MADISON, N.J. — Wagner outhit the Lakers in Thursday's series opener but ultimately fell 6-4 to Mercyhurst.
The Seahawks logged 14 hits to the Lakers' 11, leaving the bases loaded in the sixth and stranding two in the eighth in a day where the offense was effective but unable to generate runs. The top five hitters in the Wagner order recorded multiple hits.
Senior Nicholas Mazzotta set a new program record for sacrifice flies, now with nine on the season. He added an RBI on a sacrifice fly and walked on a day where eight of Wagner's nine batters reached base.
Junior Joseph Mennella hit his 13th home run of the season, a solo shot in the third as part of a 3-for-5 day for the first baseman. He added two RBIs and scored a pair. Graduate Lukas Torres was also 3-for-5, continuing to build on a hot-hitting season.
Redshirt sophomore Joseph Steventon takes the loss on the mound, going 5.1 innings in the start and giving up five runs to a steady Mercyhurst offense that was hitting early in the count. Junior Keith Davis relieved Steventon, going 3.2 innings in what marked his second-longest outing of 2026. He allowed just one run and struck out a pair.
Wagner jumped out early as it tends to do, scoring a pair in the first. Torres and junior Diego Tavarez singled, then Mennella and junior Dylan Immel each added an RBI double. Mercyhurst hit a leadoff home run in the second, then the Seahawks answered in the bottom of the third with Mennella's solo shot.
Mercyhurst added a pair in the top of the fifth, then Mazzotta pushed a run across in the bottom of the frame with a sacrifice fly to score sophomore Matt Sutera, giving Wagner a 4-3 lead. The Lakers answered in the sixth, though, with three runs on four hits. Davis entered with two outs in the sixth and just allowed a single run to score, but the damage was done and the Seahawks were unable to generate any more offense.
Next up, the Seahawks are back at Vincent J. and Lenda F. Naimoli Ballpark on Friday, May 15 for a doubleheader, starting at 11 a.m. EDT. Senior day recognition will be held in between the games.
