5/2/23
 
ROSSVILLE, Md. – In its final regular season match-ups of the season, Lackawanna College baseball had to settle for a split with the host Knights from CCBC Essex, taking game one 14-2 in five innings before falling 2-1 in game two on Tuesday afternoon in the Baltimore suburbs.
 
The Falcons (32-15) broke open a 2-2 game in the top of the fourth with ten runs, highlighted by a grand slam homerun from Christian Rush (Perkasie, PA). Lackawanna College had three homeruns in total, including a solo shot from Michael Miller (Lafayette Hill, PA) that got the Falcons started in the second, and a two-run homer from Eric Ludwick (Bethlehem, PA) in the top of the fifth inning that pushed the Falcon lead to 14-2. Brandon Holzinger (Bethlehem, PA) survived a rough two-run first inning to give up just two hits in four innings of work, striking out four for his first win of the year. Miller was 2-for-2 with three runs scored and two walks, while Rush was 1-for-3 with four RBI and two runs scored, and Zachary Walsh (Spring Brook Twp., PA) scored a pair of runs and drew a walk for the Falcons, who drew 12 total walks as a team on their way to the five-inning run-rule victory.
 
Lackawanna came up empty to start game one in the top of the first, and the host Knights got their work started with a leadoff single, a fielder's choice, a stolen base, and a ground out to put a runner on third with two outs. An error on the pitcher let a baserunner on and the first run to score. Later, with the bases loaded and two outs, a balk put the second run in to make it 2-0, Essex. Holzinger recovered to get a strikeout to end the inning.
 
The Falcons struck back with one in the top of the second, when Miller smashed his team-high ninth homerun to lead the inning off and cut the deficit in half at 2-1. Three straight one-out walks loaded the bases, but a fielder's choice got the force out at home for the second out, and a fly out to left stranded the bases loaded and kept Essex in front at 2-1.
 
After a quiet bottom second, punctuated by a pair of strikeouts for Holzinger, the Falcons got another run in the top of the third. A one-out walk, followed by an error, put Rush on second. He stole third as Miller drew a walk to put runners on the corners, then came home to score the game-tying run on a passed ball, knotting the score at 2-2. Another passed ball put Miller on third, and a walk put Ludwick on, still with one out, but a pop out and a fly out stranded the runners.
 
Flash forward to the top of the fourth, where the Falcons really did their work on offense. A leadoff triple from Mitchell Jolikko (Middletown, NY) immediately put the go-ahead run 90 feet away. Two straight walks loaded the bases with nobody out, and a bases-loaded walk to Ian Murphy (West Deptford, NJ) scored Jolikko and made it 3-2, Falcons. In stepped Rush, who smoked a pitch over the left field fence for a grand slam, giving the Falcons a 7-2 lead. The Falcons loaded the bases on three walks, this time with one out, when Jolikko came back up to bat, and was hit by a pitch, forcing home another run. A sac fly to center scored a run to make it 9-2, and an error at short let Walsh beat out a throw to reach, scoring another run. A double steal with runners on the corners let Jolikko score his second run of the inning, and an RBI single from Murphy scored Walsh, pushing the Falcons lead to 12-2 after 3.5 innings.
 
A leadoff walk, followed later by a one-out bunt single, had two runners on, but Holzinger got a pop up on the infield and a strikeout to strand the runners and get the Falcons to the top of the fifth.
 
Miller lined a single into left to get the Falcons a baserunner, and Ludwick, after a pitching change, launched a two-run shot out of the park to boost the Falcons advantage to 14-2, one they'd take to the bottom of the fifth.
 
Joseph Wileczek (West Chester, PA) came on to relieve Holzinger, and despite a one-out error in the outfield that put a runner on second, he got out of trouble, getting a fly out and a ground out to activate the run-rule and end things early for the Lackawanna College win.
 
