4/23/24
 
SCRANTON, Pa. – Lackawanna College baseball scored seven runs over the final four innings, and Hayden Klyver pitched five innings of excellent relief, helping Lackawanna knock off the top-ranked NJCAA Division III Northampton CC Spartans by an 11-7 margin on Tuesday afternoon in a Region XIX crossover match-up at Scranton HS baseball field.
 
The Falcons (21-21) rallied from a 7-3 deficit in the fifth inning, scoring four runs to tie the game, highlighted by a Michael Rickert (Sophomore; Moosic, PA) RBI-triple, as well as a RBI-double from Jacob Simpson (Sophomore; Scranton, PA). Simpson had the go-ahead hit an inning later, singling home a pair of runs to give the Falcons a 9-7 lead. They'd add two more over the course of the game, and Klyver (First Year; Wilton, CT) made sure it stood up, pitching five innings of relief, including four innings of shut-out ball from the sixth inning on, picking up his second win in the process. Klyver's final line was two runs, both earned, on six hits in five innings of work. Aydan McNelly (Sophomore; Limerick, PA) was 4-for-5 with three runs scored and two RBI, while Simpson went 3-for-4 with three RBI and a run scored. Jake Kelleher (First Year; Exeter, PA) went 3-for-5 with a run scored and a solo homerun. Rickert scored a pair of runs and was 2-for-5.
 
The top-ranked Spartans (37-5) had won 18 in a row entering the game, and drew three walks in the first inning from starter Lackawanna starter Nick Matson (Redshirt First Year; Nanticoke, PA), but the Falcons got a key double play, plus a fielder's choice, to pitch around it. Matson reached in the bottom half on a leadoff walk, and scored on a two-out double from McNelly to put Lackawanna ahead. Another double, this time from David Baltrusaitis (Sophomore; Tunkhannock, PA), made it 2-0. Back-to-back singles loaded the bases, but the Falcons couldn't squeeze another run across.
 
Northampton put two runners on with one out, then doubled home the pair to get on the board. The Spartans took the lead on a single to left, and scored a run to take a 3-2 lead. Another run scored on a ground out to short, and the inning threatened to continue after an error and a walk. Matson was relieved by Kirk Stensrud (First Year; Glenside, PA), who got a fly out to end the inning.
 
Both teams were quiet until Northampton added a run in the fourth, when the Falcons threw a few wild pitches, making it 5-2. Kelleher got the run back in the bottom frame, homering with two outs to cut the deficit to 5-3.
 
Klyver had a rough entrance in the top of the fifth, giving up a single, followed by a two-run homerun that made it 7-3, Spartans. Klyver settled in after that, getting three straight outs, punctuated by a punch out, to get the Falcons to the bottom half.
 
Louis Kegerreis (Redshirt First Year; Murrysville, PA) singled to start the inning, and then scored when Rickert tripled, cutting the deficit to 7-4. McNelly singled to score Rickert, and advanced to second on an error. A ground out pushed McNelly to third, and a double from Simpson scored McNelly to make it 7-6. A single put runners on the corners, and liner to right field was deep enough to score Simpson and tie the game at 7-7. The Falcons got another single from Kelleher to force a pitching change, but a fly out to right kept the inning from being a complete disaster for Northampton.
 
In the sixth, a leadoff single was wasted by Klyver getting three straight outs, and the Falcons struck in the bottom of the sixth. Back-to-back one-out singles put two on, and a two-out single from Simpson scored the pair, handing the Falcons a 9-7 lead heading into the seventh.
 
A base-running error cost the Spartans in the top of the seventh, and the Falcons scored another run in the bottom frame, when Matson singled with one-out to score Brooks Henderson IV (First Year; Feasterville, PA), who led the inning off with a walk. The Falcons, now ahead 10-7, got another single, forcing a pitching change, but the pair was stranded with a fly out and a foul out.
 
Northampton stranded two in the top of the eighth, and Lackawanna scored another run, this time on an error with two outs, pushing the lead to 11-7 heading into the top of the ninth. A two-out single, followed by a hit batter, put runners on first and second for the Spartans in the top of the ninth, but Klyver got the third out with an emphatic swinging strike out, giving Lackawanna the victory.
 
The win snaps what was an 18-game winning streak for Northampton, and gives the Falcons a little bit of momentum heading into the final weekend of their Region XIX DII schedule. Lackawanna will travel to Georgetown, DE on Friday, April 26^th, for a doubleheader against Delaware Tech CC, the first two games of three that the two will play this weekend. First pitch is at 12:00pm ET for game one at Delaware Tech's baseball field.