Box Score
COLONIAL HEIGHTS, Va. - West Chester University allowed four runs in the fifth and two more in the sixth as Mercyhurst opened up a one-run ballgame en route to an 11-3 victory at the Division II Spring Tournament in Shepherd Stadium late Saturday night.
West Chester (1-1) split its pair of games on the opening day of the 2014 season. The Golden Rams defeated Post University earlier in the day. Mercyhurst (2-0) won both of its games on opening day.
The Lakers put together a four-run rally with two outs in the fifth to break open a 4-3 game. Senior left-hander, John Barr, struck out the first two batters he faced in the fifth, but could not get out of the frame. Freshman Andrew Gernert came on in relief to record the final out. Gernert also pitched the sixth, yielding two unearned runs, as mistakes in the field plagued the Golden Rams, who were outside on a diamond for the first time this spring.
West Chester jumped out in front 2-0 on Mercyhurst starter Joe Klein (1-0) scoring a pair of runs in the top of the second. Justin Roman hit a RBI single. Chris Pula later came around and scored on a fielding error by Mercyhurst's center fielder. However, the Lakers stormed right back, plating three runs on West Chester starter Matt McAllister (0-1).
Pula scored again in the fifth inning to make it 4-3. But that was as close as the Golden Rams would get.
Three Mercyhurst pitchers combined to limit West Chester to just three hits in the game. The Lakers scored 11 runs on 13 hits.
McAllister suffered the loss, surrendering four runs on seven hits in four innings of work. Barr allowed four runs, three of them earned, on two hits in two-thirds innings. Gernert threw 1.1 innings, giving up two unearned runs on four hits. Jeff O'Reilly finished up, surrendering one run without giving up a hit. McAllister and Barr each struck out two while O'Reilly struck out one.
West Chester faces College of Saint Rose Sunday afternoon at 3 p.m. in the final game of the Division II Spring Tournament in Colonial Heights, Va.
