DJ Cannon in Florida
Mike Gallagher

Baseball Bob Shreve, Assistant Director of Athletics Media Relations

Gannon to Play at Ashland for Single Game on Tuesday

GANNON GOLDEN KNIGHTS (7-10, 2-2 PSAC West) at ASHLAND EAGLES (14-7, 6-2 GMAC)
DATE/TIME:  Tuesday, March 28, 2023 I 3:00 p.m. .
BALLPARK/LOCATION:  Tomassi Stadium and Donges Field at the Archer Ballpark Complex I Ashland, Ohio
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LIVE STATS 
 
ERIE, Pa. – The Gannon baseball team returns to action on Tuesday, March 28 with a nine inning, non-conference game at Ashland. First pitch is set for 3:00 p.m. at Tomassi Stadium and Donges Field at the Archer Ballpark Complex.

Gannon comes off a four-game split with Pitt-Johnstown as PSAC West action started for both teams. Three of the four games were decided by one run, with the fourth a 13-4 win for the Golden Knights in Sunday's second game. That left Gannon with a 7-10 overall record and 2-2 in the PSAC West.

Ashland is off to a fast start at 14-7 and is 6-2 while competing in the Great Midwest Athletic Conference. The Eagles have won two straight and five of their last six games. They are hitting .341 as a team with eight batters at .300 or better.

Gannon and Ashland met in Florida on March 4, the final game for the Golden Knights on their southern trip. The Eagles claimed a 5-2 win, scoring four times in the first inning, Ben Peltz hit a three-run homer in the inning. Poltz leads Ashland with four home runs and 24 RBIs.  

Gannon is the defending Western Division regular season champions after finishing at 20-8 in league play in 2022. First-year head coach DJ Cannon guided the Golden Knights to a 29-17 overall record and a berth in the NCAA Tournament for just the second time in school history. Gannon was picked third in the PSAC West preseason poll.

WHAT COULD HAVE BEEN VS. UPJ
Gannon opened PSAC West action this past weekend against Pitt-Johnstown. The two teams split doubleheaders on Friday and Sunday, but with a break here or there it could have been a sweep for the Golden Knights. Three of the four games were decided by one run, with Gannon scoring seven runs in the top of the first inning in Sunday's second game and going in to a 13-4 win. Friday's first game saw UPJ rally from a 2-0 deficit of win 3-2 with two runs in the sixth and the winning run in the seventh. Gannon trailed 5-0 in game number two before plating four runs in the fifth then sending the game into extra innings on Ryan Kalbfus' (Penfield, N.Y./Penfield) sacrifice fly in the seventh. Miguel Vega's (Florida, Puerto Rico/Carlos Beltran Baseball Academy) bloop single to right center in the eighth inning pushed across the winning run for a 6-5 victory. The opening game on Sunday at UPJ saw the teams enter the seventh inning tied at 3-3. Gannon scored four runs in the top of the seventh, two on a home run by Ian Hess (Canonsburg, Pa./Canon-McMillan), but UPJ answered with five runs in the bottom of the inning to hand the Golden Knights an 8-7 loss. It was the third walk-off loss for Gannon.

HESS NAMED PSAC WEST ATHLETE OF THE WEEK
Ian Hess (Canonsburg, Pa./Canon-McMillan) was named the PSAC West Baseball Athlete of the Week for the week ending March 26. It marks the first time this season and fourth time in his career that Hess has earned PSAC West Player of the Week honors. The first baseman from Canonsburg, Pa. played in five games last week, going 9-for-18 (.500) with five runs and eight RBIs. He had multiple hits in three of five games. Hess had a slugging percentage of 1.056 with two doubles, a triple and two home runs among his nine hits. He hit a three-run homer in game two on Friday vs. Pitt-Johnstown as Gannon rallied for a 6-5 win in 8 innings after trailing 5-0. He also had a two-run homer in the seventh inning of Sunday's first game at UPJ to give Gannon a 5-3 lead at the time. Hess is hitting .302 on the season with three doubles, a triple, and a team-leading three home runs. He is third on the team with 13 RBIs and has a team-leading .524 slugging percentage. He now has a career-record 32 home runs and has moved into third in career RBIs with 118 and 11th in career runs with 101.

VERSAW-BARNES IMPRESSIVE IN FIRST START
Kieran Versaw-Barnes (Elkins Park, Pa./Cheltenham) is one of two transfer pitchers form George Mason expected to play a key role on the mound this season. The redshirts sophomore saw just one inning of action in Florida, that coming in a relief appearance vs. Ashland. A right-hander, Versaw-Barnes made his first start against Pitt-Johnstown in game number one on Friday. He threw five shutout innings before allowing a leadoff hit in the sixth inning. He ended the game giving up five hits, one run, and striking out three.

PSAC WEST ACTION CONTINUES THIS WEEKEND VS. VULCANS
Gannon returns to PSAC West play with a pair of doubleheaders this weekend. The Golden Knights play a doubleheader at California (Pa.) on Saturday, April 1 before the Vulcans return to McConnell Family Stadium for a twinbill on Sunday, April 2.   
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Players Mentioned

Ian Hess

#13 Ian Hess

1B
6' 2"
Redshirt Senior
R/L
Ryan Kalbfus

#35 Ryan Kalbfus

INF
6' 2"
Graduate Student
R/R
Miguel Vega

#5 Miguel Vega

INF
5' 8"
Junior
L/R
Kieran Versaw-Barnes

#25 Kieran Versaw-Barnes

RHP
5' 10"
Redshirt Sophomore
R/R

Players Mentioned

Ian Hess

#13 Ian Hess

6' 2"
Redshirt Senior
R/L
1B
Ryan Kalbfus

#35 Ryan Kalbfus

6' 2"
Graduate Student
R/R
INF
Miguel Vega

#5 Miguel Vega

5' 8"
Junior
L/R
INF
Kieran Versaw-Barnes

#25 Kieran Versaw-Barnes

5' 10"
Redshirt Sophomore
R/R
RHP