Brandon Wetherholt, left, is congratulated by teammate Justin Kerestes at home plate after Wetherholt hit a two-run homer in Gannon's 5-2 win over D'Youville.
Jeff Kirik

Baseball Bob Shreve, Assistant Director of Athletics Media Relations

Gannon Meets Clarion in Revamped Four-Game Series

GANNON GOLDEN KNIGHTS (14-18, 8-8 PSAC West) vs. CLARION GOLDEN EAGLES (8-27, 2-14 PSAC West)
DATE/TIME:  Thursday, April 20, 2023 (at Clarion) I 1:00 p.m. / Friday, April 21, 2023 (at Gannon) I 1:00 p.m
BALLPARK/LOCATION:  Memorial Stadium Complex I Clarion, Pa. / McConnell Family Stadium I Erie, Pa.
LIVE VIDEO (at Gannon) I LIVE VIDEO (at Clarion)
LIVE STATS (at Gannon) I LIVE STATS (at Clarion)

ERIE, Pa. – The Gannon baseball team will look to continue its run to a third straight PSAC Tournament berth this week with a four-game series against Clarion. With less than favorable weather predictions forecast for the weekend, the series has undergone a change. Gannon will now play a doubleheader at Clarion on Thursday, April 20 before hosting the Golden Eagles the next day in a pair of games. Gannon was originally scheduled to play at Clarion on Saturday.

Gannon comes off a highly-successful weekend, taking three of four games against Slippery Rock. The Golden Knights split the opening doubleheader at The Rock, winning the opener 9-7 before dropping the nightcap by a 5-1 score. Two days later the two teams met at McConnell Family Stadium, with the Golden Knights posting wins by scores of 5-4 and 11-1.

The Golden Knights have improved to 14-18 overall, but more importantly have climbed to third in the PSAC West at 8-8. They have four-game sets remaining against Clarion, Seton Hill and Indiana (Pa.).

Clarion snapped a five-game losing streak on Tuesday with a 17-2 win over Lock Haven in a non-conference game. That leaves the Bald Eagles with a 9-27 record. They are 2-14 in PSAC West action.  

Second-year head coach DJ Cannon guided Gannon to the PSAC West regular season title last year after finishing at 20-8 in league play. The Golden Knights posted 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 while Mercyhurst was second.

A year ago Gannon won three of the four meetings with the Golden Eagles. They won the first three games by scores of 11-0, 6-1, and 5-4 in eight innings before Clarion prevailed 5-4 in the final game.

The Gannon offense features three batters hitting above .300, led by Jared Bielanin (Erie, Pa./McDowell) at .348. The junior has taken over at third base with Ryan Kalbfus (Penfield, N.Y./Penfield) battling injuries and ranks second on the team in RBIs (23) while owning a .517 slugging percentage. He has five doubles, two triples and two home runs.

Ian Hess (Canonsburg, Pa./Canon-McMillan) comes in with a .345 batting average while leading the team in RBIs (24), doubles (7), home runs (6) and slugging percentage (.584). A two-time All-PSAC West honoree, the redshirt senior first baseman holds the career record for home runs with 35 and is second in career RBIs with 129.

Redshirt junior Kieran Gagnon (Mono, Ontario/Westside) has boosted his average to .301 with hits in six of his last seven games. Junior second baseman Miguel Vega (Florida, Puerto Rico/Carlos Beltran Baseball Academy) owns a .245 batting average but ranks second on the team in home runs (3), third in RBIs (19), and has a team-leading 16 stolen bases. He has moved into a tie for sixth place in career stolen bases with 56.

Eight different pitchers have started games this season, with lefthanders Kevin Schott (Wexford, Pa./North Allegheny) and Jake Visha (Cleveland, Ohio/Trinity) stepping up of late. Schott, a junior, has a 1-1 record with a 4.68 ERA. In a team-high 32.2 innings, he has allowed just 30 hits with 28 strikeouts. Visha is 2-2 with a 3.94 ERA. The graduate student picked up his first career complete game recently vs. Mercyhurst and leads the team with 30 strikeouts.

Freshman Jacob Engel (Erie, Pa./Cathedral Prep) comes off his first complete game in his last start vs. Slippery Rock. The big right-hander scattered six hits in the 11-1 win while lowering his ERA to a team-best 3.52. He has a 2-0 record.

George Mason transfers Kieran Versaw-Barnes (Elkins Park, Pa./Cheltenham) (0-0, 1.29 ERA) and Dylan Crowley (Eden, N.Y./Hamburg) (0-3, 5.87 ERA) are other possible starters.

Clarion likes to run the base paths. The Golden Eagles have three players with 10-or-more stolen bases. Sophomore infielder Caden Contant, the leading hitter with a .361 batting average, has 11 stolen bases. Scott McManamon, a junior third baseman, has been perfect in 18 attempts and also accounts for seven of Clarion's 10 home runs. He is hitting .326 with 25 RBIs. Kasey Shughart adds 14 stolen bases.

Griffin Snyder leads the pitching staff. The redshirt sophomore has a 4-1 record with a 4.23 ERA.
 
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Players Mentioned

Jared Bielanin

#12 Jared Bielanin

INF
6' 2"
Junior
R/R
Kieran Gagnon

#24 Kieran Gagnon

OF
5' 11"
Redshirt Junior
R/R
Ian Hess

#13 Ian Hess

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

#35 Ryan Kalbfus

INF
6' 2"
Graduate Student
R/R
Kevin Schott

#26 Kevin Schott

LHP
6' 2"
Junior
L/L
Miguel Vega

#5 Miguel Vega

INF
5' 8"
Junior
L/R
Jake Visha

#22 Jake Visha

LHP
6' 0"
Graduate Student
L/L
Dylan Crowley

#23 Dylan Crowley

LHP
6' 3"
Redshirt Sophomore
R/L
Jacob Engel

#37 Jacob Engel

RHP
6' 4"
Freshman
R/R
Kieran Versaw-Barnes

#25 Kieran Versaw-Barnes

RHP
5' 10"
Redshirt Sophomore
R/R

Players Mentioned

Jared Bielanin

#12 Jared Bielanin

6' 2"
Junior
R/R
INF
Kieran Gagnon

#24 Kieran Gagnon

5' 11"
Redshirt Junior
R/R
OF
Ian Hess

#13 Ian Hess

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

#35 Ryan Kalbfus

6' 2"
Graduate Student
R/R
INF
Kevin Schott

#26 Kevin Schott

6' 2"
Junior
L/L
LHP
Miguel Vega

#5 Miguel Vega

5' 8"
Junior
L/R
INF
Jake Visha

#22 Jake Visha

6' 0"
Graduate Student
L/L
LHP
Dylan Crowley

#23 Dylan Crowley

6' 3"
Redshirt Sophomore
R/L
LHP
Jacob Engel

#37 Jacob Engel

6' 4"
Freshman
R/R
RHP
Kieran Versaw-Barnes

#25 Kieran Versaw-Barnes

5' 10"
Redshirt Sophomore
R/R
RHP