• Game 1 Box Score
• Game 2 Box Score

ERIE, Pa. (April 28) – The California University of Pennsylvania baseball team rallied to claim a split of a doubleheader on Thursday afternoon against Gannon in Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) West action, falling 6-3 before winning 4-2 in the nightcap.

With the spit, the Vulcans move to 25-15 this season with a 10-9 mark in divisional play. Cal U enters the final weekend of the regular season with a 0.5-game lead over IUP for third place in the league standings. Meanwhile, the Golden Knights are now 15-23 overall and finish divisional play with a 10-14 mark, which is 2.0-games back of IUP for the fourth and final spot from the PSAC West.

In the nightcap, senior starter Sean Welsh (Doylestown, Pa./Central Bucks East) earned his first victory of the season (1-1) after working 5.0-plus innings (69 pitches). He yielded two runs (both earned) on six hits with five strikeouts and no walks. Senior ace Randy Sturgill (Leechburg, Pa./Leechburg), who is one win shy of tying the all-time school record, posted his first career save after registering the final two outs of the game.

Cal U took an early 1-0 lead in the top of the first on a solo homer by junior center fielder Troy Handza (Glenshaw, Pa./Shaler), his fifth of the season. Gannon then evened the score in the second on a failed double-steal attempt that resulted in a rundown between first and second and allowed the runner to score from third, 1-1.

The Vulcans reclaimed the lead, 2-1, in the fourth when Handza scored on a two-out RBI single by senior shortstop Casey Teagarden (Greensburg, Pa./Hempfield). Cal U threatened to stretch its lead in the fifth by loading the bases before Gannon forced a fly-out to end the inning.

In the sixth, Cal U expanded its lead to 4-1 on three singles and two stolen bases. Senior right fielder Chuck Faust (Hershey, Pa./Hershey) started the rally with a single and advanced to third on a wild pitch and ground-out. Freshman left fielder Ben Carson (Coal Center, Pa./California) then delivered a two-out RBI single and stole second before scoring on a single by sophomore second baseman Evan King (Lancaster, Pa./Lampeter-Strasburg).

The Golden Knights responded with a run on three-straight singles in the bottom of the sixth against Welsh before junior Ryan Hulme (Aliquippa, Pa./Center) recorded a strikeout and ended the inning by inducing a double-play ball.

In the bottom of the seventh, Hulme forced a pop-up before Gannon had runners on the corners following a walk and single. Sturgill then made his first relief appearance since 2008 (third of his career) and picked off the runner at first before ending the game with a called third strike.

Faust led the offensive effort, going 3-for-4 with one run scored, while Handza and Teagarden each posted multi-hit games.

Gannon starter Jeff Jones (3-3) was saddled the loss after allowing two runs (both earned) on five hits and two walks in 4.2 innings of work (67 pitches).

In Game 1, sophomore pitcher Kyle Petty (Stewartsville, N.J./Phillipsburg) suffered the loss (3-3) in his second start of the season. He allowed five runs (all earned) on six hits in 3.2 innings (58 pitches), while registering six strikeouts and issuing no walks.

After the Vulcans were unable to score a runner from third in the first and second innings, the Golden Knights took a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the second on a solo homer (second of the year) by catcher Evan Baglieri with two outs.

Cal U again advanced a runner to third in the third inning before leaving two runners in scoring position in the fourth. In the bottom of the fourth, Petty retired the first two batters of the inning before Gannon mounted a four-run rally on five-straight hits to stretch its lead to 5-0. Junior Jim Kirker (Bridgeville, Pa./South Fayette) relieved Petty and registered a strikeout to end the inning with a runner on second.

The Vulcans again threatened with the first two runners on in the fifth before Golden Knights' starter Landon Wahl escaped without allowing a run. Gannon added an insurance run in the fifth on two singles and a throwing error, 6-0.

In the seventh, junior designated hitter Kyle Bowser (Stoystown, Pa./North Star) started the inning with a double and extended his hitting streak to 10 games before it was snapped in Game 2. After a balk and two strikeouts, senior third baseman Aaron Ordy (Butler, Pa./Butler) delivered an RBI single before Handza belted a two-run homer to cut the deficit to 6-3.

Ordy set a career high, going 4-for-4 with one RBI and one run scored. Handza posted another multi-hit game, finishing 2-for-4 with two RBI and one run.

Wahl earned the complete-game victory (3-2) his first start of the season (16 relief appearances), yielding three runs (all earned) on nine hits with six strikeouts in 7.0 innings (121 pitches).

With rain in the forecast, the Vulcans will now play the entire four-game, weekend series against IUP at CONSOL Energy Park in Washington, Pa. The series will begin tomorrow, Friday, April 29, with the Crimson Hawks serving as the home team for both games. The twinbill is slated for an 11 a.m. start. Live stats will be available by clicking here.