5/12/23
 
SCRANTON, Pa. – While the Falcons offense struggled to get on-track, it was the stellar pitching that picked them up, as Lackawanna College baseball clinched a spot in the Region XIX DII Baseball championship with a pair of wins on Friday afternoon at Scranton HS. Lackawanna defeated fifth-seeded County College of Morris by a 4-2 score in game one, then knocked off third-seeded Delaware Tech CC by a 6-4 score in game two.
 
The Falcons (34-15) won game one 4-2 over fifth-seeded County College of Morris, but it was a slow start for Lackawanna against the Titans. Morris (23-19) scored a run in the first inning to take a 1-0 lead, then used a solo homer in the sixth inning to give themselves a late 2-1 advantage. The Falcons' offense finally got rolling with a two-run double from Eric Ludwick (Bethlehem, PA) in the bottom of the sixth, then an RBI single from Michael Rickert (Moosic, PA) gave Lackawanna a 4-2 advantage. Aiden Starn (Pennsville, NJ) and Jace Cunnane (Clarkstown, NY) made it stand up, as Starn went six strong innings, giving up two runs and striking out seven, and Cunnane shut the door with a three-inning save, striking out three and allowing just one hit to preserve the win in the opening game for Lackawanna. Michael Miller (Lafayette Hill, PA) was 2-for-4 with a run scored, while Ludwick provided the big hit, going 1-for-3 with his two-run double. Ian Murphy (West Deptford, NJ) added an RBI single in the third inning, which initially tied the game at one. Morris wasted an excellent start from Ryan Devanney, who pitched eight innings, striking out eight and allowing four runs on seven hits.
 
The Titans touched up Starn and the Falcons early. A leadoff double gave Morris a runner in scoring position, and that runner came home on an RBI single. A walk put two on, and then Starn got cooking, getting a fly out and a pair of strikeouts to end the top of the first.
 
While the Falcons struggled to get the offense up and running, Starn kept things moving, picking up two more strikeouts in the top of the second, then pitching around a two-out single in the top of the third.
 
The Falcons had their first eight batters retired before Brayden D'Amico (Bethlehem, PA) singled with two outs in the bottom of the third. A walk put two on, and Murphy singled home D'Amico to make it 1-1 heading to the fourth.
 
Morris got a one-out walk but Starn kept them quiet in the fourth, and the Falcons got a runner to third in the bottom frame, but couldn't scratch the run across.
 
Things were quiet until the top of the sixth, with the score still 1-1. Morris led the inning off with a solo homer to re-take the lead at 2-1. The Titans got a two-out single later in the inning, but Starn got a fly out to keep the damage to just a run. Lackawanna recovered in the bottom half, getting some excellent production with two outs. A single from Miller gave the Falcons a baserunner, and a walk put two on. A wild pitch put those runners in scoring position, and Ludwick delivered with a two-run double to push the Falcons into the lead at 3-2. Lackawanna lifted Ludwick for a pinch runner, and that decision paid off, as Rickert drove home the speedy Mitchell Jolikko (Middletown, NY) on an RBI single to make it 4-2, Falcons, after six.
 
On came Cunnane for Starn, and Cunnane got the first two outs with relative ease until a single and a hit by pitch put two on with two outs. Cunnane recovered to get the final out on a strikeout and strand the runners.
 
The Falcons got a pair of singles to start the bottom of the eighth, but a baserunning error cost them one runner, and two straight outs stranded the remaining runner.
 
In the top of the ninth, a leadoff walk put a runner on, but a line out and a fielder's choice put two down. A hit batter brought the go-ahead run to the plate, but a fly out to left gave Cunnane his fourth save of the season and the Falcons the big win to start the day.
 
