantic Region. West Chester is first, followed by Gannon, Slippery Rock and Millersville. Seton Hill is fifth, with East Stroudsburg sixth and Mercyhurst seventh. Charleston(WV) and Cal are eighth and ninth, respectively. The Atlantic Regional will feature two sub-regionals, one featuring four teams and the other three, running from May 19-22.
 
Cannon has relied on strong top-end pitching and an offense that has improved as the year has progressed. The Golden Knights are ranked 13th in the PSAC in batting with a .274 average, while showing a team ERA of 4.96, which is tenth in the conference. That figure can be a bit deceiving, with the Golden Knights holding 16 opponents to three runs-or-less but allowing 10-or-more runs in six games. Gannon is ninth in the PSAC in fielding at .966. Gannon has also excelled in close contests, showing an 8-3 record in one run games and 6-2 in two-run games.
 
SCOUTING THE GOLDEN KNIGHTS
 
HEAD COACH DJ CANNON
DJ Cannon was named Gannon's head coach on August 6, 2021. He has proceeded to lead Gannon to just its second PSAC West regular season crown and the number two ranking in the NCAA's Atlantic Region rankings. Cannon took over at Gannon after serving as the head coach at Chatham University since 2019. He helped the Cougars reach new program highs for overall victories and conference wins in 2021. He is no stranger to the PSAC after beginning his coaching career as an assistant coach at Seton Hill in 2012. He was part of a Seton Hill program that enjoyed four straight 40-plus win seasons, with one WVIAC North Division Championships, two PSAC West Division Championships, two PSAC Tournament Championships, seven conference tournament appearances, six NCAA Division II Regional appearances, and a trip to the NCAA Division II World Series in 2014. 
 
INFIELD
Corner infielders Ian Hess (Canonsburg, Pa./Canon-McMillan) and Ryan Kalbfus (Penfield, N.Y./Penfield) pace an infield that has had to overcome the loss of slick-fielding shortstop Trey Zeroski (Clinton, Pa./West Allegheny) to injury, along with more recently second baseman Miguel Vega (Florida, Puerto Rico/Carlos Beltran Baseball Academy). Hess is etching his name in the batting records. The redshirt junior got off to a slow start but has boosted his average to .312, tied for second on the team. The slugging first baseman has twice been named the PSAC West Athlete of the Week and NCBWA Atlantic Region Hitter of the Week in recent weeks. Hess set the career record for home runs recently at IUP, with the record-breaking 28th a three-run shot that gave Gannon a 6-4 win over the Crimson Hawks. He added his 29th this past weekend at UPJ.
 
Hess leads Gannon in runs (35), home runs (11), RBIs (41), and slugging percentage (.609). The 11 home runs are third in a season, three shy of Jared Beach's record of 14, and he also owns the second-highest figure with 12 in 2019. The 41 RBIs are tied for seventh in a season and give him 107 for his career. That figure ranks fifth all-time.
 
Kalbfus is also hitting .312 while providing power at third base and a strong glove. The redshirt junior is second on the team in doubles (10), home runs (8) and RBIs (35), along with tied for third in stolen bases with 10.
 
Vega, a sophomore, missed several games recently but did return at UPJ. The second baseman has a team-leading .343 batting average and also has a team-high 11 doubles. He has 28 stolen bases in 31 attempts, ranking third in the PSAC. He is also fifth in a season in stolen bases.
 
With Zeroski out, Jared Bielanin (Erie, Pa./McDowell) has seen increased playing time at second base. The sophomore has taken advantage to hit .298 with 5 doubles and 4 home runs.

The Golden Knights have used a pair of catchers in Cameron Vozel (Cranberry Township, Pa./Seneca Valley) and Brandan Rea (Washington, Pa./Canon-McMillan). Vozel is a junior who has started 23 games and is hitting .282 with a home run and 11 RBIs. He has also stepped in as the team's leadoff hitter. Rea is also a junior who is outstanding defensively while hitting .208 with 8 RBIs in 20 starts.
 
OUTFIELD
Jorge Mejia (San Juan, Puerto Rico/Colegio San Jose) and Luke Callahan (Chardon, Ohio/Chardon) have been the constants in the outfield, with Mejia manning left field and Callahan center. A redshirt senior, Mejia is hitting .284 with a pair of home runs and is second on the team with 15 stolen bases. Callahan is hitting .242 and plays a strong center field. The senior has 5 doubles, 4 home runs and 22 RBIs.
 
Cannon has used several players in right field, including Brandon Wetherholt (Gibsonia, Pa./Mars Area). The lefty-hitting redshirt junior is either in the lineup in right field or at designated hitter. Like several of the Gannon hitters, he got off to a slow start but has now boosted his average to .288 and is third with 29 RBIs. He is tied for second in doubles with 10 and has 6 home runs.
 
