3/15/24
 
SCRANTON, Pa. – An incredible pitching performance gave the Falcons all the motivation they needed to dominate at the plate, as Lackawanna College mashed its way past Monroe College Bronx, 29-0, in seven innings on a cloudy and overcast Friday afternoon at Scranton HS.
 
The Falcons (5-10) could not have opened their home slate for 2024 much better, as Nicholas Biasi (First Year; Hazle Township, PA) threw a one-hitter and struck out 15 in six innings of work. Biasi actually had a perfect game going entering the fifth, but the Express (0-9) got its lone hit with two outs to keep the no-hitter and perfect game off the table.
 
It was really the only lowlight of the day for Lackawanna.
 
The Falcons had 21 hits, seven for extra bases, and scored multiple runs in every inning to open a sizable lead and never look back. As a team, Lackawanna drew ten walks, was hit by four pitches, and stole seven bases. Nick Matson (Redshirt First Year; Nanticoke, PA) went 3-for-4 with three runs scored, while Aydan McNelly (Sophomore; Limerick, PA) went 2-for-3 with three RBI and two runs scored, and Michael Rickert (Sophomore; Moosic, PA) was 3-for-4 with two runs scored and three RBI, hitting two triples and a double. In all, five different Falcons had multiple hits, and 14 different players registered a hit on the day.
 
Biasi's 15 strikeouts are the most by a Falcons' pitcher in one game since Zach Klapak threw 16 punchouts in 2021. The 29 runs scored are the most by the Falcons in ten years, matching a 29-0 win for Lackawanna against Valley Forge as the most lopsided win since at least the 2000 season. The Falcons have now won three straight games, and turn their attention to a very important doubleheader on Sunday, March 17^th, when Lackawanna travels to take on Frederick CC in a doubleheader between two NJCAA Division II World Series participants from a year ago. First pitch is set for 12:00pm ET in Frederick, MD.
 
Biasi, who had struggled coming into the game with command, was dominant right from the start, striking out eight of the first nine batters he saw, including the first three to start the game, immediately giving Lackawanna a boost heading into the bottom of the first. After a Matson leadoff single and a walk, the Falcons had runners on second and third with nobody out. Jacob Simpson (Sophomore; Scranton, PA) looped an RBI-single to right field to score the pair of runners and put Lackawanna up 2-0. A McNelly RBI single scored the next run, and, later, a wild pitch, followed by a passed ball, helped the Falcons plate two more runs to take a 5-0 advantage into the second inning.
 
After Biasi breezed through the top half, the Falcons came back for more. Matson reached on a single, then got all the way to third on a wild pitch and a balk. Louis Kegerreis (Redshirt First Year; Murrysville, PA) legged out a single that scored Matson. A one-out single from McNelly eventually scored Kegerreis to make it 7-0, and an error let McNelly get to third. Later, with runners on second and third and still one out, a fielder's choice brought McNelly home when the throw to the plate was dropped by the catcher, allowing McNelly to get to home plate first and make it 8-0. The game was officially busted wide open when Chase Fischer (Sophomore; Ringoes, NJ) turned on a pitch and smashed it over the left field fence for a three-run homer, making it 11-0, Falcons. After Rickert tripled, Jake Kelleher (First Year; Exeter, PA) smashed a double off the center field fence to drive in a run, and Matson singled to score Kelleher and make it 13-0. Later, a wild pitch with two outs scored Matson, before Monroe got the final out to mercifully get out of the inning down 14-0.
 
Biasi struck out the side in the third, and Lackawanna put a few more on the board in the bottom half. A one-out double from Rickert scored a pair, and then Rickert stole third and scored on a wild pitch to push the Lackawanna advantage to 17-0.
 
Another 1-2-3 inning in the top of the fourth gave way to more runs from the Falcons in the bottom frame. A leadoff double, followed by a single, put two on with nobody out, and McNelly hit a sac fly to right field to put a run on the board. A hit-by-pitch, followed by a wild pitch, allowed another run to score, and put a runner on third. With two away, an error at first base gave the Falcons a base runner and scored another run to push the Falcons over 20 runs. Then, Rickert tripled for the second time, this time down the right field line, pushing the Falcons' advantage to 21-0.
 
For the third different inning, Biasi struck out the side in the fifth, and the bottom frame saw Lackawanna College add more runs. A bases-loaded walk, followed by a Brooks Henderson IV (First Year; Feasterville, PA) RBI-single, followed by another bases-loaded walk, scored three more runs to make it 24-0.
 
Biasi kept things rolling in the sixth, striking out a pair to start, but a single to right broke up the no-hitter and ended the perfect game effort. That didn't deter Biasi, as he got another strikeout, his 15^th and final, to end the top of the sixth. In the bottom half, a leadoff walk was rewarded with a David Baltrusaitis (Sophomore; Tunkhannock, PA) double to make it 25-0. A hit-by-pitch, followed by a walk, loaded the bases, and another bases-loaded walk pushed a second run across. After a strikeout was the first out, Cody Newhart (First Year; Sandpoint, ID) singled to score a run and make it 27-0. A two-out pinch-hit single brought home another two RBI, courtesy of Alex Gombocz (First Year; Georgetown, ON), to push the Falcon lead out to 29.
 
Stephen Hopkins (First Year; Lone, CA) came on to pitch the top of the seventh, and he got three straight outs to end the game early via run rule, securing the third straight victory for Lackawanna, and fourth in the last five games.