Lackawanna faced Delaware Tech CC (31-18) in game two. The Terry Hawks won their game one in dramatic fashion, 8-6, over Sussex County CC, but they ran into Kyle Scott (Westminster, MD), who pitched around seven walks to strike out 12 batters in seven innings, holding the Hawks to two runs on four hits, and helping the Falcons grab the 6-4 win in the afternoon session. While Scott was doing what he does, the Falcons methodically built a lead, thanks to a pair of homeruns from third baseman Dennis Pierce (Quakertown, PA), who launched a two-run homer in the fourth inning to extend a Falcon lead out to 3-0, then hit another two-run homer in his next at-bat to make it 5-0, Falcons. Cole Casamento (Limerick, PA) had the first run of the game, drawing a bases loaded walk in the sixth, and then drove in some key insurance for the Falcons in the bottom of the eighth on an RBI single to make it 6-2. That cushion was enough to help Matthew McElligott (Columbus, OH) weather the rally from Del Tech in the ninth, where the Hawks scored a pair, and gave the Falcons the all-important berth in the Region XIX championship round. Pierce was red-hot, going 3-for-4 with four RBI and a pair of runs scored from the seven-hole. Brayden D'Amico (Bethlehem, PA), batting eighth, was 2-for-2 with a run scored, and Casamento had a pair of RBI on the day. Scott's 12 K's are the fifth time this year that he has thrown double-digit strikeouts, and the win is his seventh of the year.
 
A hit batter started the game for Delaware Tech, and the Hawks got that batter to third thanks to a stolen base and a balk, but Scott worked out of trouble, striking out two in a row to close out the top frame.
 
It was quiet for both sides until the bottom of the second. A two-out walk for Rickert put a runner on, and Pierce doubled to put runners in scoring position. A walk loaded the bases, and a bases loaded walk drawn by Casamento put Lackawanna up 1-0. The Falcons couldn't do anything else with the bases loaded, and took the one-run lead into the third.
 
Del Tech got a runner to third after a leadoff walk, a sac bunt, and a passed ball, but Scott responded with back-to-back strikeouts to end the threat early. Del Tech threatened again in the top of the fourth, getting a leadoff walk, later followed by a pair of two-out walks to load the bases. Scott got his third strikeout of the inning to strand the bases loaded and give the Falcons a boost heading into the bottom of the fourth.
 
In that bottom frame, a leadoff walk was rewarded by Pierce, who connected on and launched a pitch over the outfield wall to make it 3-0, Falcons. D'Amico reached right after, but The Falcons would not add.
 
Del Tech got a pair of runners on again in the top of the fifth, but Scott got a fly out to strand the bases. In the sixth, Scott worked around a leadoff walk and a balk to get three straight outs and give Lackawanna a chance at the plate in the bottom of the sixth. Jolikko led off with a single, and Pierce once again delivered, again with one out, hitting a two-run homer to push the Falcons lead out to 5-0. D'Amico reached on a walk, and Zachary Walsh (Spring Brook Twp., PA) doubled with two outs to put them both in scoring position, but a fly out from the new relief pitcher ended the inning before Lackawanna could add more.
 
Scott came back out in the seventh, and may have finally started to show a little fatigue. A one-out single, followed by a walk and stereo stolen bases, put runners on second and third with one out. Scott struck out a batter to put two away, but a single scored a pair of runs and brought Del Tech to within three at 5-2. An error let another runner reach, but a strikeout from Scott, his 12^th and final of the game, ended the inning.
 
McElligott came out to start the eighth for the Falcons, and he got into some trouble when an error let the leadoff man on, and a walk put two aboard with nobody out. He got a fly out to put one away, and a sensational 4-6-3 double play closed the inning and gave the Falcons a little momentum heading into the bottom frame.
 
A one-out double from D'Amico in the bottom of the eighth gave Lackawanna a baserunner in scoring position, and Casamento cashed him in with an RBI single to make it 6-2, Falcons. Two strikeouts ended the eighth, and the Falcons tried to protect a four-run lead in the ninth.
 
Back-to-back walks opened the ninth, and a ground out put those two runners in scoring position. A sac fly scored one run, and an RBI single scored another to cut the lead to 6-4, but McElligott and crew buckled down to get the final out and give the Falcons a berth in the championship round.
 
The victory puts the Falcons in the championship round, where Lackawanna can clinch a Region XIX title, its third in five seasons, with a victory in the 3:00pm ET game on Saturday, May 13^th, at Scranton HS. The Falcons will await the winner from the 11:00am ET elimination game, pitting third-seeded Delaware Tech and second-seeded Sussex County CC, also at Scranton HS. In the event that Lackawanna is defeated on Saturday afternoon, there will be a final winner-take-all Region title game on Sunday, May 14^th. That game will be a noon first-pitch from Scranton HS.