3/22/24
 
RANDOLPH, NJ – Another strong pitching performance was backed up by the offense coming alive late, as Lackawanna College baseball opened its Region XIX championship defense with a 10-4 win on the road at County College of Morris on Friday afternoon in the Garden State.
 
The Falcons (8-12, 1-0) got another strong outing from Nicholas Biasi (First Year; Hazle Township, PA), who gave up two runs, one earned, on three hits, while striking out ten in five innings. Biasi was backed up by the Falcons putting up 13 total hits and scoring eight of their ten runs from the fifth inning on. Brooks Henderson IV (First Year; Feasterville, PA) broke open a tie game in the fifth with a two-run single, then had another single later in the game to score a run and give the Falcons a three-run advantage. Louis Kegerreis (Redshirt First Year; Murrysville, PA) gave Lackawanna some much needed insurance with a three-run homerun in the ninth inning, blowing open a relatively close game and giving the Falcons the boost in their first Region XIX game of the year.
 
Henderson was 4-for-6 with a run scored and three RBI, while Kegerreis was 2-for-6 with three RBI. Aydan McNelly (Sophomore; Limerick, PA) was 2-for-5 with a run scored, while Nick Matson (Redshirt First Year; Nanticoke, PA) scored two runs and drove in another. The Falcons drew ten walks on the day, and, despite scoring ten runs, still stranded 14 base runners. Biasi's performance got him the win, his third of the year. Morris (10-6, 2-2) stranded seven runners and struck out a combined 12 times.
 
Lackawanna College has a doubleheader on Sunday, March 24^th, when the Falcons travel to Suffern, NY to take on the Rockland CC Hawks. First pitch is scheduled for 12:00pm ET in the non-region contest.
 
Morris struck first in the game, taking advantage of two wild pitches to get a runner to third, and then scoring on a third wild pitch to make it 1-0 with just one out. Biasi eventually recovered to strike out the next two batters to get to the second inning, where Lackawanna answered. Brayden D'Amico (Sophomore; Bethlehem, PA) got the Falcons on the board with a one-out single to tie it up, and the Falcons got a second run on a fielder's choice with the bases loaded that made it 2-1.
 
Not much happened until the bottom of the fourth, when an error let the leadoff batter aboard, and a one-out single led to that runner scoring, making it 2-2. Biasi struck out the next two batters to limit the damage, and the Falcons responded in the fifth.
 
Back-to-back one-out walks, followed by a hit batter, loaded up the bases for Henderson, who singled to score a pair and put Lackawanna up 4-2. Michael Rickert (Sophomore; Moosic, PA) singled, which led to another run crossing, but the Falcons got greedy and made an out at the plate, then flew out to end the inning.
 
Lackawanna added another run in the sixth, courtesy of a two-out Jacob Simpson (Sophomore; Scranton, PA) double that made it 6-2. Morris got a run back on a solo homerun in the bottom frame, and cut it to 6-4 on a one-out RBI-single in the bottom of the seventh. But, that would be it for the Titans.
 
In the top of the eighth, the Falcons had two on with two out, when Henderson delivered again, this time on a single to left center, scoring a run to make it 7-4. The Falcons had the bases loaded with two outs, but couldn't keep the inning going.
 
After a three-and-out in the bottom of the eighth, Lackawanna had back-to-back walks to put two on in the top of the ninth. That led to Louis Kegerreis crushing his team-leading seventh homerun, scoring three runs to make it 10-4, Falcons, and essentially put the game well out of reach.
 
A leadoff error in the bottom frame was shut down when Jace Cunnane (Sophomore; Clarkstown, NY) retired the side in order after that to wrap up a four-inning relief outing for himself, securing the win for the Falcons.