NUTTER FORT, West Virginia - The Tigers hosted the Mercyhurst Lakers (1-6) this afternoon for a Friday doubleheader to get the weekend started.
GAME ONE
Once again Sam Schmitt took the bump for the Tigers for their eleventh home game in a row. Salem came into this one riding an unbeaten streak on their home turf and looked to keep momentum on their side. Mercyhurst got to work right away with a 2 RBI triple in the top of the first to grab the early lead for the Lakers. This would be Salem's first time playing from behind since their matchup against Mansfield on February 26th. Unforced mistakes cost the Lakers in the bottom of the inning when Tyler Shinn reached first on an error that scored Jose Lojo and made it a one-run ball game. After a scoreless second Sam Schmitt found himself in a bases-loaded, no-outs, jam at the top of the third. Schmitt issued a free pass which scored the runner from third and gave the Lakers some insurance. Mercyhurst followed that up with a sac fly deep into the outfield which allowed the runner on third to tag up and score making it 4-1 Lakers. Schmitt got through the inning without allowing any more runs before handing the ball over to Travis Lavendier who would come in to relieve. Lavendier came in and shut the Laker lineup down, but the Tiger's offense was unable to produce. After three innings of work, Lavendier was called off to bring in Conor Thiele. Thiele struggled with control in just his second showing of the season, allowing two more runs to the Lakers on wild pitches. Salem dropped their first home game of the season and snapped their ten-game win streak after a 6-1 loss to the Lakers.
GAME TWO
For game number two of the afternoon, the pitching responsibilities fell to Frankie Gulko. Once again the Lakers got after Salem's starter early, this time with an RBI single to give another early 1-0 lead to Mercyhurst. Salem quickly responded in the bottom of the first with an RBI triple from Nathan Kuhn that scored Jose Lojo. Salem wasn't done there. Jacob Hurley added on with a double that scored Kuhn and gave Salem their first lead of the afternoon, 2-1. Both offenses remained hot in the second. The Lakers' patience paid off when they drew a bases-loaded walk to score a run. Mercyhurst continued to pile on with a bases-clearing double that gave them four runs for the inning and grew their lead to 5-2. The Lakers tacked on their final run of the inning with a hard-hit double that scored one and put Salem in a four-run hole. Mackenzie Wainwright got the comeback going for the Tigers when he sent Max Atkinson home on a single that also moved Jose Lojo into scoring position. Unforced errors continued to hurt the Lakers when Lojo was able to reach home on a wild pitch that also advanced Wainwright to second. Wainwright was eventually rewarded for his work when Tyler Shinn sent him across the dish with another Tiger base hit. The Laker lead was down to one and the momentum was all on Salem's side. After a rocky few innings to start, Gulko hunkered down and began to shove. After a scoreless top of the third Brett Ehr came up huge in a big spot for the Tigers during the bottom of the frame. With bases loaded Ehr delivered a well-struck single that scored Aaron Forbes and Jacob Hurley to reclaim the Tiger lead. After that point, the game did a total one-eighty. Both offenses went ice-cold and Gulko dominated to round out the day. Salem held on for the remaining four innings to get back in the win column with a 7-6 victory.
