Box Score  |  PSAC Tournament Central

JOHNSTOWN, Pa. – Daniel Elliot had a team-high three hits and four RBIs, and Jimmy Latona added a three-run home run in the second inning as Mercyhurst handed East Stroudsburg University a 14-0 setback in the opening game for both teams at the 2017 PSAC Baseball Championship.

The Warriors (26-20-1) will face PSAC West No. 3 seed Slippery Rock in an elimination game at 9:30 a.m. on Thursday. The Rock (26-19) fell 9-2 to Shippensburg earlier on Wednesday afternoon. The Lakers (35-4), who are currently ranked No. 1 in Division II in the most-recent NCBWA national poll, advance to play Shippensburg at 3:30 p.m. on Thursday.

Mercyhurst scored in each of the first four innings, including four-run frames in the second and third to put the game out of reach. Nine different players had at least one hit for the top-seeded team in the West, while Chris Vallimont tossed 7 1/3 scoreless innings on the mound. He gave up two hits and five walks while striking out three.

Redshirt senior 2B Jay Young and redshirt senior OF Casey Saverio each had a hit and a walk for ESU, with junior OF Charles Edwards registering the other hit in the contest for the Warriors. Senior RHP Ben Bortz struck out one in a scoreless seventh inning.

ESU entered the day having won six-consecutive games and eight of their last nine overall to reach the PSAC tournament for the sixth time in the past eight seasons. The Warriors will look to extend their stay against Slippery Rock tomorrow.

The Rock earned a 9-4 victory in the only meeting between the teams this season on February 24. ESU triumphed 13-4 in the lone PSAC tournament matchup back in 2015.