FLORENCE, Kentucky -- The Lake Erie Baseball team traveled to Kentucky to face the Thomas More Saints in a non-conference matchup for their third straight road series to begin the season. The Storm would comfortably win game one 11-3 as the offense came alive. The Saints would come back and steal game two 7-6 in eight innings as Storm pitching faltered late. The long ball and impressive pitching would give Lake Erie the rubber match 7-0.
 
Team Records
 
Lake Erie: 4-5 
Thomas More: 3-2 
 
Game Recaps
 
Game 1:
Lake Erie- 11
Thomas More- 3
 
The Storm began the scoring in the top of the first with a Jaxson Christ RBI single for a 1-0 lead. In the top of the third, three more runs would come across for Lake Erie on a Mitchel Szymczak RBI single and a Zach Hoskins fielder's choice to extend the lead to 4-0. The Saints would get their first run on the board in the bottom of the inning on an RBI single. The Storm answered back the next inning with two runs on another Christ RBI single, extending the lead to 6-1. Another run would come across in the top of the fifth on a Saints fielding error for a 7-1 lead. The score grew to 10-1 in the top of the sixth, putting the game out of reach, as Lake Erie tacked on three more runs on a Sebastian Silva walk, an Aidan Shoop RBI single, and a Zimba Cadiz RBI hit by pitch. An RBI double by Graham Solak in the top of the ninth extended the lead to 11-1. Thomas More would fight in the bottom of the ninth, putting up two runs, but would ultimately fall short with Lake Erie taking game one 11-3.
 
During the game, Cadiz would set the program record for career stolen bases.
 
W: Robert Helt (1-1) - 5.1 IP, 5 H, ER, 2 BBs, 9 Ks
L: Jackson Grimmelsman (0-1) – 3.1 IP, 5 H, 6 R (5 ER), 4 BBs, 3 Ks
 
Key Team Stats:
 
Batting-
Runners Left on Base: Storm- 13, Saints- 14
Walks: Storm- 14, Saints- 5
Strikeouts: Storm- 8, Saints- 12
Stolen Bases: Storm- 8, Saints- 4
 
Pitching-
Walks: Storm- 5, Saints- 14
Strikeouts: Storm- 12, Saints- 8
Hit by Pitches: Storm- 2, Saints- 1
 
Fielding-
Errors: Storm- 3, Saints- 4
 
Game 1 Top Storm Performers: 
 
Soph. Jaxson Christ: 3-4, 3 RBI, 3 R, 2 BBs 
Sr. Graham Solak: 3-6, 2B, RBI, K
Gr. Aidan Shoop: 2-3, RBI, 2 R, 2 BBs, 2 SBs 
 
Game 2:
Thomas More- 7
Lake Erie- 6
(8 Innings)
 
Bats came out cold for each team to start game two. In the bottom of the second and third, the Saints would threaten by loading the bases, but no runs were pushed across. The Storm put the first run on the board in the top of the fifth after a Travis Yankovich RBI double to take a 1-0 lead. Lake Erie would push another run across in the top of the sixth with an Alex Jones solo home run, his first of the season. In the top of the seventh, two more Storm runs crossed home plate with an RBI triple by Yankovich and an RBI sacrifice fly from Israel Espinosa, bringing the score to 4-0. Thomas More used late inning magic to tie the game at 4-4 in the bottom half to send the game to extra innings. In the top of the eighth, Lake Erie put up two runs on a Mitchel Szymczak RBI hit by pitch and Graham Solak RBI sacrifice fly for a 6-4 advantage. The Saints would steal game two from the Storm, scoring three for a final score of 7-6.
 
