April 30, 2008

Game 1 Box Score
Game 2 Box Score

Ashland, Ohio - After being edge 8-7 in game one of Wednesday's Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference doubleheader at Ashland, the Mercyhurst baseball team rode the arm of Steve Grife and broke out the bats for a 9-1 win in game two.

Grife pitched his third-straight complete game and earned his third-straight victory to improve his season record to 5-5. In his last three outings, Grife has posted a 3-0 record with a 0.86 ERA in 21 innings. Opponents have hit just .176 against him and he has fanned 23 while walking just three.

On Wednesday, Grife surrendered just one run on five hits, walked one and struck out five. Ashland's lone run came in the first inning on two hits, but from there, Grife buckled down, allowing just four more base runners and struck out two batters in the seventh to close the game.

The offense provided more than enough support, as six Lakers recorded at least two hits and the team piled up 14. Jamie Walczak went 3-for-4 with a triple, scored twice and drove in three runs. With that, he extended his hitting streak to seven games.

Senior Joe Luli also plated three runs on two hits. Dan Bertolini continued his hot streak with a 2-for-4 performance and scored three runs. Including two hits in game one, Bertolini has had two hits in each of his last three games and in nine of his last 12.

Greg Turk also hit his first homer of the season on a solo shot in the fourth.

The Laker bats also hit in the opener, scoring seven runs on 12 hits, but Ashland knocked out starter Wes Craig by scoring five runs in the first three innings.

Still, the Lakers managed to lead early with two in the first, three in the second and one more run in the third. Ashland, however, continued to battle and scored one run in each of its final three innings. The go-ahead run came in the bottom of the sixth off James Ludwig (4-3), when David Quiroga doubled, advanced to third on a wild pitch and then raced home on a throwing error.

Luli went 3-for-3 and drove in a pair. Bertolini totaled two hits with two RBIs, and Adam Schlessel turned in a 2-for-4 effort, scoring twice and driving in a run.

The split of Wednesday's games closes the season series between Mercyhurst and Ashland with each team earning two wins. The Lakers, now winners of seven of their last 11, are 24-24 overall and 10-18 in the conference heading into the season's final weekend. Ashland is now 33-13 with a 15-7 GLIAC mark.

Mercyhurst returns to Erie, Pa., to take on Northwood in a four-game series beginning Saturday at 1 p.m.