Connor Rakow (Franklin, Pa./Franklin) and Kieran Gagnon (Mono, Ontario/Westside) have also seen considerable action in right. Rakow, a redshirt sophomore, has started 23 games and is hitting .247 with 2 home runs and 15 RBIs. Gagnon, a junior, has started 19 games with a .231 average and 10 stolen bases.  
 
PITCHING
Gannon can call on one of the best one-two punches in the PSAC in right-hander Deven Judy (Belle Vernon, Pa./Belle Vernon Area) and left-hander Eric Sapp (Deerfield, Ohio/Southeast). Judy, a redshirt senior, is rewriting the career record book. He was an NCBWA preseason honorable mention All-Atlantic Region honoree and a two-time All-PSAC West performer. He broke the school record for career victories last Thursday with a 2-1 win over Pitt-Johnstown. It was his 21st career victory, breaking Josh Leslie's record of 20. Earlier in the year he broke the school record for career strikeouts, which now stands at 303. He set two other records recently against Clarion when he threw a three-hit, 12-strikeout shutout. He broke the career record for shutouts with his sixth and also set the career record for innings pitched, which now stands at 251.1. The right-hander is also second in games started (40) and fifth in complete games (14) and appearances (50). Judy has pitched in nine games this year, showing a 6-1 record with a 3.76 ERA. He has 61 strikeouts in 55 innings while walking just 13.
 
Sapp has emerged as one of the top pitchers in the PSAC and is working on changing the season record book. The graduate student put together a string of three straight shutouts earlier in the year and comes off four more gems. He threw a three-hit, 10-strikeout outing vs. Clarion, followed by a two-hitter with 14 strikeouts in an 8-2 win over Seton Hill and another two-hitter with seven strikeouts in a 6-2 win over IUP. He has four double-figure strikeout games and has allowed three-or-fewer hits in five outings. Sapp improved to 9-0 with a 2.57 ERA with a 5-3 win at UPJ in his last start. In 63 innings he has allowed 43 hits and 27 walks while striking out 87.
 
Sapp's nine wins are tied for second for season victories, one shy of Josh Peterson's record of 10.
The 87 strikeouts are the third-highest season total, trailing onl y Judy's 96 in 2019 and Aaron Cox with 89 in 2014. Sapp struck out a career-high 15 batters against Mercyhurst. His three straight shutouts began with a five-hitter against D'Youville, followed by a three-hitter vs. Cal. He allowed just two hits in his gem against Mercyhurst, a 1-0 win. Sapp was named the PSAC West Pitcher of the Week and later in the week was selected the NCBWA Atlantic Region Pitcher of the Week for his performance.
 
Jacob Visha (Cleveland, Ohio/Trinity) has turned in four straight strong outings while serving as the third starter. The redshirt junior left-hander struck out a career-high 11 batters in six innings while allowing just four hits against Clarion. He followed that up by allowing just three runs in five innings against Seton Hill, and he allowed just two earned runs in 5.1 innings as Gannon posted a 9-5 win vs. IUP. On Sunday, he went seven innings at UPJ, giving up three hits and an unearned run. Visha has a 2-1 record with a 4.63 ERA. He has struck out 52 in 46.2 innings.
 
Joseph Reitebach (Hamburg, N.Y./Hamburg) has emerged as a dependable reliever. The sophomore right-hander has appeared in a team-high 18 games with a 3-1 record and 4 saves with a 3.54 ERA.
 
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Players Mentioned

Jared Bielanin

#12 Jared Bielanin

INF
6' 2"
Sophomore
R/R
Luke Callahan

#4 Luke Callahan

OF
5' 10"
Senior
L/L
Kieran Gagnon

#24 Kieran Gagnon

OF
5' 11"
Junior
R/R
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
Jorge Mejia

#7 Jorge Mejia

OF
5' 8"
Redshirt Senior
R/R
Brandan Rea

#20 Brandan Rea

C
5' 10"
Junior
R/R
Joe Reitebach

#31 Joe Reitebach

RHP
6' 3"
Sophomore
R/R
Eric Sapp

#23 Eric Sapp

LHP
6' 4"
Graduate Student
L/L

Players Mentioned

Jared Bielanin

#12 Jared Bielanin

6' 2"
Sophomore
R/R
INF
Luke Callahan

#4 Luke Callahan

5' 10"
Senior
L/L
OF
Kieran Gagnon

#24 Kieran Gagnon

5' 11"
Junior
R/R
OF
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
Jorge Mejia

#7 Jorge Mejia

5' 8"
Redshirt Senior
R/R
OF
Brandan Rea

#20 Brandan Rea

5' 10"
Junior
R/R
C
Joe Reitebach

#31 Joe Reitebach

6' 3"
Sophomore
R/R
RHP
Eric Sapp

#23 Eric Sapp

6' 4"
Graduate Student
L/L
LHP