NIAGARA FALLS, N.Y. – The D'Youville University baseball team let an early lead get away, falling to Mercy University on Sunday by a score of 9-6 to split the series.
 
The Saints got off to a hot start out of the gate with three consecutive base hits by sophomore Derek Onevelo (Buffalo, N.Y.), senior Alec Boucher (Essex, Ontario), and junior Billy Morris (Lancaster, N.Y.) to load the bases in the bottom of the first. Junior Blaise Kolbert (Lancaster, N.Y.) drew a bases loaded walk to bring in DYU's first run of the day. Senior Dillon Crook (Liverpool, N.Y.) followed with a single to push across another run. Redshirt junior Jake Hollins (Orchard Park, N.Y.) drove in a run with a groundout and redshirt freshman Lucas Penner (Leamington, Ontario) brought home two more with a single to give the Saints a 5-0 advantage.
 
DYU tacked on another run in the bottom of the third after Crook was hit by a pitch and came around to score on a base hit from junior Kevin Del Vecchio (Niagara Falls, N.Y.) to make it 6-0. Morris got the start on the mound for the Saints and kept Mercy off the board through the first three innings before running into trouble in the top of the fourth. Two errors and two hits allowed the Mavericks to score three runs and cut DYU's lead in half.
 
Mercy was threatening again in the top of the fifth with runners on the corners with just one out, but Morris got a strikeout and a groundout to escape the jam and keep the score at 6-3. The Mavericks got another run back in the top of the sixth with three singles to make it 6-4, but a ground ball double play prevented any further damage. Freshman Jakob Denall (Clarence, N.Y.) replaced Morris on the mound in the top of the seventh and worked a clean one-two-three inning to keep the Saints ahead 6-4.
 
Things unraveled for DYU in the top of the eighth, however. A leadoff homer cut the lead to 6-5 and Denall hit the next two batters and allowed an infield single to load the bases with no outs. He was lifted for senior Rob Stephens (Seaford, N.Y.), who allowed a sacrifice fly to tie the game at 6-6 and then let the go-ahead run come into score on a wild pitch. After the Mavericks tacked on another run to make it 8-6, senior Zach Penner (Leamington, Ontario) replaced Stephens. Another run came into score before Penner recorded the final two outs of the inning and Mercy now led 9-6.
 
Del Vecchio tried to spark a rally for the Saints in the bottom of the eighth with a leadoff double, but the next three batters were retired. Kolbert knocked a base hit in the bottom of the ninth with one out in a last gasp effort, but the Mavericks turned a double play to seal the victory and salvage a series split.
 
D'Youville now holds a 4-4 record in the ECC and an overall record of 10-24. They will be back in action on Tuesday when they face Gannon University on the road at 2:00 p.m.