May 21, 2021

Scranton, PA - Friday afternoon, the Lackawanna College Baseball team beat Monroe Community College 6-4 to advance to the 2021 NJCAA Division II Baseball World Series. It will be the fourth time that the Falcons made an appearance in that event. Those previous appearances were in 2012. 2013 and 2019. Technically this a back-to-back appearance for Coach Mike McCarry's team since the pandemic forced the cancellation of the 2020 tournament.

After beating Monroe in the opening game of the District East best of three series by a score of 10-3, It looked like the Falcons might coast to a clinch of the series in two games as they scored six unanswered runs over the first eight innings of the second game. Designated as the visiting team in the contest Lackawanna scored in the top of the first inning when Raymond Vorhees scored on a passed ball. They plated a second run in the second inning when Jensel Soto doubled in Colin Macko, who reached base earlier in the frame on a hit by pitch.

Both teams failed to score over the next four innings. However, in the top of the seventh, Lackawanna loaded the bases on singles by George Castro and Matthew Nyce and an error on a Jake Kelchner struck ball. Vorhees then widened Lackawanna's 2-0 lead when he blasted a two-out grand slam to left field.  

In the bottom of the seventh the Tribunes scored when Ben Beauchamp led off the inning with a single and scored on Trey Brown's single.  In the eighth inning, Monroe's run seemed inconsequential as Lackawanna's Nick Termini put down the side on four pitches. However, in the bottom of the ninth, the whole complexion of the game changed as the Tribunes scored three runs and loaded the bases with two outs. The Falcon fans held their breath, contemplating the disastrous results if Trevour Gienau reached base on a base hit. Fortunately for the Falcons, Vorhees, pitching in relief, induced Gienau to hit into a 6-3 groundout to end the game and sending Lackawanna to Enid, OK.

At the plate, four Falcons contributed five extra-base hits, Kelchner doubled, as did Soto, while Brandon Ernst recorded two doubles and Vorhees' grand slam. Two of those four, Ernst (5-0-3-0) and Vorhees (5-2-3-4) also registered the team's only multi-hit games.

Kyle Scott earned the win completing six innings while shutting out the Tribunes on six hits. He stuck out 10 while issuing only three base on balls.