5/1/23
 
WEST WINDSOR TWP., NJ – Its 12-game winning streak snapped on a walk-off in game one, Lackawanna College baseball got a massive boost in game two, as Aiden Starn (Pennsville, NJ) scattered seven hits over a complete seven-inning outing to help the Falcons earn a doubleheader split on the road at Mercer County CC in their regular season Region XIX finale on Monday afternoon. Lackawanna lost game one 6-5 on a walk-off RBI single, and then won game two 5-1.
 
The Falcons (34-14, 16-2) got seven strong innings in the second game from Starn, who allowed seven hits and one run, while striking out two and not walking any batters for his fourth win of the year. Lackawanna broke up a scoreless game in the sixth when pinch-runner Joseph Wileczek (West Chester, PA) stole second and then came home on an Eric Ludwick (Bethlehem, PA) RBI single. George Castro (Philadelphia, PA) doubled the lead with a double to left, scoring Ludwick and giving the Falcons a 2-0 advantage. After Mercer (22-21, 11-7) answered with a run in the bottom frame, the Falcons added two more, thanks to a Christian Rush (Perkasie, PA) RBI single, followed by a pinch-hit RBI single for Michael Rickert (Moosic, PA) to make it 4-1, Falcons. Starn pitched around a one-out error in the bottom of the seventh to give the Falcons the win. Zachary Walsh (Spring Brook Twp., PA) led the way, going 3-for-3 with a run scored and a walk, while Ludwick was 2-for-3 with a run scored and an RBI.
 
Walsh got the Falcons going in game two with a leadoff single, but a 4-6-3 double play put two outs on the board, and a strike out got the Vikings out of the top of the first with some momentum. Starn came out and pitched around a pair of singles to strand to runners and get an unassisted ground out to first to keep things scoreless.
 
Neither team had much to go off of until the top of the fourth, when Lackawanna got a one-out walk from Michael Miller (Lafayette Hill, PA), followed by a Ludwick single, putting two on with one out. A strikeout put two away, but a balk advanced the runners into scoring position. The Falcons couldn't capitalize, however, as a ground out to first stranded the runners and kept Lackawanna off the board. Starn did his own magic trick, pitching around back-to-back singles to start the bottom of the fourth to get a strikeout, followed by a 6-3 double play.
 
The Falcons got a one-out double from Ranciel Ventura (Allentown, PA) in the top of the fifth, followed by a single from Walsh that put runners in scoring position, but a fielder's choice failed to get a run home, and a ground out to short stranded the runner on third.
 
It wouldn't be until the top of the sixth that the Falcons finally got on the board. A leadoff single from Miller gave Lackawanna a baserunner, and Miller was lifted for Wileczek, who immediately stole second to get into scoring position. That set up Ludwick, who singled home Wileczek and put the Falcons on the board. Ludwick later stole second with one out, and Castro scored him with an RBI double to left to make it 2-0, Falcons. Mercer recovered to get the next two outs and keep Lackawanna from breaking it big.
 
A leadoff single started the Vikings off in the bottom of the sixth, and Mercer got a stolen base to put that runner in scoring position. Starn forced a ground out, then got a fly out to left, but the fly out was just deep enough to score the runner and get Mercer on the board. Starn then got a ground out to short to keep the Vikings from adding anything else.
 
In the top of the seventh, Walsh led the inning off with a walk, then stole second to get himself into soring position. A ground out put him at third, and Rush singled him home to give the Falcons the 3-1 lead. Rickert came on as a pinch-hitter, and, after Rush stole second, Rickert delivered with a single to push the Falcons lead out to 4-1. Still with one out, a Ludwick walk put two on, but a strikeout, followed by a fielder's choice, ended the top frame and brought the game to the last of the seventh.
 
A one-out error on the infield put a runner on for the Vikings, but Starn got back-to-back fielder's choices to get the force out at second to end the game and give Lackawanna College the doubleheader split.
 
