3/19/24
 
NEW ROCHELLE, NY – An excellent pitching performance in game one helped Lackawanna College baseball earn an impressive twin bill split on Tuesday evening at NJCAA Division I opponent Monroe College. The Falcons took game one, 4-2, before dropping game two, 16-6, in six innings.
 
The Falcons (7-12) were in a tight contest in game one, thanks to an excellent start from Mason Sike (First Year; McKees Rocks, PA). Sike threw six innings of one-hit ball, giving up two runs, just one earned, while striking out six and walking one. Lackawanna managed to grab the lead in the fourth, when Brooks Henderson IV (First Year; Feasterville, PA) tripled to left to score a run and break out of a 1-1 deadlock. Nick Matson (Redshirt-First Year; Nanticoke, PA) hit into a fielder's choice to score another run and put Lackawanna up 3-1 heading into the bottom of the fourth, and, after Monroe pushed a second run across on an error in the sixth, Henderson delivered again, this time on an RBI-double down the left field line to give Lackawanna 4-2 lead after the top of the seventh. Monroe (13-11) doubled to open the bottom of the seventh against Hayden Klyver (First Year; Wilton, CT), but Klyver bounced back with a strikeout, then got a ground out, and forced a pop out to short to end the game and give Lackawanna a game one victory.
 
Henderson was 2-for-4 with a run scored and two RBI, while David Baltrusaitis (Sophomore; Tunkhannock, PA) went drove in a run on a double. Brayden D'Amico (Sophomore; Bethlehem, PA) went 1-for-4 with a run scored, while Jake Kelleher (First Year; Exeter, PA) walked twice and went 1-for-2 with a run scored.
 
In game two, Monroe jumped ahead with three runs in the first, but the Falcons held a 6-3 lead after two innings, thanks in part to a grand slam, inside-the-park homerun from Matson. That, unfortunately, would be the high-point for Lackawanna, as the bats were silence by solid relief pitching, and the Mustangs put up 13 runs over the final four innings of play to run away with a 16-6 run-rule victory in six innings.
 
Trailing 3-0 in the top of the second, Lackawanna had the bases loaded with one out, when Logan Mote (Redshirt-First Year; Branchburg, NJ) poked a single through the left side to give Lackawanna a run. The Falcons added another when Kelleher singled to right field, with the bases still loaded and one out. That's when Matson lasered a shot that flew over the center fielder's head and rolled away, clearing the bases and letting the speedy Matson race around the bases for the inside-the-parker. Lackawanna, suddenly held a 6-3 advantage heading into the bottom of the second.
 
Lackawanna had the bases loaded again in the third, but a ground out ended the threat, and the Falcons would pay for their inability to cash in. Monroe erupted for four runs in the third, taking advantage of two errors and putting up two RBI-singles and triple that scored another run. When the dust settled, Lackawanna was in a 7-6 hole heading into the fourth.
 
Monroe added more in the fourth when the Mustangs walked with the bases loaded and one out, but the Falcons got a strikeout and a fly out to strand the bases loaded and limit the damage. But, after missing out on getting a runner home from third in the fifth, the floodgates opened on Lackawanna in the bottom frame. Seven runs crossed as the Mustangs erupted with several RBI-hits and another error that hurt the Falcons. It left Lackawanna in a 15-6 hole after five innings. The Mustangs ended things one inning later, loading the bases with nobody out and singling home the game-winner with one out to end things early.
 
Matson was 2-for-4 with four RBI and a run scored, while Baltrusaitis went 2-for-3 with a run scored. Mote went 1-for-2 with a run scored and an RBI, and Kelleher finished with an RBI and a run scored. Landon Brandt (First Year; Wapakoneta, OH) was saddled with the loss, giving up seven runs, five earned, on six hits in three innings of work.
 
Lackawanna now turns its attention to its Region XIX schedule, which starts on Friday, March 22^nd, when the Falcons travel to Randolph, NJ to take on the County College of Morris. First pitch of the single game on Friday is at 3:00pm ET. The next day, Saturday, the Falcons will host Morris for a doubleheader at Scranton HS, beginning at 3:00pm ET.