3/4/22
 
SCRANTON, Pa. – The Lackawanna College Baseball team will finally begin its 2022 campaign with a massive doubleheader down south, as the Falcons take on a pair of teams that qualified for the NJCAA World Series just one season ago.
 
It starts in Florence, South Carolina on Saturday, March 5^th, when Lackawanna College opens the year against the host Florence-Darlington Tech Stingers out of NJCAA Division I. First pitch for that game is at 10:00am ET. Things don't get easier for the Falcons in their second game at 12:30pm ET, when they take on the Patrick & Henry CC Patriots. Fans will remember the Patriots as the team that beat Lackawanna College 7-0 last year in the first game of the NJCAA DII World Series. Patrick & Henry went on to upset the second seeded Lincoln Land, and make it all the way to the semi-final round before falling to Western Oklahoma State.
 
The Stingers are also familiar with the World Series stage, having qualified as the seventh seed in the NJCAA DI World Series in Grand Junction, Colorado last year. Florence-Darlington fell to eventual national champion McLennan in their first game, then lost 9-8 in a tight-game against top-seed Crowder College in the elimination bracket.
 
Lackawanna College comes into the contest itching to get their season underway. The Falcons were supposed to start their year last week, but the pair of doubleheaders they had planned at Chesapeake College were postponed due to weather. The Falcons were 29-13 last year, making the NJCAA DII World Series as the ten-seed. Lackawanna fell to Patrick & Henry in their first game, and then lost to sixth-seeded Kirkwood 8-3 in the elimination bracket. It was the fourth time that the Falcons made the NJCAA World Series in the program's history, and the second time under head coach Mike McCarry.
 
About The Falcons
The Falcons return a handful of players from last year's World Series squad. George Castro, an outfielder from Philadelphia, started in 40 of the Falcons' 42 games last year. He drove in 39 runs, and was second on the squad with 23 walks, while compiling 16 extra base hits and eight homeruns for Lackawanna College. Quinn Hanafin, an infielder from Sayre, hit .349 last year, collecting 17 extra base hits, nine homers, and 39 RBIs, while putting up an impressive 1.103 OPS in his 35 appearances. Lackawanna College also returns Cody Fleischer, a catcher from Monmouth Beach, NJ, who hit .290 and led the Falcons in walks last year with 26. They also bring back Julian Thompson, a shortstop from Albany, NY who split starting time on the infield last season.
 
The Falcons will rely on returning staff ace Kyle Scott, a righty from Westminster, MD, to lead the pitching corps this year. Scott, a University of Maryland recruit, went 7-2 last year with a 2.88 ERA. He had 111 strikeouts over 62.5 innings pitched, allowing opponents to go just .172 against him. Also back in the bullpen are Matthew Stam, Cameron King, and Samuel Daniels, who all pitched around 16 innings of work, apiece, last year. Stam struck out 19 batters in 16.2 innings pitched, earning an ERA of 2.70, while Daniels struck out 21 in 16 innings, and Stam punched out 14 batters in his 16.1 innings of work.
 
Lackawanna College was, statistically, one of the better offensive teams in the country last year. The Falcons were a prolific extra base hit squad, with 185 extra base hits in just 42 games, ranking them 16^th in the NJCAA DII. Inside those numbers, they hit 121 doubles, good for ninth in the country. The Falcons were 20^th in team slugging percentage (.535) and 23^rd in on base percentage (.434). They were also top 20 in the country in walks, drawing 262 last season. They held opponents to a .259 batting average against last year, good for 19^th in the country. 
 
The Falcons were picked as preseason #18 in the NJCAA DII Baseball polls, and dropped to #20 in the Week 1 rankings. They are one of three teams that are ranked, but haven't played a game yet this season.
 
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 78-34 in his career at Lackawanna College.   
 
