SALEM, West Virginia – The Lake Erie baseball team began the 2026 season on the road against the Salem Tigers. In game one, the Storm would jump ahead quick, but the Tigers would take advantage with runners on base for a 7-1 victory. In game two, Salem would jump ahead early, silencing the Storm lineup with a no-hitter in the 3-0 win. In the closing game of the series, The Tigers and Storm would go back and forth, but the Tigers would end up closing the series with a 7-3 victory for the sweep.
Team Records
Lake Erie: 0-3
Salem: 3-3
Game Recaps
Game 1:
Salem- 7
Lake Erie- 1
The Storm would begin the 2026 season with an early 1-0 lead in the top of the first after a single from
Teagan Williams. The Tigers would put up runs from the third through the seventh, moving ahead 7-1. Lake Erie would have opportunities to put up more runs but were not able to muster across any in the 7-1 game one defeat.
W: Conor Thiele (1-1) - 6.0 IP, 3 H, ER, 2 BB, 7 K
L: Luke Reasor (0-1) - 4.0 IP, 5 H, 4 R (3 ER), 3 BB, K
Key Team Stats:
Batting-
Runners Left on Base:
Storm- 8, Tigers- 9
Walks:
Storm- 4, Tigers- 4
Strikeouts:
Storm- 11, Tigers- 4
Stolen Bases:
Storm- 1, Tigers- 0
Pitching-
Walks:
Storm- 4, Tigers- 4
Strikeouts:
Storm- 4, Tigers- 11
Hit by Pitches:
Storm- 1, Tigers- 2
Fielding-
Errors:
Storm- 2, Tigers- 1
Game 1 Top Storm Performers:
Fr. Brendon Rowe: 2-3, 2B, BB, K
Jr. Teagan Williams: 1-2, RBI, BB
R-Soph. Seth Yacobucci: 1-3, 2B, HBP
Game 2:
Salem- 3
Lake Erie- 0
The Tigers would jolt ahead 1-0 in the bottom of the first on two hits and an error. Salem would have a repeat of the first inning in the third, moving ahead 2-0 on two hits and an error. The Tigers would add another insurance run in the sixth to move the score to 3-0. The Storm would have a hard time getting anything going at the plate, putting up three walks in the 3-0 no-hit loss.
W: Jackson Thoma (1-0) – 7.0 IP, 0 H, 0 ER, 3 BB, 12 K
L: Dominic Poltrone (0-1) – 4.2 IP, 4 H, 2 R (0 ER), 2 BB, 5 K
Key Team Stats:
Batting-
Runners Left on Base:
Storm- 2, Tigers- 5
Walks:
Storm- 3, Tigers- 2
Strikeouts:
Storm- 12, Tigers- 5
Stolen Bases:
Storm- 0, Tigers- 0
Pitching-
Walks:
Storm- 2, Tigers- 3
Strikeouts:
Storm- 5, Tigers- 12
Hit by Pitches:
Storm- 0, Tigers- 0
Fielding-
Errors:
Storm- 2, Tigers- 0
Game 3:
Salem- 7
Lake Erie- 3
The Tigers continued their hot hitting in the series, putting up two runs in the bottom of the first. Salem would put up another run in the bottom of the fifth, growing their lead to 3-0. Lake Erie would show their first sign of life in game three, tying the game at three in the top of the sixth with
Ty Sowers scoring on a wild pitch, an RBI sacrifice fly from
Jackson Lee, and a solo home run from
Travis Yankovich, his first of the season. The Tigers would immediately answer back in the bottom half of the inning, putting up three runs to retake the lead 6-3. Salem would add insurance in the seventh, building their lead to 7-3 and hold at that score to close out game three 7-3 and secure the series sweep.
W: Richie Preston (1-0) – 5.1 IP, 2 H, 3 R (ER), 2 BB, 7 K
L: Hunter Lefkus (0-1) – 1.0 IP, 2 H, 2 ER, 2 BB, K
Key Team Stats:
Batting-
Runners Left on Base:
Storm- 3, Tigers- 9
Walks:
Storm- 2, Tigers- 7
Strikeouts:
Storm- 14, Tigers- 7
Stolen Bases:
Storm- 0, Tigers- 0
Pitching-
Walks:
Storm- 7, Tigers- 2
Strikeouts:
Storm- 7, Tigers- 14
Hit by Pitches:
Storm- 3, Tigers- 1
Fielding-
Errors:
Storm- 0, Tigers- 1
Game 3 Top Storm Performers:
Jr. Travis Yankovich: 1-4, HR (1), RBI, R, K
R-Soph. Matt Fountain: 1-4, 2B, R, 2 K
R-Soph. Jackson Lee: 0-3, RBI, K
Series History
Lake Erie is now 3-5 all-time against Salem after being swept. This was the first time Salem and Lake Erie faced each other since the 2010 season.
Up Next
Lake Erie will head to Chillicothe, Ohio to face Saginaw Valley State in a neutral site matchup. The series will begin on Friday, February 20.
Saginaw Valley State is 2-2 to begin the season, with their wins against Lewis, who appeared in the NCAA tournament last season, and their losses against Cedarville.
Last season, the Cardinals finished 30-22 overall and 11-13 in the GLIAC, falling in the GLIAC tournament semifinals.
