KIRTLAND, Ohio – Lakeland baseball had a hard time keeping Mercyhurst North East off the board in a doubleheader sweep by the scores of 12-1 and 13-5 Sunday afternoon.
With the pair of losses, Lakeland falls to 4-24 overall and 3-9 in Ohio Community College Athletic Conference play.
Mercyhurst North East 12 – Lakeland 1
Lakeland could only get one run in the opening game as Merychurst North East took advantage for a 12-1 win in six innings.
Matt Detering had the lone RBI for Lakeland with a double while Mike Zeuli had the other two hits for the Lakers.
North East built up a 7-0 lead after three inning with six in the second and one in the third. Lakeland did get on the board in the fourth as Zeuli started the inning with a single and then scored on an RBI double to right to get within 7-1.
That would be the final run scored as North East scored five more runs and ended the game early in the sixth inning.
Mercyhurst North East 13 – Lakeland 5
Lakeland did much better offensively in the second game but Mercyhurst North East still had plenty of offense in a 13-5 victory.
Riley Grieco drove in a pair of runs and hit a pair of singles. Zeuli also had an RBI while Collin Witherspoon and Seth France each hit a double in the loss.
North East jumped out with four runs in the first inning but Lakeland showed fight in the second. Tyler Knapp walked to begin the inning and the eventually scored on a passed ball to get within 4-1. North East added a run in the top of the fifth to take a 5-1 lead.
Lakeland battled in the bottom of the fifth as Witherspoon drew a walk to begin the inning and then scored on a single by Zeuli to get within 5-2. Grieco followed by driving an RBI single to right to get within 5-3. North East fired back with seven in the top of the sixth to make it 12-3.
Witherspoon drew a one-out walk in the bottom of the sixth and then Grieco belted an RBI single to the left side of the infield to get within 12-4. North East added a solo home run in the top of the seventh to make it 13-4.
Lakeland showed a little fight in the final inning as Cole Wajda was hit by a pitch and then scored after the Lakers hit into a double play to make the final score 13-5.
Lakeland will next hit the road on Tuesday, April 9 with a trip to face Gannon University JV for a doubleheader beginning at 1 p.m.
For more information about Lakeland athletics, visit www.athletics.lakelandcc.edu.
About Lakeland Community College
Founded in 1967, Lakeland Community College was the first college in Ohio created by a vote of the people. True to our mission, Lakeland provides quality learning opportunities to meet the social and economic needs of the community.
Offering day, evening, weekend and online classes, the college serves more than 10,800 credit and 2,800 noncredit students (2016). For more information about the College, visit www.lakelandcc.edu.