About Florence Darlington Tech
The first opponent of the doubleheader is Florence-Darlington Tech, the hosts for the weekend. The Stingers are fresh off a 46-8 campaign last year. They had two separate 12+ game winning streaks, rattling off 14 in a row, and then 12 in a row on the back of their outstanding pitching. Flo-Dar had a 3.66 ERA as a team, and struck out 497 batters in their 54 games last year, averaging around 11.6 strikeouts per nine innings. Right-hander Nathan Williams saw the most work, going 8-3 over 52 innings pitched, striking out 80 batters and walking just 20 in that span. Hunter Parks led the starters in ERA with 1.90 over 42.2 innings pitched, striking out 58 batters and going 6-0 in his ten starts.
 
So far this season, the Stingers, receiving votes in the latest Division I national polls, are 11-7, but have won 9 of their last 11 games. In their last appearance, Flo-Dar beat Fayetteville Tech 14-6 on Wednesday, March 2^nd. The Stingers scored 11 runs in the first three innings to chase the starter for Fayetteville. Garrick Murray only went three innings, but he allowed just one hit and struck out seven batters in that span for Flo-Dar, while the offense pounded out 13 hits. Tre Williams was 3-for-3 at the top of the lineup, with a pair of RBIs coming on a double in the second inning. Jackson Hoshour went 2-for-2 with a walk and three RBIs in the middle of the lineup, while Noah Stout, the DH, went 1-for-1 with a pair of walks and two runs scored, to go with two RBIs. In all, the Stingers drew eight walks from the Trojans.
 
Tre Williams leads the Stingers this season with 20 hits in 55 at-bats, helping him to a healthy .364 average as a lead-off. Williams leads the team with four doubles on the year, and is third on the team in slugging at .545. He's third on the team in steals (5) and is fourth in on-base percentage (.444). Tre's best game this year came against Fayetteville with his 3-for-3 performance. He was 2-for-4 with a pair of RBIs and a homerun in a 7-3 loss to Monroe College earlier this year. He's gotten a hit in seven straight games.
 
The aforementioned Noah Stout is the team-leader in slugging (.778), homeruns (5), and RBIs (18). He also leads the team in extra-base hits with eight so far this year. Stout has drawn eight walks this year, and is hitting .378, second on the team.  His on-base percentage (.455) is third on the team. Stout's best game came against Delgado Community College, where he went 3-for-4 with four RBIs and a homerun in a 13-12 win for the Stingers. Stout has five games in which he's driven in two or more runs, and has gotten at least a hit in his last seven appearances.
 
Dylan Johnson, who has appeared in 13 games, leads the Stingers in batting average (.385), on-base percentage (.575), and slugging percentage (.577). Johnson has two doubles, a homerun, and seven RBIs, while drawing a team-high ten walks this year. Johnson has ten hits in 26 at-bats. His best game came against Gulf Coast State, where he went 2-for-3, including a homerun, and drove in three runs in a 5-3 victory. Johnson was 1-for-2 in the win over Fayetteville.
 
DJ Sullivan leads the team in stolen bases, with eight swipes so far this year. Sullivan is hitting .306 on the year, with 15 hits in 49 at-bats. He's tied for the team-lead with Stout in runs scored (17), and is third on the team in RBIs (10). He has four extra-base hits, two of which have been triples. He was 2-for-3, with three runs scored, an RBI, and a pair of stolen bases, against Delgado Community College earlier this year. He went 2-for-2 with a pair of runs, a homerun, and six RBIs against East Georgia State. Sullivan hit a grand-slam in the bottom of the fourth, scored on a wild-pitch in the sixth, and then came back up and ended the game with a two-run single later in the sixth to put Flo-Dar up 10-0. Sullivan was 1-for-3 with a triple and an RBI against Fayetteville.
 
Jackson Hoshour is another player to pay attention to at the plate. Hoshour is second on the team with 15 RBIs this year, and has 12 hits in his 45 at-bats. He's hitting .267 on the year, but has a .411 on-base percentage. Hoshour is also second on the team in stolen bases with seven swipes this year. Hoshour had back-to-back three RBI games earlier this year in wins over St. John's River State and Monroe College. Against St. John's, Hoshour was 2-for-4 with a double and three RBIs. Against the Mustangs, he went 1-for-3 with three RBIs.  
 
