4/25/23
 
WAPPINGERS FALLS, NY – It was a little more stressful than Lackawanna College anticipated, but the Falcons scored eight runs in the final four innings and held on in a nervy ninth inning to win its eleventh straight game, 13-9, over SUNY Dutchess CC on Tuesday afternoon at Heritage Financial Park in Wappingers Falls, NY.
 
The Falcons (29-13) trailed 6-5 heading into the sixth, after giving up the lead in the previous inning, but Zachary Walsh (Spring Brook Twp., PA) doubled home one run, and came around to score the go-ahead run on a passed ball. Then, in the top of the seventh, Mitchell Jolikko (Middletown, NY) singled home the first of six straight runs over the final three innings to help Lackawanna build a lead. Lackawanna expanded the lead out to 13-6, thanks to solid relief pitching from Matthew McElligott (Columbus, OH) and Jace Cunnane (Clarkstown, NY), then held on when the tying-run got as close as the on-deck circle, when Joseph Wileczek (West Chester, PA) came in to close the door for the save. Walsh was 3-for-4 with three runs scored and three RBI, hitting a double and a triple, one of three for the Falcons, and also stealing five bases. Eric Ludwick (Bethlehem, PA) was 1-for-2 with a run scored and two RBI, and Michael Miller (Lafayette Hill, PA) went 2-for-5 with two runs scored. Jolikko was 2-for-4 with the go-ahead RBI. McElligott got the win, his second on the year, pitching 22 innings of scoreless relief, allowing just one hit and striking out a pair.
 
Lackawanna got two on with a walk and a hit by pitch, and had runners in scoring position with two outs, but a pop out ended the Falcons threat before things could get going. Ty Federici (Lehman, PA) started the game and pitched a 1-2-3 bottom half, but the Falcons stranded another runner, this one in scoring position, in the top of the second. Federici pitched around a leadoff walk and a single to get three straight outs and keep the game scoreless through two.
 
In the top of the third, Brayden D'Amico (Bethlehem, PA) drew a one-out walk, and got to third on a pair of passed balls. He came home on a sac fly from Ian Murphy (West Deptford, NJ) that gave the Falcons a 1-0 lead heading into the bottom frame.
 
Dutchess (3-16) got to Federici in the bottom of the third. A leadoff double, followed by a walk and a balk, had runners in scoring position with nobody out. A two-run single followed to give the Falcons from Hudson Valley a 2-1 lead. A fielder's choice got Lackawanna its first out, but an error for the next batter let another run score, pushing the Dutchess advantage to 3-1. A single threatened to put more on the board, but Federici got a fly out and a big strikeout to end the threat.
 
In the top of the fourth, Ludwick was hit by a pitch, then George Castro (Philadelphia, PA) walked to put two on with nobody out. A sac bunt advanced the runners to scoring position, and another ground out scored one run. With two outs, a passed ball let Castro score to tie the game at 3-3 going into the bottom frame.
 
Nathan Russell (Drexel Hill, PA) came on for Federici, and, after initially hitting the first batter, Russell got three straight outs, including a strikeout to end the inning and give the Falcons a chance to add more in the fifth.
 
Walsh drew a leadoff walk, and stole second and third to get directly into scoring position. Two more walks loaded the bases with nobody out. An infield fly put one away, but Ludwick delivered with a triple that scored two of the three base runners, but a third run was hosed at the plate on the relay from Dutchess, keeping the Lackawanna advantage to just 5-3 heading into the bottom frame.
 
Dutchess struck back in their inning, using three straight singles to get runners on with nobody out, and an error on Lackawanna's infield let one run home to cut the Lackawanna lead down to 5-4. A strikeout put one away, but a two-run single scored a pair of runs for the Falcons from Hudson Valley, making it 6-5, Dutchess. A walk loaded the bases, and forced Lackawanna into a pitching change, bringing McElligott on with the bags full and just one out. McElligott responded in a big way, getting a crucial 4-6-3 double play to end the inning.
 
Lackawanna came back in the top of the sixth, and it started with Walsh. A two-out pitch hit Ranciel Ventura (Allentown, PA), who then stole second to get into scoring position. Walsh immediately cashed him in with an RBI double to tie the game at 6-6. Walsh kept the momentum firing, stealing third, and then scoring the go-ahead run on a passed ball.
 
McElligott came out and pitched around a two-out double, keeping Dutchess off the board, and the Falcons added to their cushion in the top of the seventh. A one-out single from Miller gave the Falcons a baserunner, and a walk put two on. Later, with the two runners on and two outs, Jolikko singled home Miller to start to give the Falcons a little breathing space at 8-6, heading into the bottom of the seventh.
 
The Falcons added more in the top of the eighth. A one-out walk from Ventura was rewarded with an RBI single from Walsh. D'Amico sac flied to right to score Walsh and make it 10-6, Lackawanna, with two outs, but the Falcons weren't done. A Murphy single was followed by a Miller double, putting the two on second and third. A wild pitch scored one run, and an RBI triple from Cole Casamento (Limerick, PA) scored the other, pushing the Falcons lead out to 12-6 going into the bottom of the eighth.
 
Cunnane came on to pitch for McElligott, and he pitched around a one-out single to keep Dutchess off the scoreboard in the eighth. Lackawanna added one more run in the top of the ninth, using a two-out RBI single from Walsh to make it 13-6 heading into the final frame.
 
Ben Riddick (Manassas, VA) came on for the Falcons to pitch in the bottom of the ninth, but Dutchess rudely welcomed him with a leadoff triple. A strikeout put one away, but a wild pitch let the runner home to cut it to 13-7. A pair of walks put two on, but a fly out made it two outs and put the Falcons on the brink. A two-out double scored a pair of runs to make it 13-9, and a walk made it so the tying-run was on-deck. That forced the Falcons to make a change and bring in Wileczek to get the final out, which he did with a line out to right field.
 
The win gives Lackawanna College its eleventh straight, and its 22^nd win out of its last 26 games. The Falcons are next scheduled to play on Thursday, April 27^th, when they host Region XIX DIII opponent Rowan College South Jersey Cumberland for a single, nine-inning game, with first pitch at 3:00pm ET at Scranton HS.