Box Score 1 | Box Score 2 3/8/24
 
MYRTLE BEACH, SC – The runs came fast and furious, but Lackawanna only managed to be on the right side of one game, splitting a doubleheader against Minnesota North College Itasca at the Ripken Experience in South Carolina on Friday evening. The Falcons took game one, 12-5, before dropping game two, 16-7.
 
Lackawanna (2-10) had lost nine of its first ten to start the season, and was fresh off a late-night loss to PSU York the day before, but the Falcons were no worse for the wear in game one, thanks in large part to a stellar day for Louis Kegerreis (Redshirt First Year; Murrysville, PA), who singled, hit a sac fly, and hit a three-run homer for a five-RBI game. Aydan McNelly (Sophomore; Limerick, PA) was 4-for-5 with two runs scored and an RBI, and David Baltrusaitis (Sophomore; Tunkhannock, PA) was 3-for-5 with two RBI and a run scored. Jace Cunnane (Sophomore; Clarkstown, NY) picked up the win, his first of the year, pitching 4.1 innings of relief, only giving up a run and three hits with two strikeouts.
 
The Falcons overcame three errors to put up 15 hits on the Vikings (3-3), and kept constant pressure on their opponents right from the start. With a runner on third and two outs in the top of the first, McNelly delivered a hard-hit single to score the opening run. Baltrusaitis quickly doubled home McNelly for the 2-0 lead. The Falcons had runners at second and third with two away, but couldn't put more on the board.
 
Itasca answered in the bottom frame, loading the bases on a pair of walks and a hit-by-pitch with one out. A wild pitch let one run in, and, after another HBP, a passed ball put another run on the board. A fielder's choice gave the Vikings the lead, and two more walks loaded the bases again. Lackawanna made a pitching change to Cunnane, and he struck out the batter with the bases loaded to end the inning.
 
A one-out walk eventually led to a two-out single from Kegerreis in the top of the second to tie the game. The Falcons took the lead in the third, thanks to a passed ball with the bases loaded and two outs. Then, Vincent Proietto (Sophomore; Drexel Hill, PA) added to the lead with a two-run single to make it 6-3 after 2.5 innings.
 
The Falcons put a seventh run on the board in the top of the fourth when Baltrusaitis doubled with two outs to score McNelly. The Vikings got a run back in the bottom frame with a bases loaded ground out.
 
Leading 7-4 into the fifth, the Falcons again put two more on. A leadoff double, followed by a single and a HBP, loaded the bases with nobody out. A fielder's choice led to an error on the corner infielder and a run scoring, and a sac fly from Kegerreis scored another, but the Falcons were cut down on the base paths before adding anymore.
 
Itasca got a run back in the bottom of the sixth when an error on the infield with two away let a run come home, cutting the Falcons' lead to 9-5. In the top of the seventh, A leadoff single, followed by a one-out walk, had the Falcons in business, but Kegerreis made sure no steals or savvy baserunning was necessary, crushing a ball for a three-run homerun, his second homer in as many games, and boosting the Lackawanna lead to 12-5 heading into the bottom frame. That's where Palmer Dahl (First Year; Prior Lake, MN) shook off a rocky beginning of the seventh to get three straight punch-outs and give the Falcons a much-needed win.
 
In game two, the Falcons were on the wrong side of the avalanche, as the Vikings scored 16 runs and dropped 15 hits on the Falcons, putting runs on the board in five of the seven innings. Lackawanna was wasteful at the plate, leaving ten on base and not taking advantage of six walks.
 
McNelly was 3-for-5 with an RBI, while Kegerreis continued his hot-streak with a 2-for-4 showing with 3 RBI. Jacob Simpson (Sophomore; Scranton, PA) was 2-for-3 with two runs scored and a RBI, while Jake Kelleher (First Year; Exeter, PA) went 2-for-3 with a RBI. Nick Finarelli (Sophomore; Hunlock Creek, PA) was saddled with the loss, giving up six runs on five hits in an inning of work for his start.
 
Trailing 1-0 heading into the second, the Falcons were hoping to keep the Vikings off the board, but Itasca only ramped things up at the plate. A leadoff single followed by back-to-back walks was what loaded the bases with nobody out. A two-run single made it 3-0, an error brought in another, and another two-run single made it 6-0, chasing Finarelli off the bump and forcing the Falcons to go to the pen. Kirk Stensrud (First Year; Glenside, PA) came on and got the necessary outs to get the Falcons out of the top-side of the second. Lackawanna got things going in the bottom frame, using three straight singles to load the bases with nobody out. A strikeout was the first out, but a fielder's choice from Kegerreis scored two runs to cut it to 6-2. A McNelly single had runners on the corners, but a pop out ended the threat.
 
In the bottom of the third, still down 6-2, the Falcons closed the gap even more. A leadoff walk gave way to a RBI-triple from Simpson. Simpson eventually came home courtesy of a Kelleher RBI-single with two outs, cutting it down to 6-4.
 
The Vikings put two on the board in the top of the fourth, courtesy of a two-run double with two outs. They added another two the next inning, this time on a two-run single with nobody out, pushing the Itasca lead to 10-4 after 4.5 innings.
 
In the bottom frame, Lackawanna got two runs back, courtesy of a Chase Fischer (Sophomore; Ringoes, NJ) RBI-ground out and a one-run single from Kegerreis with two outs, cutting the deficit down to 10-6, but the Vikings weren't done piling on the runs.
 
After the Falcons wasted a two-out double in the sixth, Itasca got rolling in the top of the seventh. Two singles sandwiched a hit batter, loading the bases with nobody out. A strikeout put the first out on the board, but a one-run single and an error extended Itasca's lead out to 12-6. Then, the knockout blow, when a bases-clearing triple made it 15-6. The Vikings added another run, and threatened for more, before a strikeout with two on finally got things to the bottom of the seventh.
 
A two-out double from Michael Rickert (Sophomore; Moosic, PA), followed by a Kegerreis walk, put two on, and McNelly delivered with a RBI-single, but the Falcons couldn't mount the comeback.
 
Lackawanna has two more games in Myrtle, playing a doubleheader on Saturday, March 9^th. The Falcons are taking on Illinois Valley CC at 10:00am ET, then Monroe CC at 1:00pm ET at St. James HS baseball field in nearby Murrells Inlet, SC.