PAINESVILLE, Ohio – The Lake Erie Storm
baseball team could not solve Gannon's stellar pitching in a
doubleheader sweep on Saturday (April 17) afternoon at frigid
Braggs Field. The Storm lost both games by identical 7-2
scores.
Shortstop Ryan Rua (Amherst,
Ohio/Amherst) was the lone bright spot for Lake Erie going
4-for-5 in the twinbill. He went 5-for-5 at Tiffin on Thursday and
extended that string to nine straight hits after getting a hit in
his first four plate appearances on Saturday.
Outside of Rua, the Storm (12-23) managed just
three hits in the opener off Gannon starter Greg Radwan, who was in
control for the entire game. He didn't allow a Storm runner
past first base until the seventh inning when Rua singled and moved
to second on a wild pitch. He came around to score on an RBI double
by Nick Lovick (Mentor, Ohio/Mentor). Lovick
advanced to third on a wild pitch and scored on Matt
Lott's (Newark, Ohio/Newark Catholic)
groundout.
Gannon (20-17) was well ahead at that point, as
Michael Tomko tripled home Tim Lipp in the first inning to make it
1-0 off Lake Erie starter Adam Beach (Vermilion,
Ohio/Vermilion). The Golden Knights tacked on a pair of
unearned runs in the second inning with the help of two Lake Erie
defensive miscues.
Gannon put the game away in the fourth, scoring
four times on five hits, including a solo home run by Jeff
Jones.
Radwan earned the win for the Knights, tossing a
complete game and allowing just two runs on six hits with no walks
and three strikeouts.
Beach (4-1), who suffered his first loss of the
season, surrendered seven runs (five earned) in six innings of
work. He struck out eight and walked just one. Jimmie Shaw
(Holland, Ohio/Toledo St. John) worked a perfect seventh
inning of relief.
Gannon's game two starter, Brian Gunnell,
completely shut down the Storm after the first inning, in which the
Storm took a 2-0 lead. Brandon James (Mentor,
Ohio/Mentor) singled with one out and Rua followed with a
two-run blast to left for his ninth straight hit and ninth home run
of the season. The sophomore raised his average to a team-leading
.434.
Gunnell settled down after the home run,
retiring the next 13 batters he saw and not allowing a hit the rest
of the way. Cody Blood (Conneaut, Ohio/Conneaut)
reached on a throwing error by the third baseman in the fifth and
Rua drew a two-out walk in the sixth, but Gunnell escaped both
innings unscathed. He struck out four in the game and walked just
one.
Lake Erie starter Tyler Minnich
(LaGrange, Ohio/Keystone) worked five innings and allowed
seven runs (six earned) on nine hits. He struck out one and walked
a pair. Shaw and Pat Mulligan (Brookfield,
Ohio/Brookfield) each tossed a perfect relief
inning.
The Storm has a chance to quickly rebound as
Gannon visits Braggs Field for a second doubleheader on Sunday
(April 18) afternoon beginning at 12 p.m.
-LEC-
