April 15, 2008

Erie, Pa. - As the Mercyhurst baseball team makes its late-season push for a fourth-straight Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC) playoff appearance, it faces a stiff challenge from visiting Ashland Wednesday at the Mercyhurst Baseball Field.

The Lakers have evenly split their last eight GLIAC games, bringing their record to 16-18 overall and 5-13 in the league. They currently stand in seventh in the nine-team league. However, Ashland, which is in fourth place, has played only eight conference games and is 5-3, and fifth-place Saginaw Valley is only 7-5.

After a rash of injuries left the Lakers short-handed on offense, they seem to have adapted, scoring eight runs on 11 hits against Hillsdale in their last outing. And despite the lack of run support, the Lakers have been close in nearly every game, with the average margin of defeat being just 1.3 runs per game. Seven of Mercyhurst's conference losses have been by two runs or less.

The Lakers' pitching staff has been outstanding in keeping the team within striking distance. The staff is allowing just 3.3 runs per game in conference play and the team's ERA for the season ranks second in the GLIAC at 4.30. It has limited opponents to a .261 batting average, which is second in the conference. It also ranks first in innings pitched (249.1), batters struck out (223) and saves (9).

Individually, Wes Craig and Eric Drobotij rank ninth and 10th in the league in ERA. Steve Grife is fourth in strikeouts with 43. John Morris boasts five saves and James Ludwig has three, which ranks them second and third respectively. Ludwig also leads the league with 18 appearances.

Mercyhurst's pitching staff will have to be on top of their game Wednesday, as Ashland possesses the most potent offense in the GLIAC. Ben Minard (.495) and David Quiroga (.454) are first and second in the league in batting average and both have three homers.

As a team, the Eagles are hitting a conference-best .353 and have an impressive 22 homers and 261 runs scored. They scored 32 runs in two games against Saginaw Valley on April 12.

If the 23-9 Eagles have a weakness, however, it would be their pitching. They have a 5.84 team ERA, which is seventh in the conference, and opponents are hitting a robust .307 against them. Ashland has surrendered 37 runs in its last three games.

Since the Lakers joined the GLIAC in 1996, Ashland holds a 24-15 edge in the series, but has a decisive 20-5 mark against the Lakers since 2001. Mercyhurst has not taken two games in a season from Ashland since 2000.

Wednesday's doubleheader will be the first of two this season between the squads. First pitch is scheduled for 2 p.m.