The main starters for the pitching staff are Austin Windham, Nathan Williams, and Drake Thames. Windham has seen the most action, pitching 21 innings so far this year, striking out 18 batters over that span. He's given up 16 hits, while walking eight batters, and has a 4.29 ERA. Windham leads the team in wins, and is 3-0 on the year. Williams has pitched in 15.1 innings this year, striking out 19 batters and walking 14 in that time. He's 1-1 on the year with a 6.46 ERA. Thames has started three games, but hasn't registered a result yet. He's pitched in 11.2 innings so far this year, and has allowed eleven runs, eight earned, so far this year. His ERA is 6.17 on the year.
 
Landon Gaddis is the main closer for the Stingers. He's got one win and four saves on the year, striking out 18 batters in just 11.1 innings of work. He's got a 3.97 ERA on the year.
 
The head coach for Florence-Darlington is Preston McDonald, now in his 14^th year at the helm. McDonald was hired in April 2009 to lead the baseball program, all of 24 years old. In his time, the Stingers have made a pair of appearances in the NJCAA DI World Series, set records for most wins in a season, and won multiple Region 10 championships, while sending over 133 different players to four-year schools to play baseball. McDonald, according to the Florence-Darlington website, is 373-197-1 for a .654 winning percentage in his career. That suggests he's closing in on his 400^th win at some point this year.     
 
About Patrick & Henry CC
The second opponent of the weekend will be the Patrick & Henry Patriots. Patrick & Henry went 47-13 last year, winning 12 of their last 13 games to qualify for the NJCAA DII World Series. The Patriots defeated Lackawanna College 7-0 in their first game of the tournament, then upset the second-seed Lincoln Land, 6-3, to advance to the quarterfinals. After a loss to Western Oklahoma State, the Patriots knocked off Kirkwood in the elimination bracket, before falling again to Western Oklahoma State in the semi-finals. P&H got there with some outstanding pitching, particularly from Magnus Ellerts, who went 10-2 on the year, going 86.2 innings and striking out 141 batters on the year. Drew Harlow had the best ERA at 2.13, going 6-0 in his eight starts, and striking out 78 batters in just 42.1 innings pitched. Jayson Kramer led the team in hitting, with a .372 batting average, hitting 18 doubles on the year for 47 RBIs. Max Harper was the team leader at 65 RBIs on the year, hitting team-high 16 homeruns. The Patriots were first in the NJCAA with 271 stolen bases last year, and were fifth in the nation in shutouts with five last season. They had 162 extra-base hits last year, including 23 triples, good for eighth in the country.
 
So far this season, Patrick & Henry are 8-5 on the year. They are currently ranked #8 in the latest NJCAA DII polls. After winning their first six games, the Patriots are 2-5 in their last seven games, including their latest result, a 10-8 setback against Caldwell CC Tech. In that game, the Patriots held a 3-0 lead heading into the fourth, were still in front 5-4 after the fifth, and had a 7-5 lead heading into the ninth inning, but Caldwell scored five runs in the ninth to pull away. Patrick & Henry had 12 hits, including a 3-for-5 performance from centerfielder Skylar Saunders, driving in a pair of runs. Jonboy Rittenhouse, the DH, was 2-for-5 with three RBIs. In all, five different Patriots had multiple hits, but only one other patriot (Victor Johnson) had a hit. John Horton took the loss, allowing four of the five runs in the ninth, all earned. Fenix DiGiacomo got the start, and went 4.1 innings, giving up six hits, four runs, two earned, and striking out five batters.
 
