Pitt-Johnstown could not overcome a lack of offense that resulted in a 16-0 loss in game one before bouncing back to force extra innings only to fall 9-6 to Mercyhurst in the back half of a PSAC West doubleheader on Sunday afternoon at Point Stadium.
The Mountain Cats dropped three of four in the season-series and slipped to 15-25 and 5-15 in the conference. The Lakers boosted their record to 17-15 and 14-6 in the West.
Pitt-Johstown went into its final at-bat of the nightcap down 6-4 before igniting a comeback. Alex Ebeling and Josh Ulery worked back-to-back walks, and Justin Turcovski reached on an error with one out to load the bases. Lucas Muffie singled home Ebeling to make it 6-5. Alex Glumac then drew a walk on a wild pitch that enabled Turcovski to score and tie it at 6-all.
After each team left a baserunner stranded in the eighth, the Lakers accumulated four walks in the ninth and manufactured three runs on just one hit to seal the game.
Brandon Clifford started and threw five innings, giving up five runs on seven hits with two walks and two strikeouts. Erik Rhodes surrendered an unearned run on three hits in 1.1 innings of relief. Antonio Caporossi pitched 1.2 innings of scoreless relief. Devon Boyles was charged with the loss after coming on in the ninth.
Muffie finished with two hits and drove in two runs, including one on an RBI single in the fourth that trimmed the deficit to 5-2. Turcovski went 2-for-5 with a home run and a game-high three runs scored. His two-run home run in the fifth cut it to 5-4 and injected serious life into the comeback.
The opener had a far different feel after Mercyhurst collected four runs in the top of the first to set the tone and grab a lead it would never surrender.
The Mountain Cats were limited to just three hits that included a pair of singles from Boyles and another from Glumac, who singled and stole second in the fifth before being left stranded.
Aiden Kelly earned the win on the mound for the Lakers. The Mountain Cats utilized eight different arms, but it was starter Seth Shuey who was handed the loss.
Pitt-Johnstown will have a four-day layoff before opening a four-game weekend series on the road Friday against Indiana (Pa.) with a doubleheader beginning at 1 p.m.
