3/29/22
 
SCRANTON, Pa. – After a longer-than-expected break in action for Lackawanna College baseball, the Falcons will return to action at home this week. Lackawanna College will play host to SUNY Ulster in their first single, nine-inning game of the year, hosting the SUNY Ulster Senators on Tuesday, March 29^th. The game is set for a 3:30pm ET start at the Scranton HS baseball field. There will be a video livestream available at www.lackawannafalcons.com/YouTube.   
 
About The Falcons
The Falcons (8-6) had their eight-game winning streak snapped at the hands of Monroe College last week, when the Mustangs came to Scranton and picked up a pair of wins. The first game went to extra innings, with both teams trading runs back-and-forth, until, finally, Monroe put Lackawanna away with a pair of runs in the 8^th inning to win it, 11-9. The second game also saw Monroe score eleven runs, but the Falcons were never really in it, falling behind 10-0 within the first three innings, as the Monroe cruised to an 11-3 victory. You can read the recap HERE.
 
Lackawanna is hitting, as a team, .334 so far this season, with a combined .945 OPS. They have 44 extra base hits, including 27 doubles and eleven homeruns already this season. They're slugging .524 as a team, and have stolen 26 bases so far this year. The Falcons are averaging just under seven runs per contest.
 
On the mound, the Falcons are holding their opponents to a .294 batting average, and have a staff ERA of 7.02 this year. In 91 combined innings, the Falcons have given up 109 hits and 83 runs, 71 earned, while striking out 92 batters and walking 53. The Falcons have picked off four base runners so far this season, and have turned six double plays, while committing 20 errors as a team so far this year.
 
Quinn Hanafin is the team leader in batting average, hitting .545 so far this season in his 12 appearances. Hanafin has a 1.337 OPS, and leads the Falcons with 18 hits and seven doubles so far this season. He's second on the team with 12 RBIs, and is third on the team in total bases at 25. His .758 slugging is tops on the squad, among players who have played in eight or more games. Hanafin has five multi-hit games so far this year, and had recorded a hit in eleven straight games, before going 0-for-1 in his last appearance against Monroe. Hanafin was a combined 3-for-4 with a run, a double, and two RBIs against Monroe College last Tuesday.   
 
Cody Fleischer is second on the team with a .450 batting average so far this year. Fleischer has a 1.217 OPS, and has 18 hits on the year, tied with Hanafin for the team lead. Fleischer's nine RBIs are third on the team, and his 19 runs scored this year leads the Falcons. Fleischer's .542 OBP is second among players who've played in eight or more games for the Falcons. Fleischer leads the team with eight walks this year, and is second on the team with four steals so far this season. Fleischer was a combined 4-for-6 with three runs scored, a triple, and two RBIs against Monroe last Tuesday. He has six multi-hit games so far this season.
 
Leadoff hitter Daniel Helfgott is hitting .368 on the year, and is third on the Falcons with 14 hits so far this season. Helfgott has scored eleven runs so far this season, good for second on the squad, and has an OBP of .429 so far this year. Helfgott went 2-for-5 in with a double, a run scored, and an RBI in the first game against Monroe last Tuesday.   
 
George Castro is hitting .316 on the year, has a 1.132 OPS, and is slugging at at .737 on the year. Castro leads the Falcons in RBIs (13), homers (4), and total bases (28) this season. Castro was 2-for-6 in two games against Monroe, with a homer and three RBIs in the second game, all courtesy of a three-run homerun to left field.
 
Aiden Starn leads the team in innings pitched at eleven so far this year. Starn is 0-1 in three starts, giving up 19 hits and 15 runs, 12 earned, while striking out five batters. He has a 9.82 ERA on the year, and opponents are hitting .365 against him. Starn was the starter against Monroe for the first game last Tuesday, going three innings while giving up five hits and three runs and striking out three batters. Starn didn't get a decision in that game.
 
Jason Carpenter has pitched 10.1 innings 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 against ASA Brooklyn last Monday, striking out a pair and giving up three runs.  
 
Kyle Scott has pitched eight innings so far this year, holding a 2.25 ERA and a 1-0 record. 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 last Monday. Scott went four innings, giving up four hits and a run while striking out a season-high seven batters.
 
Matthew Stam has pitched eight innings in his three appearances so far this year, giving up five hits and three runs, all earned, while striking out six batters. Stam has a 3.38 ERA, and opponents are hitting just .200 against him so far this year. Stam got a win earlier this year, going four innings in relief against PSU New Kensington, allowing just three hits and striking out five batters. He pitched two innings of relief against Monroe in his last game, giving up two hits and a run.
 
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 last 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 86-40 in his career at Lackawanna College.   
 
About SUNY Ulster
The Senators are just 3-5 on the year, losing in their last game, 5-3, to Hudson Valley CC back on March 24^th. In that game, Ulster held a 3-1 lead heading into the bottom of the sixth inning, despite having just two hits, but the Vikings scored three runs in the bottom frame to take the lead, then struck out the Senators eight times over the final nine outs to preserve the eventual 5-3 win. Ulster was led by Trevor Adamo (1-for-3 with a walk) and Hunter Traenkle (1-for-3 with a HR and an RBI). Evan Lauda got hit with the loss, despite a decent performance, going 6.2 innings and giving up six hits and four runs, while striking out four batters.  
 