W: Ethan Stone (1-0) – 1.0 IP, 0 H, 2 R (1 ER), BB, K
L: AJ Dallmayer (0-1) – 1.0 IP, 4 H, 3 R (2 ER), 2 BBs, K 
 
Key Team Stats:
 
Batting-
Runners Left on Base: Storm- 5, Saints- 11
Walks: Storm- 2, Saints- 9
Strikeouts: Storm- 6, Saints- 11
Stolen Bases: Storm- 1, Saints- 1
 
Pitching-
Walks: Storm- 9, Saints- 2
Strikeouts: Storm- 11, Saints- 6
Hit by Pitches: Storm- 1, Saints- 2
 
Fielding-
Errors: Storm- 0, Saints- 1
 
Game 2 Top Storm Performers:
 
Soph. Travis Yankovich: 2-4, 3B, 2B, 2 RBI, R, 2 K
Sr. Graham Solak: 2-3, 2B, RBI, R
Sr. Alex Jones: 1-2, HR (1), RBI, 2 R, BB
 
Game 3:
Lake Erie- 7
Thomas More- 0
 
Game three began with a pitcher's duel. The first team to threaten would be Thomas More in the bottom of the third with a two-out triple but would be left stranded. Lake Erie would do all their damage in the final three innings. The first run to score came in the top of the fifth with an RBI double from Aidan Shoop for a 1-0 lead. The Storm would add two more the next inning for a 3-0 lead with a two-run home run from Graham Solak, his second of the season. Four more runs would put game three out of reach for Thomas More after an RBI single from Alex Jones and a three-run home run from Mitchel Szymczak, his second of the season, for a 7-0 shutout victory.
 
W: Dominic Poltrone (1-1) – 7.0 IP, 4 H, 0 ER, 2 BBs, 9 Ks
L: Jack Perdue (1-1) – 6.0 IP, 6 H, 3 ER, 2 BBs, 4 Ks
 
Key Team Stats:
 
Batting-
Runners Left on Base: Storm- 3, Saints- 6
Walks: Storm- 2, Saints- 2
Strikeouts: Storm- 4, Saints- 9
Stolen Bases: Storm- 2, Saints- 1
 
Pitching-
Walks: Storm- 2, Saints- 2
Strikeouts: Storm- 9, Saints- 4
Hit by Pitches: Storm- 0, Saints- 2
 
Fielding-
Errors: Storm- 1, Saints- 0
 
Game 3 Top Storm Performers:
 
R-Soph. Mitchel Szymczak: 1-4, HR (2), 3 RBI, R
Sr. Graham Solak: 1-4, HR (2), 2 RBI, R
Gr. Aidan Shoop: 1-2, 2B, RBI, R
 
Series Evaluation
 
Veteran Pitchers Step Up: Senior Robert Helt and junior Dominic Poltrone have become mainstays in the rotation during their time with the Storm. During this series, the two combined for 12.1 IP, 9 H, 1 ER, 4 BBs, and 18 Ks. As the season progresses, these two will be looked on for their experience to lead the rest of the youthful pitching staff.  
 
Putting the Ball in Play: Lake Erie began the season with double digit strikeouts in five of their first six games. During this series, strikeouts decreased from eight in game one to six in game two to four in game three. As hitters see more pitching and temperatures heat up, Lake Erie looks to put pressure on the opponent's defense. 
 
RBI Opportunities Galore: In this series, the Storm had a total of 21 runners left on base, with 13 coming in the game one victory. Even with the 11-3 score, seeing that many runners left on base leaves the Storm wanting more. In games two and three, the Saints made their adjustments and gave the Storm less opportunities, but the Storm still took advantage of them. The Storm can pile on runs in bunches, giving them the ability to put pressure on opposing pitchers.
 
Speed on the Base Paths: The Storm currently lead the G-MAC in steals with 29 in the young season. The Storm have had at least one steal in each game thus far. The speed in the lineup will also allow them to take extra bases, turning a single into a double. Expect to see runners put in motion whenever anyone gets on with the speed up and down the lineup. 
 
Series History
 
After winning two of three games to secure the series victory, the Storm are now 4-8 against the Saints, who are only in their second season as a Division II school. 
 
Up Next
 
Lake Erie returns to Ohio for their home opener against Gannon for a four-game series beginning on Friday, February 28th. 
 
In 2024, Gannon finished an injury-riddled season going 11-34 overall, while going 7-21 in the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) west division. In the 2025 PSAC preseason poll, they were voted to finish fifth in the west division. They began their season 1-2 against Shippensburg, who is in the PSAC east division.