3/21/22
 
SCRANTON, Pa. – The Lackawanna College baseball team played its first games in Scranton since May of last year, and the Falcons didn't disappoint the home fans, sweeping the ASA College Brooklyn Avengers with a pair of wins at Volpe Field at the Quinn Athletic Complex in south Scranton on Monday afternoon. The Falcons took game one by a 7-5 score, and then won the second game 11-1 in five innings, running the Lackawanna win streak to eight straight games.  
 
Game One Recap: Lackawanna College 7 – 5 ASA College Brooklyn
Lackawanna College rallied from a 5-4 deficit with a crucial three-run sixth inning, while Samuel Daniels pitched two 1-2-3 innings in relief to pick up the win and give the Falcons a 7-5 victory in the first game of the doubleheader on Monday afternoon.
 
The Falcons (7-4) were led by leadoff hitter Daniel Helfgott, who went 3-for-4 with two runs scored and an RBI, while Daniel Keenan was 1-for-4 with two RBIs and a double and David Curreri went 2-for-3 with a run scored and an RBI. Jason Carpenter got the start and went 4.1 innings, while giving up five hits and three runs, all earned, while striking out two batters, but it was Daniels who got the win, pitching two innings of shutout ball in relief striking out three batters.
 
Lackawanna got things started in the bottom of the first inning, after Helfgott climbed aboard with a leadoff single. He'd go on to steal second and get to third on a passed ball, and then come home on a two-out hit by Keenan to right field, where the outfielder lost track of the ball and couldn't make the catch, giving the Falcons a 1-0 lead.
 
The Avengers (4-1-1) struck back in the top of the second, when they cashed in with a two-out RBI single to make it 1-1, and that's where the game would stay until the bottom of the third, with the Falcons at the bat. Julian Thompson reached when he was hit by a pitch, and Helfgott immediately singled to put two on with nobody out. A Christian Rush fly out to right field put Helfgott and Thompson on second and third, but a strikeout put the inning in danger of going by the wayside. That's when Keenan stepped up, smashing a double to the outfield and bringing home a pair of runs to make it 3-1, Falcons.  
 
Lackawanna tacked on another run in the bottom of the fourth, when Spencer Butz brought George Castro home on a one-out RBI single to give the Falcons a 4-1 advantage, but the wheels started to come off in the top of the fifth when ASA responded. After a lead-off walk, a one-out double put runners on second and third, when the Falcons brought in Keon Burkholder to take over for Carpenter on the mound. Burkholder immediately got a three-pitch strikeout to put two outs on the board, but the Avengers got a big two-out, two-run single to make it 4-3. After a stolen base, a hit by pitch, and a walk, the bases were loaded, still with two outs, when ASA got another big two-out, two-run single, putting the Avengers on top for the first time, 5-4. Burkholder was able to get a ground out to himself to get the Falcons out of the inning.
 
After the Falcons wasted a runner on third in the bottom of the fifth, Daniels came in to pitch for the Falcons in the top of the sixth, and was just what Lackawanna College needed, firing up a quick 1-2-3 to get the Falcons into a big bottom of the sixth inning. Butz reached after getting hit by a pitch, and immediately stole second base. Curreri wasted little time, slapping a grounder to third base, and beating the errant throw to first, scoring Butz and tying things up at 5-all. Julian Thompson followed up with a triple, bringing Curreri around to score and putting the Falcons back in front. After a pitching change, Helfgott gave the Falcons some much-needed insurance, singling Thompson home to extend the Falcon lead to 7-5. Later in the inning, the Falcons had runners on the corners with two outs, but a looped liner to second base was snagged, ending the scoring threat.  
 
In the top of the seventh, suddenly down to their last three outs, the Avengers struggled to get going, as Daniels struck out the first batter on a full-count, then struck the next batter out on a dropped third strike, before inducing a ground out to himself to secure his second win of the year, and the seventh straight for the Falcons.
 
