true Gwynedd-Mercy 6, Marywood 3

BOX SCORE

GWYNEDD VALLEY, PA. -- A three-run seventh inning helped rally Gwynedd-Mercy to go on and defeat Marywood, 6-3, Friday afternoon in a CSAC matchup.

The Griffins (11-13-1, 8-5 CSAC) added two more in the eighth, but held off a late Pacer charge in the ninth to win their fourth game in a row.

Sophomore Josh Martin (Pottstown, Pa./St. Pius X) reached base in all five of his plate appearances, officially going 1-for-2 with two walks, two runs scored and an RBI. He also was hit by a pitch and reached on an error. Senior Austin Ley (Cherry Hill, N.J./Cherry Hill East) and freshman John Burns (Levittown, Pa./Neshaminy) each added two hits apiece.

Starter Andrew Schaefer (Penndel, Pa./Conwell-Egan) threw into the ninth inning, scattering nine hits on one earned run with just one walk and two strikeouts.

His leadoff walk in the seventh kickstarted the rally as Marywood plated a run in the third and a run in the sixth for a 2-1 deficit. After a sacrifice to second followed by a single from Ley, freshman Dante Cassano (Cherry Hill, N.J./Cherry Hill East) hit an RBI single just inside the third base line, allowing Martin to score. Burns made it 3-2 as his single through the hole in left and an aggressive-running Ley helped the Griffins reclaim the lead. Freshman Josh Van Horn (Brookhaven, Pa./Monsignor Bonner) kept the RBI party going, knocking in pinch runner Justin Keith (Littlestown, Pa./Delone Catholic) for a 4-2 edge.

Martin added a stand-up RBI triple in the eighth and Ley plated him home on a groundout gave GM a 6-2 lead.

Schaefer, who cruised through the seventh and eighth innings, got into a little trouble in the ninth. After getting a leadoff groundout, three-straight errors, including two by Schaefer on bunts, helped the Pacers tack on a run and put the go-ahead run at the plate. Closer Luis Martinez (Sinking Spring, Pa./Conrad Weiser) came on to get the next two outs as the freshman notched his fourth save on the season.

Marywood got their run in the third off a sac fly from Nick Pasqualichio and one in the sixth on a RBI single from Shane Miller.