4/20/24
 
AUGUSTA, NJ – Five different batters had multiple hits in game one, helping Lackawanna baseball secure a doubleheader split on the road at Sussex County CC on Saturday afternoon at Skylands Stadium in Jersey. The Falcons won game one, 9-3, before dropping game two in extras, 8-7 in eight innings.
 
The Falcons (20-20, 7-5) had three separate innings where they scored three runs in game one, taking a 6-0 lead after the first three innings, then adding three runs to a 6-3 lead in the seventh to provide the margin for the win. Lackawanna hit the front in the top of the first, when Aydan McNelly (Sophomore; Limerick, PA) sac flied to right with the bases loaded and nobody out. A David Baltrusaitis (Sophomore; Tunkhannock, PA) RBI-single made it 2-0, and a two-out double from Brooks Henderson IV (First Year; Feasterville, PA) put the Falcons up 3-0. Jake Kelleher (First Year; Exeter, PA) added a two-run single in the third, then scored on a catcher's error to make it 6-0.
 
Nick Biasi (First Year; Hazle Twp., PA) did his best to provide some pitching for the Falcons, striking out eight through the first three innings, but he came undone in the bottom of the third, walking three straight batters with one out, before a two-run single got Sussex (16-15, 5-10) on the board. A two-out error on the infield let another run come home, and Biasi walked another batter, his fourth of the inning, before getting a key strike out to strand the bases loaded.
 
That forced Mason Sike (First Year; McKees Rocks, PA) on the bump for the Falcons, and, while Sike gave up five walks in his four innings of relief, he was very effective, giving up three hits and no runs to pick up the win. He did it with some trouble, twice allowing two runners on, and then letting the bases get loaded with one out in the seventh, before his lone strike out, followed by a fly out to center to end the game.
 
Five players had multiple hits for the Falcons, with Nick Matson (Redshirt First Year; Nanticoke, PA), Logan Mote (Redshirt First Year; Branchburg, NJ), Baltrusaitis, Kelleher, and Henderson all securing two hits. Kelleher had two RBI, while Mote and Jacob Simpson (Sophomore; Scranton, PA) each had a pair of runs scored.
 
Lackawanna rallied in game two from a 6-4 deficit with three runs in the sixth, but Sussex tied the game in the bottom of the sixth, then won it on a walk-off single in the eighth to earn the game two win.
 
Lackawanna fell behind 3-0, and trailed 4-2 entering the fourth inning, before a pair of one-run innings made it 4-4 through 4.5 innings. In the fifth, Sussex scored two runs to re-take the lead, but it looked like maybe the top of the sixth might be the one that swung the game into Lackawanna's favor. A one-out single form Mote, who then stole second, gave the Falcons a base runner in scoring position. Ty Federici (Sophomore; Dallas, PA), who had already homered earlier in the game, lined a triple to score Mote and cut the deficit to one, and Kelleher picked up his fellow Luzerne County product with a RBI on a single to tie the game. A fielder's choice was the second out, trading Kelleher for the speedy Matson. Matson stole second, and was quickly rewarded when McNelly doubled him home.
 
A leadoff walk in the bottom frame came back to hurt Lackawanna, has a one-out double scored that run. The Skylanders had the bases loaded with two outs, but Nathan Russell (Sophomore; Drexel Hill, PA) got a strikeout to strand the runners. Neither team could get anything going in the seventh, and Lackawanna had a two-out single from Matson in the eighth, but still there was nothing happening until the bottom of the eighth.
 
A leadoff walk was followed by a single to put two on with nobody out. A sharp liner to first resulted in a double play, leaving a runner at second with two down. An intentional walk put another base runner on, and a single was just enough to score the runner from second, helping the Skylanders walk it off.
 
McNelly was 3-for-4 with a run driven in, while Matson was 2-for-4 with two runs scored. Federici, who hit a two-run homer in the second inning, was 3-for-4 with two runs scored and three RBI, and Mote scored three runs and walked twice. Russell picked up the loss, giving up two runs on three hits in 3 1/3 innings, striking out six, but walking five.
 
The Falcons are now 7-5 in Region XIX DII, in third place in the Region standings, with one series left to play. Lackawanna is back to work on Sunday, April 21^st, with a single, nine-inning contest against Harford CC at home. First pitch is at 1:00pm ET from Scranton HS baseball field.