Ulster is hitting .248, as a team, so far this season. The team has a collective .776 OPS, and have scored 40 runs on 50 hits so far this season, averaging five runs per contest. The Senators have six homers on the year, and nine doubles, for 15 extra base hits this season. They've drawn 43 walks, while striking out 58 times, and are 13-for-19 on stolen base attempts so far this season.
 
On the mound, the Senators hold a 6.16 ERA as a team this year. In 57 collective innings, they've given up 47 runs on 57 hits, 39 earned runs, while striking out 57 batters and walking 35. Ulster opponents are hitting .266 against the Senators this year. Ulster has 14 errors and has turned two double plays this season.  
 
Nick Classie leads the Senators with a .389 batting average this season. He's also first on the team with a 1.244 OPS, nine RBIs, .667 slugging, eight walks, and a .577 OBP on the year. Classie is second on the team with seven runs scored and seven total hits, and is tied for the team-lead with 12 total bases on the year. His three extra base hits (2 doubles, 1 homerun) are also tied for the team-lead. Classie was 0-for-3 with a run scored and a walk against Hudson Valley.
 
Trevor Adamo is second on the team with a .364 batting average and a 1.062 OPS. He leads the Senators in runs scored (8), and total hits (8), and is tied for the team lead with 12 total bases on the year. His .545 slugging percentage is second on the team, and he's drawn six walks, good for third on the team. Adamo has stolen a pair of bases this year, and had one of the only two hits against Hudson Valley in his last game.
 
Jeffrey Gutierrez has a .304 batting average in his seven games this year, and is second on the team with seven total hits this year. Gutierrez is second on the team with three stolen bases, third on the team with runs scored (6), and fourth on the team in total bases (10). He was 0-for-3 with a walk and a pair of strikeouts against Hudson Valley.
 
Jared Yalon has a .286 average on the year, with a .988 OPS, third on the squad. Yalon is fourth on the team in runs scored (5) and total hits (6), and is tied with Classie for the team-lead in extra-base hits at three. He's third on the team with eleven total bases, and second on the team with seven walks so far this season. He was 0-for-3 with a pair of walks and three strikeouts in his last game against Hudson Valley.  
 
Josh Vega has pitched the most innings for the Senators, going 10.1 innings in his three appearances, one start, so far this season. Vega is 0-2 with a 7.843 ERA, giving up 13 hits and ten runs, nine earned, while striking out a team-high 15 batters. Vega last pitched a 2-1 loss to the Finger Lakes CC, where he started and went five innings, giving up four hits and two runs, while striking out seven, but got tagged with the loss.
 
Evan Lauda has appeared in four games, and started two, and is 0-2 on the season. Lauda, in his 10+ innings of work, has given up eleven hits and eight runs, all earned, while striking out six batters on the year. Lauda has a 5.85 ERA on the year, and was tagged with his second loss of the season in his last appearance, despite pitching well in a 6.2 inning outing against Hudson Valley.
 
Robby Caeners has made four appearances, including one start, and is 1-1 with a 6.14 ERA on the year. He's pitched 7.1 innings so far this season, giving up six runs, five earned, on eight hits, while striking out six batters. Caeners got the win in his last appearance, a 13-3 win over North Central Missouri. Caeners got the start, going five innings and giving up two runs on four hits, while striking out three batters.  
 
Gerard Santos has appeared twice, both starts, for the Senators this season, and is 1-0 on the year with a 5.14 ERA on the year. Santos, in seven innings of work, has given up four runs and six hits, while striking out eight batters, second best on the team. Santos got the win in his last appearance, a five inning start where he allowed three runs on five hits while striking out six to help Ulster beat Bryant & Stratton 14-5.  
 
The head coach for SUNY Ulster is John Boland, in his first season at the helm for the Senators. Boland spent the previous three seasons as a Sports Medicine and Performance Athletic Trainer with the Houston Astros organization before coming to Ulster. He spent time as a volunteer assistant coach at Army West Point, and then as the Associate Head Coach for the Watertown Rapids in the Perfect Game Collegiate League. Boland is a Marist College grad, and also a SUNY Herkimer alum, where he spent two seasons playing for the Generals, twice making the NJCAA World Series and receiving All-American honors. Boland is a Rhinebeck, NY native, not far from the Ulster campus.  
 
Game Information
The single, nine-inning game is set for a 3:30pm ET first pitch, and will take place on Tuesday, March 29^th, at the Scranton HS baseball field, located behind Scranton's Memorial Stadium off of Providence Road in Scranton, PA.  
 
A video livestream will be available via the Lackawanna College Athletics YouTube Channel at www.lackawannafalcons.com/YouTube.
 
Next up, the Falcons will hope to finally get their Region XIX schedule underway, when they play host to the Titans from County College of Morris on Saturday, April 2^nd. It'll be a doubleheader, scheduled for 12:00pm and 3:00pm ET, at the Scranton HS baseball field.