In game one, Lackawanna took a 5-1 lead into the sixth inning, but the defending region champions took advantage of a pair of Falcons errors that resulted in two runs scoring, then scratched another across for three in the sixth to pull within one. Mercer retired the side in the top of the seventh, and won it with a two-out, two-run single that gave the Vikings the 6-5 win and snapped the 12-game unbeaten run for Lackawanna College.  The Falcons had built an advantage thanks to manufacturing some runs, using a ground out and a sac fly, plus a passed ball and a balk to score runs on the day, but the Falcons were largely kept in check by the great defense from Mercer. Ian Murphy (West Deptford, NJ) was 3-for-4 with two runs scored, while Rush was 3-for-4 with an RBI and a run scored, and Spencer Butz (York, PA) didn't register a hit but had two RBI with a ground out and a sac fly. Kyle Scott (Westminster, MD) had a strong first five innings, but gave up three runs in the sixth to finish the day at four runs allowed on three hits and five strikeouts in six innings. He was still on the hook for the win, but Matthew McElligott (Columbus, OH) couldn't close the door, giving up two runs on three hits and a walk in the seventh.
 
Lackawanna got off to a great start in game one, as Walsh got on with a leadoff walk, and a single, followed by an error, put runners in scoring position with nobody out. Rush singled to score one run, then stole second to put himself in scoring position. A ground out to the pitcher was the first out, but a Butz grounder to third scored Murphy to make it 2-0, Falcons.
 
Scott got two quick outs, but hit back-to-back batters to put two on. An RBI single followed to score one run, before he got a strikeout to end the first inning with the Falcons ahead, 2-1.
 
Lackawanna added two more in the third. Murphy hit a one-out single to reach, then Rush followed with a single to put two on. A walk loaded the bases with one out, and a sac fly from Butz to right was deep enough to score Murphy. Rush stole third to put runners on the corners with two down, and a balk was called on the pitcher, which advanced both runners and gave the Falcons a 4-1 advantage. A fly out ended the threat before Lackawanna could get any more.
 
The Falcons added another run in the top of the fourth, when Mitchell Jolikko (Middletown, NY) singled, stole second, then advanced two bases on a passed ball to make it 5-1, Falcons. Rickert got on with a single, but a failed hit-and-run resulted in a hard liner to first and a double-up on Rickert to put two away. A fly out to right ended the inning.
 
Lackawanna College had a golden opportunity to add more in the fifth, using a single and a pair of walks to load the bases with two outs, but a crucial strikeout looking stranded the bases loaded and kept the Falcons off the board.
 
Scott, who had been cruising since the first, ran into some trouble in the bottom frame, when a two-out error, followed by a balk, put a runner on second. Two more batters were hit by pitches to load the bases, but Scott got a crucial fly out to left to strand the bases loaded and keep the Falcons ahead at 5-1.
 
A pitching change gave the Vikings some juice in the sixth, as the Falcons were retired in order. In the bottom frame, with Scott back out there, a single, followed by an error, followed by another single, loaded the bases with nobody out. Another error on the infield was costly, letting a pair of runs come home and putting runners on second and third, still with nobody out. A fly out to right wasn't deep enough to get a run home, but a ground out to short was deep enough in the hole to get a run home and cut the Falcons lead to 5-4. Scott got a line out to left to end the inning with the Falcons clinging to a 5-4 lead.
 
In the top of the seventh, a one-out single from Rush gave Lackawanna a baserunner, but a 5-4-3 double play quickly extinguished the potential scoring rally and fired up the home side for the bottom frame. McElligott came out for the Falcons to try to earn the save, and initially he had it going with a ground out to third to start the inning. But, a single, followed by a walk and another single, once again had the Falcons in trouble with the bases loaded. An infield pop up to McElligott had the Falcons just an out away, but a single to right dropped just enough to let one run home, and the subsequent relay was behind the game-winning run, giving the Vikings an exciting walk-off victory to end the 12-game unbeaten run for the Falcons.
 
Lackawanna College has one more regular season event scheduled, when the Falcons travel to CCBC Essex in Maryland on Tuesday, May 2^nd, for a non-region doubleheader. The first game is set for a 1:00pm ET start just outside of Baltimore in Rossville, MD.
 
After that, the Falcons will begin preparations for hosting the Region XIX DII playoffs, scheduled to start on Friday, March 12^th, at Scranton HS. Details to follow as the participating teams are confirmed.