Game two was another struggle for Essex (17-27) on offense, but the Knights took advantage of some Falcons errors, scoring a pair of unearned runs over the final two innings to take a 2-1 victory in game two, despite only managing one hit all game. The Falcons only managed three hits all game, but got a big one with two outs in the sixth, when Ludwick singled to score a runner from third and give the Falcons the first run of the game at 1-0. The Knights returned the favor with their first hit of the game in the bottom of the sixth, leading off the inning with a bunt single. An error put the runner at second, and a ground out to the pitcher put that runner on third with one out. Later, a sac fly to center score the run and tied the game. The Falcons wasted runners on the corners with two outs in the top of the seventh, and Essex had a hit batter, an error, and a hit batter to load the bases, before the third hit batter of the inning let the game winning run come home to walk off Lackawanna. The Falcons had only three hits, and stranded seven baserunners in game two. Ludwick was 2-for-3 with an RBI, and Ranciel Ventura (Allentown, PA) was the only other Falcon with a hit. Marc DeNunzio (Thornwood, NY) was the unlucky pitcher, getting the loss because of three hit batters and an error in the seventh.
 
It took until the top of the second for game two's first hit, when Ludwick singled to center with one out, but two straight fly outs couldn't get anything going for the Falcons. Starter Nathan Russell (Drexel Hill, PA) got a second straight 1-2-3 inning in the bottom of the second, and the Falcons had another chance when Ventura reached with a leadoff single in the third, but Essex kept him close with numerous pickoff attempts, and the Falcons couldn't advance him any further as the side was retired in order from there.
 
In the bottom third, Russell gave up a leadoff walk, but got a pop out and a strikeout to put two away. Then it was the defense's turn, as Cole Casamento (Limerick, PA) combined with Ventura to throw out the runner attempting to steal second, ending the third.
 
Still scoreless in the bottom of the fourth, Ty Morris (Manchester Valley, MD) came on to relieve Russell. A leadoff walk, followed by a stolen base, put a runner at second, but the Knights got greedy and tried to steal third, where Casamento combined with Murphy to hose the runner and get the first out. Another walk put a baserunner back on, but a ground out, followed by a line out, stranded that runner and kept things scoreless.
 
In the top of the fifth, the Falcons were hit by a pitch and got a one-out walk to put two on. A fly out to center put runners on the corners with two down, but a pop out at third stranded the runners and kept things scoreless. On came Jeremy Coleman (Wilmington, DE) for the bottom of the fifth, with the Falcons still protecting a combined no-hitter. A one-out walk put a runner on, but a fielder's choice, followed by a strikeout, ended the scoring threat and kept things scoreless through five.
 
Finally, the Falcons broke through in the sixth. Murphy reached after getting hit by a pitch to lead the inning off. He was lifted for a pinch-runner, Wileczek, who advanced to second on a ground out and then got to third on a passed ball. A rare Miller strikeout put two down, but Ludwick delivered with an RBI single up the middle to give the Falcons the 1-0 lead. A fly out ended the potential rally and sent the game into the bottom frame.
 
The first hit of the game for Essex came on a bunt single to lead the inning off. An error on Coleman checking on the runner at first let him advance to second, then a ground out put the runner on third with one out. Two straight walks loaded the bases, and a sac fly to center scored that run, tying the game at 1-1. Coleman got out before any more damage could happen with an excellent play at short by Brayden D'Amico (Bethlehem, PA) to strand the baserunners and get the out.
 
The Falcons, now tied at 1-1, got a leadoff baserunner when George Castro (Philadelphia, PA) drew a leadoff walk. He was lifted for a pinch-runner, but a fielder's choice eliminated the lead runner. Ventura was now at first, with one out, and got to second on a ground out to short. With two outs, Ventura was able to get to third, and Walsh drew a two-out walk to put runners on the corners. The Falcons couldn't push a run home, however, as Wileczek grounded out to second to strand the runners and end the inning.
 
On came DeNunzio to start the bottom of the seventh, and things quickly unraveled for him and the Falcons. A hit batter, followed by an error, followed by another hit batter, loaded the bases with nobody out. Essex, still with just the one hit in the game, got the game-winning run to cross when a third hit batter occurred with the bases loaded, forcing home the game-winning run and handing the Knights a most bizarre victory.
 
The Falcons finish the regular season with 32 wins, the most regular season wins Lackawanna College has had since winning 33 games in the regular season in 2017. That year, the Falcons fell just short of a Region XIX championship, dropping the title game to Mercer County CC in Delaware. This year, the Falcons will enter the tournament as the #1 overall seed and host. The tournament will be held May 12^th and 13^th in Scranton, PA and feature the top-four teams in Region XIX.