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Jeff Kirik

Baseball 4/10/2023 1:17:00 PM Bob Shreve, Assistant Director of Athletics Media Relations

Gannon to Welcome D'Youville, Warmer Climates for Tuesday Doubleheader

D'YOUVILLE SAINTS (13-14, 6-6 ECC) at GANNON GOLDEN KNIGHTS (10-16, 5-7 PSAC West)
DATE/TIME: Tuesday, April 11, 2023 I 12:00 p.m.
BALLPARK/LOCATION: McConnell Family Stadium I Erie, Pa.
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ERIE, Pa. – The Gannon baseball team will take a break from the rigors of the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference to host D'Youville in a non-conference doubleheader on Tuesday, April 11. The action gets underway at McConnell Family Stadium at 12 noon.

The forecast is for warmer temperatures and clear skies, hopefully a tonic to get the bats going. The Golden Knights have played most of the season to date under less-than-ideal conditions. While the four-game set with local rival Mercyhurst featured plenty of sunshine, the temperatures were chilly.

The four-game series was a "what-could-have-been" series for the Golden Knights. The two teams were scoreless for five innings in Friday's opener before a pair of big innings led to an 11-0 defeat. Game two of the twinbill at Gannon saw the Golden Knights fall behind 5-0 then rally to within 5-3. They could not come up with the big hit down the stretch.

On Saturday the two crosstown rivals played at Mercyhurst, with hitting at a premium for both squads. Gannon received a great effort on the mound by Jake Visha (Cleveland, Ohio/Trinity) in the opener, but the Lakers pushed across a run in the second inning for a 1-0 win. Gannon jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the nightcap, one scoring on Ian Hess' (Canonsburg, Pa./Canon-McMillan) fifth home run of the season, but Mercyhurst tied the game with a home run in the bottom of the sixth and Gannon ended up losing 3-2 in eight innings.

Gannon looks to snap a four-game losing streak on Tuesday against the Saints. The Golden Knights come in at a deceiving 10-16, with six of the losses walk-offs by the opposition. D'Youville, members of the East Coast Conference, saw a three-game winning streak snapped on Saturday with a 7-3 loss to Mercy. The Saints are 13-14 overall.

Gannon and D'Youville met for a single nine-inning game in Buffalo on March 21. Three Golden Knights held the Saints to just one run over the first eight innings, but D'Youville rallied for six runs in the bottom of the ninth, the last three on Craig Oliver's game-winning home run.

Hess went 3-for-5 that afternoon, while Jared Bielanin (Erie, Pa./McDowell) was 2-for-3 with 3 RBIs. Ryan Kalbfus (Penfield, N.Y./Penfield) stepped to the plate on five occasions and walked four times.
Hess, a redshirt senior first baseman, has boosted his average to a team-leading .351. He also has a team-leading six doubles and five home runs, the latter figure giving him a career-record 34 home runs. He is second in career RBIs with 125.

Tuesday's doubleheader was originally scheduled as one nine-inning game, but a March 18 doubleheader and a single game on April 4 were both postponed. The coaches decided to play twice at Gannon.

Gannon will get back into PSAC action this weekend, playing a doubleheader at Slippery Rock on Friday, April 14 before hosting The Rock for a pair of games on Sunday, April 16.

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Players Mentioned

#12 Jared Bielanin: INF; 6' 2"; Junior; R/R

#13 Ian Hess: 1B; 6' 2"; Redshirt Senior; R/L

#35 Ryan Kalbfus: INF; 6' 2"; Graduate Student; R/R

#22 Jake Visha: LHP; 6' 0"; Graduate Student; L/L

Players Mentioned

#12 Jared Bielanin
: 6' 2"; Junior; R/R
: INF

#13 Ian Hess
: 6' 2"; Redshirt Senior; R/L
: 1B

#35 Ryan Kalbfus
: 6' 2"; Graduate Student; R/R
: INF

#22 Jake Visha
: 6' 0"; Graduate Student; L/L
: LHP