3/25/24
 
SCRANTON, Pa. – Nicholas Finarelli had his best start of the year in game one to help the Falcons earn a doubleheader split against County College of Morris on Monday afternoon at Scranton HS. The Falcons, behind Finarelli, won game one 7-2, but blew a late lead and fell 5-4 in game two.
 
In game one, the Falcons (9-13, 2-1) rode a dominant performance from Finarelli (Sophomore; Hunlock Creek, PA), who struck out a season-best eight batters and gave up two runs on seven hits through a complete game outing. Lackawanna's offense gave him plenty of backing, as the Falcons drew eight total walks and scored seven runs in building their sizable advantage. Louis Kegerreis (Redshirt First Year; Murrysville, PA) was one of three Falcons with multiple hits, going 2-for-4 with two runs scored and an RBI. Jacob Simpson (Sophomore; Scranton, PA) and Michael Rickert (Sophomore; Moosic, PA) each had two hits, with Simpson scoring a pair of runs and drawing two walks, and Rickert scoring a run and driving in another. Brooks Henderson IV (First Year; Feasterville, PA) drove in a pair of runs for the Falcons.
 
Morris (11-7, 3-3) managed to touch up Finarelli with two outs in the seventh, scoring a pair of runs to break up the shutout, but Finarelli bounced back to get his eighth strikeout of the contest with the top of the order up to bat.
 
The Titans used that late game momentum to strike early in game two, scoring two runs in the top of the first to jump out to the lead, but the Falcons were ahead 4-2 heading into the seventh and seemingly cruising towards a victory. That's when Morris took advantage of an error, hit back-to-back one-out singles, and then a sac fly to take the lead and turn the game on its head. Lackawanna couldn't respond in the bottom frame, despite getting a baserunner to second with two outs.
 
Nick Matson (Redshirt First Year; Nanticoke, PA) was 2-for-4 with two runs scored, while Aydan McNelly (Sophomore; Limerick, PA) and David Baltrusaitis (Sophomore; Tunkhannock, PA) each had RBI-hits for the Falcons. Nathan Russell (Sophomore; Drexel Hill, PA) pitched four innings, giving up two runs on two hits and striking out three, and Christopher Hayes (First Year; Oceanside, NY) backed him up with two scoreless innings of relief, but Morris got to Jace Cunnane (Sophomore; Clarkstown, NY) in the seventh, scoring three runs, two earned, on their two hits and a walk. Cunnane was hit with the loss, while Max Oswald from Morris got the win, pitching a complete game, giving up four runs on seven hits in seven innings.
 
Lackawanna College gets right back to action on Tuesday, March 26^th, when the Falcons are set to host the SUNY Sullivan Generals in a single, nine-inning contest. It's the first time the Falcons have faced the Generals since their East District championship match-up last year. First pitch is at 3:00pm ET at the Scranton HS baseball field.
 
The first real threat in game one came in the second inning, when the visitors used a pair of singles to eventually get runners at second and third with two outs in the top frame, but Finarelli got swinging strikeout to strand the runners and get the Falcons into the bottom half, where they immediately seized momentum. A leadoff walk was followed by a Rickert double to put runners at second and third with nobody out. A wild pitch scored the first run of the game, and a Henderson double scored Rickert to make it 2-0. The Falcons couldn't push a third run across, though, as a fly out, ground out, and eventual line out to left ended the inning.
 
Another run was tacked on in the bottom of the third. Simpson reached on a leadoff walk, and a single, followed by a wild pitch, had the Falcons in business again with runners at second and third and nobody out. Another walk loaded the bases, still with no outs. A strikeout followed, and Henderson grounded to third to score at least one run to make it 3-0. Another ground out stranded a pair of runners and kept the inning from being much bigger.
 
In the fourth, ahead 3-0, the Falcons got a one-out walk from Matson, who came home on the next batter when Kegerreis doubled him home. Kegerreis got to third on the throw home, then scored on a Simpson single to make it 5-0, but the Falcons were retired in order from there.
 
Morris doubled with one out in the top of the fifth, but Finarelli pitched around that by striking out the side to keep the Falcons moving. Lackawanna wasted runners on second and third in the next half inning, but got a 6-4-3 double play in the top of the sixth to quickly get back to the plate.
 
In the bottom half, Kegerreis singled, while Simpson and McNelly drew walks to load the bases with nobody out. Baltrusaitis forced a run home with a bases-loaded walk, forcing a pitching change. A sac fly from Rickert made it 7-0, but that would be all Lackawanna would get from that situation.
 
In the top of the seventh, a leadoff single for Morris got the Titans started, but a fly out and a strikeout put two away. Morris finally got itself on the board with double to score a run, then followed with a run-scoring single to cut in at 7-2, but Finarelli got a strikeout to end game one and give the Falcons the win.
 
Game two continued the trend for Morris, as the Titans managed to plate a pair right away. An error started the game, which should have been a sign for the Falcons on how the second game was going to be, and the Titans, after a single and a double-steal, quickly had runners at second and third with nobody out. A two-run double promptly delivered the visitors the lead. Russell settled in to get a fly out, and pitched around a hit batter with a line out to short and a fly out to strand a pair of runners.
 
In the bottom half, Matson doubled, and Kegerreis reached on an error at third, which ended up being a two-base error that put him on second. So, with runners and second and third and nobody out, the Falcons had an opportunity. A strikeout was the first out, but McNelly reached when the third baseman couldn't handle a hot shot on the ground. The deflected ball let Matson score, but the short stop caught the deflection and flung it to third to get Kegerreis for the second out. Later, the Falcons had runners at first and second with two outs, but couldn't capitalize, trailing 2-1 after one.
 
Russell danced out of trouble, getting out of a bases-loaded, one-out situation with a strikeout and a line out to short, but the Falcons couldn't answer until the bottom of the third.
 
Matson led the inning off with a single, and made it to second to immediately give the Falcons a runner in scoring position. A fly out to right put him at third, and a line out to right was just deep enough to score him, tying the game at 2-2. McNelly singled with two outs, and Baltrusaitis followed with a towering double to left field, which hit the fencing near the foul pole in fair territory, scoring McNelly to make it 3-2, Falcons. Henderson followed with single up the middle to score Baltrusaitis and put Lackawanna up 4-2, but Henderson made a base-running error trying to stretch it to two bags, and was thrown out on the base paths.
 
Neither team really had much of anything going over the next two innings. Russell gave way to Hayes, who pitched well in relief, and Oswald kept Lackawanna's offense in check.
 
In the seventh, Cunnane came on to try to get the save. An error at first let the Titans get a baserunner on second, and a walk put runners at first and second with nobody out. A sac bunt advanced the runners to second and third, and Morris immediately answered with a two-run single to score the pair of runners and tie the game at 4-4. Another single put runners on the corners, and a sac fly to left scored the runner at third to push Morris back in front at 5-4, heading into the bottom frame.
 
Suddenly needing to score, the Falcons managed to draw a leadoff walk, but a 4-6-3 double play fired up the Morris contingent and left the Falcons down to their last out. A single by Kegerreis was stretched to second when the ball got hung up in the night sky and the Titans couldn't track it, but a fly out to right ended the game, giving Morris a win at the death, and handing Lackawanna its first Region XIX loss of the season.