JOHNSTOWN, Pa. – Momentum in sports is a funny thing. The Gannon baseball team was unable to carry the momentum of a game-tying homer through a four hour and 13 minute rain delay before falling to East Stroudsburg 8-5 Wednesday evening during the first day of the 2013 Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) Tournament played at Point Stadium in Johnstown, Pennsylvania.
Gannon appeared to have Wednesday's contest swinging into its hands during the bottom of the sixth inning. Trailing 4-2,
Taylor Anderson (Niagara Falls, Ontario/A.N. Myer Secondary) led off the inning with a seven-pitch walk. Two pitches later,
Michael Tomko (Sharon, Pa./Sharon) sent a towering bomb over the left center fence to tie the score at four.
The rally continued with singles by
Nico Baldelli (Ellwood, Pa./Riverside) and
Bob Roach (Erie, Pa./McDowell) to put runners on first and second when Mother Nature took over the show. Consistent lightning strikes and rain produced a long delay that lasted until East Stroudsburg took the field at 9:10 p.m. Colin Taylor took the mound for the Warriors after the delay and promptly ended Gannon's threat with a strikeout.
East Stroudsburg then went to work offensively. The Warriors recorded three consecutive singles following back-to-back strikeouts to open the inning. The last hit was ruled a single after
Dylan Schwegler (Aliquippa, Pa./Hopewell Area) appeared to have made an inning-ending diving catch. Instead, the Warriors scored the go-ahead run. Moments later, Chris Knott made the ruling even bigger when he drilled a three-run homer to center field to give the Warriors an 8-4 lead.
Gannon tried to rally during the bottom of the seventh inning. Tomko singled home
Jared Wiesen (Girard, Ohio/Liberty) to cut the deficit to 8-5, but the Golden Knights stranded a pair of runners after consecutive fly-outs to end the frame. The squad also had runners on the corners during the bottom of the ninth inning before a double play brought an end to the contest.
Head coach
Nate Cocolin's club was off and running during its first at-bat. Gannon quickly took a 2-0 lead on an Anderson RBI single and a Baldelli RBI ground-out. Three of the first four batters recorded a hit during the opening inning.
East Stroudsburg stormed back to take a 4-2 lead with a single run in the fourth, two more in the fifth and another tally in the sixth.
Tomko finished 3-for-4 with one run and three RBIs. Anderson was inserted into the third spot of the line-up and responded with two hits, two runs and one RBI. Wiesen had two hits and scored twice from his lead-off role. Roach completed Gannon's group of multiple-hit performances with two hits of his own.
Shayne Herold (LeRoy, N.Y./LeRoy) suffered his first loss of the season, allowing eight runs on 12 hits in seven innings. The redshirt senior entered the contest with the nation's fourth-lowest ERA (1.09) and hadn't allowed more than two runs during his previous 14 appearances. He struck out eight and walked none.
Matt Wilwohl (Erie, Pa./McDowell) pitched two scoreless innings of relief with two strikeouts.
Gannon dropped to 23-18 overall with Wednesday's setback. The Golden Knights dropped into the elimination bracket, but will not know their opponent until Thursday morning. The final game of the first day between Slippery Rock and Millersville was postponed due to rain and will begin Thursday morning at 8 a.m. Mercyhurst and California (Pa.) will follow 20 minutes afterwards in an elimination game. Gannon then faces the Slippery Rock-Millersville loser 20 minutes after the Mercyhurst-Cal contest.
East Stroudsburg, ranked sixth in the latest NCAA Division II Atlantic regional rankings, improved to 30-16 overall. The Warriors will face the Slippery Rock-Millersville winner Thursday during the final game of the day.
