WASHINGTON, Pa. (April 26) – The California (PA) baseball team split a doubleheader against Mercyhurst on Friday afternoon at Wild Things Park in Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) West play, winning 5-1 in Game 1 before dropping a 6-5 contest in Game 2.
RECORDS/SERIES
• The Vulcans move to 25-15 this season with an 11-11 mark in league action.
• The Lakers stand at 18-16 overall behind a 15-7 record in divisional play.
• Mercyhurst is tied for second in the PSAC West standings, while Cal sits in fifth place with six league games left in the regular season.
• The Vulcans have split three of the last four home doubleheader against the Lakers since the 2021 campaign.
GAME 1
STATS
• Sophomore
Michael Valente (5-2) earned the win after allowing one run (earned) on five hits in 6.0 innings (80 pitches).
• Classmate jake Kramer recorded a pair of strikeouts while working a scoreless seventh inning.
• Junior designated hitter
Payton Conte collected two hits and one RBI.
ACTION
• Cal took a 3-0 lead in the third inning on two hits, two walks and one sacrifice fly.
• Freshman third baseman
Caleb Collins and junior shortstop
Nathan Meeks led off the inning with back-to-back walks before Collins later scored on a sacrifice fly.
• Junior second baseman
Santino Marra followed with a two-out RBI double and junior left fielder
Ryan Callahan collected an RBI single.
• Mercyhurst stranded runners on first and second in back-to-back innings before right fielder Chris Juchno led off the top of the sixth with a solo homer.
• The Vulcans countered with two runs in the bottom of the inning, as Conte delivered an RBI double and senior catcher
Hunter Fiori followed with an RBI single.
• Mercyhurst starting pitcher Matt Shepard (0-1) suffered the loss after allowing three runs (all earned) on three hits and three walks in 2.2 innings.
GAME 2
STATS
• Sophomore
Conor Carney finished with three hits and three RBI.
• Conte tallied three hits and Meeks posted two hits, one RBI and one run scored.
• Freshman starting pitcher
Evan Ables (1-1) was dealt the loss after yielding four runs (all earned) on three hits and three walks in 1.0-plus inning.
• Classmate
Beau Bigam scattered just three hits while working 5.2 innings of scoreless relief (59 pitches).
ACTION
• The Lakers took a 2-0 lead in the first before scoring four runs in the second inning, including another solo homer by Juchno.
• Mercyhurst and Cal both left the bases loaded in the third before the Vulcans scored on an RBI double by Carney in the bottom of the fifth.
• Cal capitalized on a pair of errors in the sixth to score four runs and cut the deficit to a 6-5 margin.
• Meeks collected an RBI single before Carney later delivered a two-run single with two outs.
• Mercyhurst starting pitcher Ryan Rafalski earned the win after yielding five runs (three earned) on nine hits in 5.2 innings (86 pitches).
NEXT
• The Vulcans return to action tomorrow, Saturday, April 27, when they travel to play a doubleheader against Mercyhurst in Erie, Pennsylvania, at 1 p.m.
