3/22/22
 
SCRANTON, Pa. – After an eleven-day gap between games, the Falcons will now prepare for their second doubleheader in less than 24 hours. The Lackawanna College baseball team is set to host NJCAA Division I opponent Monroe College on Tuesday, March 22^nd, in doubleheader action. The first game is set for 3:00pm ET, and the second is tentatively scheduled for 6:00pm ET. Both games will take place at Scranton High School's baseball field, behind Memorial Stadium in downtown Scranton.
 
Both games will be video livestreamed via the Lackawanna College Athletics YouTube Channel at www.lackawannafalcons.com/YouTube.
 
 
About The Falcons
The Falcons (8-4) upped their winning streak to eight straight thanks to a pair of victories on Monday against ASA College Brooklyn. In game one, the Falcons used a three-run sixth, thanks, in part, to a go-ahead RBI triple by Julian Thompson, to retake the lead from the Avengers, and Samuel Daniels pitched two shutout innings of relief baseball to secure the 7-5 win for Lackawanna. In game two, Lackawanna's offense scored five runs in the fifth inning to activate the sportsmanship rule, as the Falcons won 11-1 in five innings of action. The game ended on a two-run inside the park homerun from Zachary Walsh.
 
The Falcons are hitting, as a team, .335 so far this season, with a combined .953 OPS. They have 36 extra base hits, including 21 doubles and ten homeruns already this season. They're slugging .527 as a team, and have stolen 25 bases so far this year. The Falcons are averaging just over seven runs per contest.
 
On the mound, the Falcons are holding their opponents to a .280 batting average, and have a staff ERA of 6.51 this year. In 76 combined innings, the Falcons have given up 85 hits and 61 runs, 55 earned, while striking out 78 batters and walking 37. The Falcons have picked off four base runners so far this season, and have turned four double plays, while committing 14 errors as a team so far this year.
 
Quinn Hanafin is the team leader in batting average, hitting .517 so far this season in his ten appearances. Hanafin has a 1.255 OPS, and leads the Falcons with 15 hits and six doubles so far this season. He's tied for the team lead at ten RBIs, and is tied for second on the team in total bases at 21. His .724 slugging is tops on the squad, among players who have played in eight or more games. Hanafin has recorded a hit in all ten of his games so far this season, and was 3-for-4 with a double, a run scored, and four RBIs in the second game against ASA College on Monday.  
 
Cody Fleischer is second on the team with a .412 batting average so far this year. Fleischer has a 1.130OPS, and has 14 hits on the year, second on the squad. Fleischer's seven RBIs are third on the team, and his 16 runs scored this year lead the Falcons. Fleischer's .512 OBP is second among players who've played in eight or more games for the Falcons. Fleischer leads the team with seven walks this year, and is second on the team with four steals so far this season. Fleischer was a combined 3-for-7 with three runs scored, and a triple against ASA on Monday.
 
Daniel Helfgott is hitting .364 on the year, and is third on the Falcons with 12 hits so far this season. Helfgott has scored ten runs so far this season, good for second on the squad. He was a combined 3-for-4 with three runs scored and an RBI against ASA on Monday.  
 
George Castro is hitting .313 on the year, and has a 1.124 OPS and a slugging percentage at .719 on the year. Castro is tied for the team lead with Hanafin in RBIs (10), while leading the Falcons in homers (3) and total bases (23) so far this season. Castro was a combined 3-for-5 with a run scored and three RBIs in the wins over ASA Brooklyn on Monday.
 
David Curreri, who has played in seven of the Falcons' 12 games so far this year, is tied for fourth on the team with ten hits in his 18 at-bats, and has a 1.246 OPS so far this season, while hitting .556 for the year. Curreri has a pair of doubles and two RBIs, and an OBP at .579 so far this year. Curreri was 2-for-5 with a run scored and an RBI in the two games against ASA Brooklyn.  
 