Game Two Recap: Lackawanna College 11 – 1 ASA College Brooklyn (5 Innings)



Lackawanna College used a five-run fifth inning outburst to get to a ten-run lead, activating the sportsmanship rule and ending the second game early with an 11-1 victory over ASA College at Volpe Field at the Quinn Athletic Complex on Monday afternoon.  
 
The Falcons (8-4) clinched their eighth straight win thanks to Zachary Walsh's inside the park homerun, when he rocketed a ball to right field that got past the right fielder and skittered off the base of the wall towards center field. Walsh turned on the jets rounding second, and was able to slide into home well-ahead of the throw, walking the Falcons off to the victory. Lackawanna College put 12 hits on the board, including four extra base hits. Quinn Hanafin went 3-for-4 with four RBIs and a run scored, while George Castro went 3-for-3 with three RBIs, and Cody Fleischer was 3-for-4 with three runs scored. Eli Riley scored three runs, going 1-for-1 with an RBI and two walks. Kyle Scott picked up the win for the Falcons, his first of the year, going four innings, giving up four hits and a run, while striking out seven batters.
 
The Avengers (4-2-1) singled off Scott to start the game, but Fleischer combined with Julian Thompson to gun down the base runner trying to steal second. Scott would walk the next batter, but settle in and strike out the next two batters to end the inning. Lackawanna struck first blood in the bottom frame, when they loaded the bases with nobody out. After Hanafin went down on strikes, Castro singled home Fleischer and Daniel Helfgott to make it 2-0, Falcons. Later in the bottom frame, the bases were loaded with two outs, but a strikeout ended the threat, stranding the bases loaded.
 
A leadoff single, followed by a walk, put two runners on with nobody out. A pair of strikeouts from Scott put two outs on the board, but an RBI single to right field scored one of those runners. The Falcons limited the damage with an excellent relay from right field to beat the second runner home, keeping it to a 2-1 Lackawanna advantage.
 
In the bottom of the second, the Falcons got some two-out magic going when Fleischer reached on a single. Riley ripped a double to left center field, scoring Fleischer and making it 3-1, Falcons. Riley stole third base, then came home courtesy of a Hanafin single, extending the lead to 4-1. Castro got aboard with a two-out single, but a line out stranded the runners and ended the inning.
 
1-2-3 innings for both teams in the third gave way to the fourth, the Falcons still up 4-1. After Scott pitched around a single in the top frame, The Falcons tacked on another pair in their half. Fleischer crushed a fly ball to right center field, which ricocheted off the top of the purple wall and bounced into center, letting Fleischer scoot his way to third with a triple. A one-out walk to Riley put runners on the corners, and Riley stole second base to make it second-and-third with one out. Hanafin delivered with an RBI single, stretching the Falcon advantage to 5-1. Castro followed with an RBI single of his own, scoring Riley to make it 6-1, Falcons.
 
Into the top of the fifth, the Falcons gave the ball to Cameron King, who struck out the side in order, twice running the count full, setting up a big bottom of the fifth for the Falcons.
 
Giovanni Lopez pinch hit for Curreri, and reached on a single to lead things off. After back-to-back hit-by-pitches, the Falcons had the bases loaded with nobody out. Fleischer lined a pitch to left field, and Rush, pinch running for Thompson at second base, was picked off on the base paths, but Lopez managed to score to make it 7-1, Falcons. Later in the inning, the Falcons had runners on the corners with two away. Quinn Hanafin cracked a double, scoring both runners to extend it out to a 9-1 Falcon lead. That set the stage for Walsh, who lined a first-pitch shot to right field that got by the Avengers outfielder, allowing Hanafin to score easily, and Walsh to use his speed to come all the way around to score the run that made it a ten-run lead, and end the game for the Falcons.
 
Lackawanna College doesn't have much time to recover, as the Falcons host the Monroe College Mustangs on Tuesday, March 22^nd, at the Scranton High School baseball field for a doubleheader. The first game is at 3:00pm ET, and the second game of the doubleheader is tentatively scheduled for a 6:00pm ET start. Both games will be streamed live on the Lackawanna College Athletics YouTube Channel at www.lackawannafalcons.com/Youtube.