4/20/23
 
BLUE BELL, Pa. – Lackawanna College hit four homeruns and won its fifth straight game in a convincing 21-7 victory on the road at Montgomery County CC in Region XIX crossover play on Thursday afternoon in Blue Bell, PA.
 
The Falcons (23-13) had homeruns from Brayden D'Amico (Bethlehem, PA), Spencer Butz (York, PA), Christian Rush (Perkasie, PA), and Michael Miller (Lafayette Hill, PA) throughout the contest, helping the Falcons overcome an early 3-1 hole to put up 17 hits and score runs in every inning, negating a sloppy seven-error effort from the Falcons. The key hits came in the top of the fourth, just after Montgomery (13-7) scored three runs to tie it up at 6-6 in the previous half inning. Rush doubled home a run to re-take the lead, and Butz followed two batters later with a three-run homer to left that put Lackawanna up 10-6. The Falcons scored eleven more runs over the final three innings, on their way to the run-rule victory. Butz finished 3-for-4 with three runs scored and his three RBI, while Rush was 2-for-4 with three runs scored and three RBI. Ian Murphy (West Deptford, NJ) was 1-for-4 with four runs scored and a pair of RBI, while Miller went 2-for-4 with three runs scored and a pair of RBI. Ty Federici (Lehman, PA) got the win, his third of the year, pitching four innings in the start, giving up six runs, three earned, on six hits, while striking out three.
 
An error gifted the Falcons the first run of the game in the top of the first, when Miller reached on a two-out error and a run came across, giving the Falcons the early 1-0 lead. In the bottom frame, with Federici on the bump, the Mustangs got things going. The first two batters reached, an error put runners on the corners, and a double steal brought a run home to tie things up. Another error let another runner on, and a two-run double made it 3-1, Mustangs, but the first out occurred when the batter tried to stretch it into a triple. Back-to-back singles followed, but a pair of strikeouts from Federici got the Falcons out of the inning.
 
In the top of the second, the Falcons had the bases loaded with nobody out, and Michael Rickert (Moosic, PA) delivered with a two-run single to tie the game at three. Later, a ground out scored another run, putting the Falcons in front at 4-3 heading into the bottom of the second.
 
Federici pitched around an error in the bottom half, and the Falcons got on the board again in the third, when D'Amico hit a two-run homer with two outs to make it 6-3, Falcons.
 
Montgomery got some two-out magic going in the bottom of the third, using a single to right, coupled with an error in the outfield, that scored a run and put the runner on third. A walk, followed by an error on the infield, let another run cross and cut the lead to 6-5. Another error scored another run, tying the game at 6-6, before a ground out put the third to bed.
 
Montco committed a two-out error in the top of the fourth to give the Falcons a baserunner, and Rush doubled home Murphy to make it 7-6, Lackawanna. Miller walked to put two on, and Butz delivered with a three-run homerun to left field to push the Falcon advantage to 10-6. Erik Ludwick (Bethlehem, PA) singled, and made it to third on two passed balls, and a pair of hit batters loaded the bases, but a ground out ended the potential Falcons threat.
 
After a Federici 1-2-3 bottom fourth, the Falcons tacked on a few more in the top of the fifth. Murphy singled home a run with nobody out, and Rush drew a walk, forcing a pitching change. Miller singled to score a run, and Ludwick followed with a bases loaded single that scored a run to make it 13-6, Lackawanna. D'Amico drew a bases loaded walk to make it 14-6, Falcons, still with nobody out, but the Falcons committed three straight outs to strand the bases loaded.
 
Joseph Wileczek (West Chester, PA) took over for Federici to start the bottom of the fifth, and Wileczek got around a single and an error to keep the Mustangs off the board and get the Falcons to the sixth.
 
In the top of the sixth, after a slew of changes in the field for Montco, Murphy drew a leadoff walk. Rush cashed him in with the third homer of the game to push the Falcons lead to 16-6. Miller was next, and made it back-to-back homers, giving the Falcons a 17-6 advantage. The Falcons got two more baserunners before striking out for the first out, but a Mitchell Jolikko (Middletown, NY) single loaded the bases. A wild pitch scored one run, and a two-run single from Ranciel Ventura (Allentown, PA) made it 20-6, Falcons, after 5.5 innings.
 
Devin Fletcher (Bethlehem, PA) came on for Wileczek, and Montgomery quickly greeted him with a single and an RBI double that cut into the Falcons lead at 20-7. Back-to-back walks loaded the bases, but a lineout to Fletcher was quickly flipped to first for a double play, and a pop out ended the inning and got the Falcons out before more damage could cross.
 
In the top of the seventh, the Falcons added one more run, coming on a ground out with runners on that made it 21-7, Falcons. A pop up kept the Falcons from scoring more and sent the game to the bottom of the seventh.
 
Donald Healey (Olyphant, PA) came on for Fletcher in the bottom frame, seeing his first action of the year on the mound. Healey struck out a pair, and got a fly out to complete the 1-2-3 inning and get Lackawanna the victory.
 
The Falcons are now 15-4 in their last 19 games, and are next in action on Friday, April 21^st, when they travel to Branchburg, NJ for the first game of a three-game weekend series against Raritan Valley CC in Region XIX DII action. First pitch of the nine-inning game is at 3:30pm ET on Friday at Raritan Valley CC's baseball field.