Jason Carpenter leads the team in innings pitched, going 10.1 so far this season. Carpenter has given up 13 hits and ten runs, seven earned, while striking out eight batters on the year, and has an ERA hovering just over six. He's 0-1 in his three appearances. Carp went 4.1 innings on Monday, striking out a pair and giving up three runs to ASA in the first game.
 
Kyle Scott is second on the team at eight innings pitched on the year, holding a 2.25 ERA. Scott has struck out 14 batters, a team high, and has allowed seven hits and two runs in his action. Scott's last appearance was the start, and win, over ASA in game two on Monday. Scott went four innings, giving up four hits and a run while striking out a season-high seven batters.
 
Aiden Starn has eight innings of work so far this season. Starn has given up 14 hits and 12 runs, nine earned, while striking out a pair. He has a 10.13 ERA on the year, and opponents are hitting .350 against him. Starn was the starter in the match-up with Henry Ford, going five innings and giving up seven hits, three runs, two earned, on a walk and a strikeout. He didn't receive a decision in the game.
 
Matthew Stam has pitched six innings in his two appearances so far this year, giving up three hits and two runs, both earned, while striking out five batters. Stam has a 3.00 ERA, and opponents are hitting just .158 against him so far this year. Stam got the win in his last appearance, going four innings in relief against PSU New Kensington, allowing just three hits and striking out five batters.
 
Samuel Daniels has been excellent for the Falcons this year, allowing neither a run nor a hit in 6.2 innings of work, all while striking out 13 batters, second-best on the team. He went two innings of relief in his last appearance, striking out three batters to help the Falcons secure the win against ASA College in the first game on Monday.  
 
Coach Mike McCarry enters his fourth season at the helm for Lackawanna College. McCarry has helped elevate the Falcon program in his short time, guiding Lackawanna to a pair of NJCAA World Series appearances in his first three seasons, one of which was shortened and ultimately cancelled by the COVID-19 pandemic. Before his time at Lackawanna, McCarry was the pitching coach at Stephen F. Austin and LaSalle Universities. As a pitching coach with both schools, he had multiple pitchers sign professional contracts, and, especially in his time at LaSalle, McCarry brought four NJCAA All-Americans to be a part of the Explorer program. Before that, McCarry spent his time in baseball in the Philadelphia Suburbs in Bucks County with Central Bucks West and the Colts Collegiate Summer Team. McCarry is a Keystone College graduate, where he played baseball for Jamie Shevchik and the vaunted Giants program. McCarry is 86-38 in his career at Lackawanna College.   
 
About Monroe College
The Mustangs are 6-12 on the season so far, but do have wins over ranked opponents in LSU Eunice and Florence Darlington Tech already this season. The Mustangs have won their last two games, but haven't played since Monday, March 14^th, when they defeated Monroe College Bronx 4-3 in seven innings at home. The Mustangs overcame a late 3-2 deficit in the bottom of the sixth, scoring a pair of runs to retake the lead, and then hung on in the top of the seventh to preserve the lead and secure the win.
 
As a team, Monroe is hitting .218, and has a .696 OPS, which includes a .375 OBP. They have 32 extra base hits, which includes 20 doubles and eight homeruns on the year. They have 30 stolen bases on the season, and have struck out 120 times this year, while drawing 115 walks as a team.
 
On the mound, the Mustangs hold a combined 6.32 ERA, holding their opponents to a combined .290 batting average. In 131 combined innings, the Mustangs have given up 157 hits and 138 runs, 92 earned, while striking out 140 batters so far this season. They have 37 errors and have turned 13 double plays so far this season.
 
Dante Paolucci has a .298 average, and has played in every game this season for the Mustangs. He is tied for the team-lead in total hits with 17, and leads the Mustangs with six extra base hits on the year. His 12 RBIs and 27 total bases are also first on the squad. Paolucci's .941 OPS is good for second on the team, buoyed by his team-high .467 OBP. He's also second on the team with 18 walks on the year. Paolucci was 2-for-3 with a triple and an RBI in the win over Monroe Bronx.
 
