4/22/23
 
SCRANTON, Pa. – For the second straight day, Lackawanna College baseball was dragged into a battle with Raritan Valley, but, just like the day before, the Falcon offense responded late with power at the plate, as Lackawanna pulled away with 15 straight runs to win game one, 23-11, and then ride that wave to take game two, 13-0, and sweep past their Region XIX foe for a doubleheader sweep on a blustery Saturday afternoon in Scranton.
 
The Falcons (26-13, 12-1) trailed the Lions (3-26, 1-17) by three at 11-8, after Raritan plated six runs in the fourth. Lackawanna got one back on a ground out, then exploded for seven runs in the fifth and sixth innings, each, highlighted by a three-run inside-the-park homerun from Michael Rickert (Moosic, PA) that gave the Falcons the lead at 12-11. Christian Rush (Perkasie, PA) added a pair of RBI hits, including a two-run triple in the sixth, and the Falcons ran off 15 straight runs one day after scoring 17 straight against the Lions on the road. Rush was 3-for-4 with four runs scored and four RBI, while Zachary Walsh (Spring Brook Twp., PA) was 3-for-4 with four runs scored, and Eric Ludwick (Bethlehem, PA) was 1-for-4 with five RBI, four coming on a grand-slam homerun in the first inning. Joseph Wileczek (West Chester, PA) picked up the win, his first of the season, with two innings of relief for Lackawanna.
 
Raritan pushed the Falcons early, plating five runs in the top of the first inning, coming thanks to a pair of singles, a walk, and an error on the Falcons. In the bottom frame, the Falcons immediately got cooking, as Walsh reached on a single, stole second, and got to third on a ground out. Rush singled to score him, and the Falcons loaded the bases for Ludwick with two outs and a 5-1 deficit. He erased that with one swing, launching a ball into left field that cleared the fence near the visiting bullpen, a grand slam homerun that tied the game at 5-5. Another run scored when George Castro (Philadelphia, PA) singled, then advanced on an error, which let Rickert, the runner on base, come home to make it 6-5, Falcons, after just one inning.
 
Marc DeNunzio (Thornwood, NY), the Falcons starter for the day, worked around a two-out single that eventually put runners on second and third, but got a big strikeout to end the threat. Meanwhile, in the bottom frame, Ian Murphy (West Deptford, NJ) added to the Falcons lead with a two-out homerun to left field that made it 8-5, Lackawanna.
 
The third inning was 1-2-3 for both teams, but the fourth saw more runs added to ledger. Raritan loaded the bases with no outs, and back-to-back doubles quickly gave the Lions a 9-8 advantage. A two-run single with two outs added to the lead, making it 11-8, Lions, and putting the Falcons in another hole. DeNunzio got a strikeout to strand the bases loaded and get out of the inning, but the damage was done. The Falcons got one back in the bottom frame, when Walsh singled, stole second, and got to third on a throwing error. Brayden D'Amico (Bethlehem, PA) grounded to second to score Walsh and cut the lead to 11-9, but that was all the Falcons pushed across in the fourth.
 
Jeremy Coleman (Wilmington, DE) came on in the top of the fifth, and he gave up back-to-back one-out walks to put a pair of runners on, but a fielder's choice, eventually followed by a ground out to short, stranded the bases loaded and kept Raritan Valley off the scoreboard in the fifth. That gave the Falcons a big boost in the bottom half, as Lackawanna put two on with one out. That brought up Rickert, who smashed a fly ball into the gap in right-center. Rickert raced around the bases as two runs came home, and managed to scoot home for an inside-the-park homer as the Lions relayed the ball in, giving the Falcons a 12-11 advantage. A double, followed by a Walsh RBI single made it 13-11. An error let another run score, and an RBI single from Rush made it 15-11. Still with one out, Murphy sac flied to center in the bottom of the fifth to score the seventh run of the inning, pushing the Falcons lead out to 16-11.
 
On came Wileczek in the top of the sixth, who pitched around two walks to keep the Lions off the board. That gave way to another seven-run inning from Lackawanna, as a two-run single from D'Amico, followed by a two-run triple from Rush and a one-run single from Miller, pushed the Falcons over the 20 runs mark. Ty Federici (Lehman, PA) added an RBI single, and Ludwick sac flied to center to make it 23-11, Falcons.
 
In the top of the seventh, Wileczek came back out and got a 6-4-3 double play, then pitched around a double to get a pop out at short to end the game and give Lackawanna the victory.
 
In game two, Lackawanna kept the heat on offensively and coupled that with a strong pitching performance from Ty Morris (Manchester Valley, MD), who pitched six innings of scoreless baseball to secure his fifth win of the year, walking one batter and striking out another. Michael Miller (Lafayette Hill, PA) broke open a 3-0 game in the third with a three-run homerun to give the Falcons a six-run lead. Ian Murphy (West Deptford, NJ) added a two-run double, and Miller came back up to cap off a nine-run third inning with a two-run single that pushed the Falcon lead out, eventually, to 12-0. Miller was 2-for-4 with a run scored and five RBI, while Murphy was 2-for-3 with two runs scored and three RBI. The Falcons were hit by seven pitches on the afternoon.
 
Morris got the Falcons a 1-2-3 inning to start the game, and Walsh came around to score on a Murphy RBI single in the bottom half to immediately give the Falcons a 1-0 lead. The Falcons were trying to add more, but a double-play ball to second ended the first.
 
Morris worked around an error and a walk, getting a double play of his own on a great 4-6-3 double play to end the top of the second. Back-to-back hit-by-pitches opened the bottom of the second, and a sac bunt moved the runners into scoring position. A wild pitch brought a run home, and, after another hit batter, a passed ball scored a second run in the inning, giving the Falcons the 3-0 lead. Another double play ended the Falcons rally before any more runs could cross.
 
After another empty top half, the Falcons finally broke things open in the bottom frame. A leadoff walk, followed by a single, put two on the corners with nobody out. Miller cashed the runners in with a moon shot to left field, doubling the Falcons lead at 6-0. Later, with two outs and the bases loaded, a walk forced a run home, and Murphy doubled to score a pair and make it 9-0, Falcons. Another walk loaded the bases, still with two outs, and Miller came back up and singled to score another pair. Ludwick followed with an RBI single of his own, giving Lackawanna the 12-0 lead after three.
 
Raritan was retired in order in the top of the fourth, and the Falcons added another run in the bottom frame. A one-out double from Ranciel Ventura (Allentown, PA) gave the Falcons a baserunner, and a passed ball put him at third. Later, with two outs, Vincent Proietto (Drexel Hill, PA) singled through the right side to score a run and make it 13-0 after four.
 
That more-or-less ended the action for the game, as neither team had much going on. The Falcons loaded the bases in the bottom of the sixth with one out, but a fielder's choice got the lead runner out at home, and a strike out ended the inning. Joseph Mandarano (Dunmore, PA) came on to close out the game in the seventh, and he got around an error with two outs to get a fly out to second to end the inning and give the Falcons the sweep over Raritan Valley for the weekend.
 
The Falcons have now won eight straight, and are 19-4 in their last 23 games. They have also now scored in double-digits in five straight games, three times topping 20+ runs. Lackawanna gets right back to Region XIX play on Sunday, April 23^rd, when they play host to the second-place Sussex County CC Skylanders for a doubleheader at Scranton HS. First pitch of the game is at 2:00pm ET. Lackawanna currently holds a two-game advantage over Sussex in the region standings, and already owns a win over Sussex from earlier this month.