The Malone University baseball team suffered a non-conference defeat to NCAA DII #20 Mercyhurst University (PA) Tuesday afternoon in Erie, Pennsylvania. In a litmus test against the nationally-ranked Lakers, the Pioneers fell behind early and never regained their footing as Mercyhurst overpowered Malone 16-1.
 
Recap:
The Lakers, who came into the game with the 14th best offense in the nation, scored seven runs in the bottom of the first and never looked back. Mercyhurst would tack on two runs in the fourth, five runs, in the fifth, and completed its scoring with back-to-back homeruns in the bottom of the eighth.
 
Malone, meanwhile, scored its only run of the game in the top of the second. After singling with two outs in the inning, leftfielder Ryan Froman advanced to second on a two-out walk before scoring on Austin Pachan's RBI single. The Laker pitching staff, which came into the game ranked 13th in the country in team ERA, held Malone scoreless over the final seven innings, limiting Malone to just seven singles and defeating the Pioneers 16-1.
 
The 7-8-9 hitters for Malone (Ryan Froman, Joe Crank, and Austin Pachan) all finished with two hits apiece while Matt Davis extended his hitting streak to eight games with a single in the sixth.
 
Up Next:
Malone, now 23-17 on the year, will travel to Ashland this Saturday and Sunday (April 30th & May 1st) for an all-important GLIAC South series with the Eagles. The first of two weekend doubleheaders will start Saturday at 1:00 pm.