Andres Castro, who also has 17 total hits on the year, leads the squad with a .436 batting average, and a 1.029 OPS in his eleven games this season. Castro is slugging at .564 on the year, and is second on the team in RBIs (10) and total bases (22).  Castro was 1-for-4 in the win over Monroe Bronx last week.
 
Miguel Toribio is tied for third on the team with 11 total hits so far this season, and has a .250 average for the Mustangs in his 16 appearances. Toribio has six RBIs and has drawn eight walks on the year. His eleven runs scored are tied for third on the team. Toribio was 1-for-2 with a run scored and two RBIs.  
 
Nathaniel Alvarez leads the Mustangs with 15 runs scored on the year, despite a batting average of .179 for Monroe. Alvarez is tied with Paolucci for the team-lead with 18 walks, and has been hit by a team-high four pitches, helping boost his OBP to .410 on the season. Alvarez was 0-for-3 in the win over Monroe Bronx.  
 
Salix Felix is second on the team with 12 runs scored, and has a batting average of .185 so far this year. Felix is third on the team with 21 total bases, and has three homeruns to lead the Mustangs. Felix has struck out a team-high 21 times this year. Felix was 0-for-2 in the win over Monroe Bronx.
 
Roman Dorosh leads the Mustangs out of the pen, having pitched in a team-high 20 innings so far this season. Dorosh has a 4.95 ERA and is 1-2 in his four appearances, all starts. He's given up 24 hits and 21 runs, eleven earned, while striking out 14 batters. Teams are averaging .293 at the plate against Dorosh on the year. Dorosh won his last start, a seven inning against SUNY Rockland, giving up four hits and two runs while striking out five batters, helping him pick up the win.
 
Je-andrick Lourens is second on the team with 17 innings pitched so far this year. Lourens has a 4.24 ERA and is 1-1 in his three appearances on the year. Lourens has allowed 16 hits and nine runs, eight earned, while striking out 24 batters, tied for the team-lead with Andrelis Payampas. Lourens hasn't appeared for the Mustangs since a February 26^th start against Flo-Dar, where he went seven innings, giving up nine hits and three runs while striking out eleven batters, but didn't come away with a decision.
 
The aforementioned Payampas has pitched in 15.1 innings so far this season, going 1-2 in his four starts with a 3.52 ERA on the year. Payampas has allowed 12 hits and 17 runs, just six earned, with his 24 strikeouts. Batters are hitting just .203 against Payampas so far this season. Payampas last saw action in a five-inning win over SUNY Ulster, picking up the victory with a four inning pitching outing, allowing two hits and a run while striking out six batters.
 
The head coach for Monroe College is Elliott Ayala, going into his fourth year as the head coach, and ninth overall at the school. Ayala, a Bronx native and 23^rd round draft pick for the Milwaukee Brewers in 1998, spent six seasons in the Brewers organization before joining the independent ranks. Ayala went on to make a name for himself with the Somerset Patriots, winning back-to-back Atlantic League titles with the Patriots, and earning himself a spot among the all-time greats in Somerset history, named as the number nine best player in the history of Somerset. Ayala joined Monroe in January of 2013 when he became an assistant coach with the softball team, before transitioning over to assistant with the baseball squad the next year.
 
Game Information
Lackawanna College will host Monroe College at Scranton High School's baseball field on Tuesday, March 22^nd in doubleheader action at 3:00pm ET and 6:00pm ET. The field is located behind Scranton's Memorial Stadium, just off Prospect Avenue, and adjacent to the Scranton High School building.
 
There will be a video livestream available for both games via the Lackawanna College Athletics YouTube channel, which you can access at www.lackawannafalcons.com/YouTube.
 
The Falcons have another home game on the docket this week, when they take on SUNY Sullivan on Thursday, March 24^th. That game is scheduled for a 4:00pm ET start at the Scranton High School baseball field.