Sam Gallardo leads the Patriots with a .419 batting average this year. He's got a .469 OBP and is slugging at .558. Gallardo leads the team in hits (18) and RBIs (16), and has four doubles on the year, second on the team. He went 3-for-3 against USC Lancaster in the first game of the year, hitting a pair of doubles and driving in three runs. He also had a 3-for-3 game against Catawba Valley, hitting a double and a triple while driving in five runs. He has seven multi-hit games this season, including his 2-for-4 performance against Caldwell.
 
Rittenhouse is tied for second on the team at .333 so far this season. His .667 slugging percentage is a team-high, and he also leads the Patriots in extra-base hits (8) and homeruns (3). He's second on the team in RBIs at 15, and is also second on the squad in hits (16). Rittenhouse had a 3-for-5 performance this year in a win over Cleveland CC, scoring a run and hitting both a triple and a double, while driving in a run. He also went 2-for-5 against USC Lancaster, hitting a homerun, driving in three runs, and scoring two himself. He's driven in five RBIs in his last two games.
 
Brandon Parks is also hitting .333 so far this year. He leads the team in stolen bases (9), and is third on the team with 13 hits so far this season in 39 at-bats. Parks has a double and a pair of triples this year, and has scored eleven runs. Parks has a .458 OBP this season. He went 2-for-2 with a triple, four RBIs, and two stolen bases in a win over USC Lancaster earlier this year. He went 2-for-4 with a walk and a stolen base against Caldwell.
 
Trevor Sheehan is hitting .286 this year, but leads the team in walks at 12 so far this season. Sheehan has ten hits on the year, tied for fourth on the squad, and has a team-high five doubles this year, driving in nine RBIs. Sheehan had a great game against USC Lancaster, drawing three walks and driving in three runs with a double, going 1-for-1 on the day. He had back-to-back two hit games against Catawba Valley CC, collecting three RBIs over the two games. He was 0-for-3 with a pair of walks, a run scored, and two stolen bases against Caldwell.
 
The Patriots return a few pitchers from last year's squad, including Drew Harlow, who has seen the most action for P&H so far this year. Harlow is 2-for-1 in his four appearances, striking out 26 batters in 18 innings of work. He has a 3.00 ERA so far this season. Harlow went seven innings strong in his last outing, picking up the 3-2 win over Catawba. He gave up just one run on three hits, striking out 12 batters.
 
Spencer Rife has started three games and pitched 16.1 innings so far this year, but hasn't registered a result. Rife has struck out 17 batters in his time on the mound, and has an earned run average of 3.31. He went five innings, giving up five hits and one unearned run, in a game against Catawba that the Patriots would lose, 14-10, in his last outing.
 
Zach Kelly is 1-1 on the year in 12.2 innings of work. Kelly has struck out 18 batters in that span, but has given up a team-high eleven runs. Kelly got the win in his last game, where he went six innings, giving up just two runs on three hits, while striking out nine batters.
 
Cody Ellis is the head baseball coach for PHCC. Ellis is a PHCC alumnus, having played for the Patriots, where he was an all-region outfielder. He eventually moved on to Norfolk State, where he was a second-team All-MEAC player at second base. Ellis had spent time with the Patriots as an assistant before moving on to the University of Lynchburg for two years to be an assistant with their program. Ellis officially took the reins of his alma mater in the summer of 2019, and immediately put a worthy product on the field. After a 2020 season which ended 17-7 as the COVID-19 pandemic shut things down, Ellis helped guide the Patriots to the NJCAA DII World Series last year, winning the South Atlantic District Championship as the Region X representative. Ellis is 72-25 in his time at Patrick & Henry.
 
Game Information
Lackawanna College will open the action on Saturday, March 5^th, at 10:00am ET, when the take on Florence-Darlington Tech in the first game. After that, the Falcons will take on Patrick & Henry in the second game of their doubleheader. First pitch for that game is scheduled for 12:30pm ET.
 
There is no video livestream available at this time. If that changes, we'll have a link on the Baseball schedule on lackawannafalcons.com. In the meantime, follow the Lackawanna College Baseball Twitter account for live updates HERE.