5/11/24
 
WEST WINDSOR TWP., NJ – With its back against the wall and its offense sputtering all day, Lackawanna College baseball did the only thing it could: Walk. A lot.
 
The Falcons drew five straight walks in the bottom of the ninth, turning a 4-3 deficit into a miraculous 5-4 win in an elimination game against County College of Morris on Saturday afternoon at Mercer County CC, gifting the Falcons a berth in the Region XIX DII Baseball Championship game on Sunday morning against Mercer.
 
Lackawanna (31-22) had been struggling on the day, already dropping a narrow 4-2 defeat to Mercer earlier in the day to drop into the elimination bracket. Morris (30-15), meanwhile, had a ton of momentum after knocking off Sussex County in the opening game of the day, and led 4-1 going into the bottom of the seventh, and then 4-3 heading into the bottom of the ninth.
 
Brayden D'Amico (Sophomore; Bethlehem, PA) worked a leadoff walk to start the do-or-die frame, and catcher Jake Kelleher (First Year; Exeter, PA) did the same to put two on and nobody out. Logan Mote (Redshirt First Year; Branchburg, NJ), who was subbed as a pinch-runner in the seventh, fell behind 0-2, before fighting back to draw a third-straight walk, loading the bases with nobody out. In stepped Louis Kegerreis (Redshirt First Year; Murrysville, PA), who drew a four-pitch, bases-loaded walk to force the tying run home, and forcing the Titans to switch things up on the bump.
 
With the bases loaded and still nobody out, Nick Matson (Redshirt First Year; Nanticoke, PA) quickly worked himself ahead at 2-0. A pitch ran inside to make it 3-0, but then a fast ball hit the inner-half for a strike. The 3-1 was a breaking ball in the dirt, forcing home the game-winning run and giving Lackawanna College an improbable come-from-behind victory.
 
The Falcons had originally fallen behind at 3-0 through the first 5 ½ innings, but a two-out double from Matson was followed by an RBI-single from Aydan McNelly (Sophomore; Limerick, PA) to put the Falcons on the board, down 3-1. Lackawanna wanted more, but a big strikeout looking ended the potential rally.
 
After Morris plated another run in the top of the seventh on a wild pitch, Lackawanna went to work in the bottom of the seventh. With two outs and a runner on second, Kelleher went opposite field for a long double that just beat the right fielder to cut the deficit to 4-2. Michael Rickert (Sophomore; Moosic, PA) singled to right to score a hustling Kelleher, making it 4-3. Kegerreis singled to put two aboard, but a ground out to third ended the Lackawanna threat.
 
Morris had its chances to add to its lead in the eighth and ninth, but Nathan Russell (Sophomore; Drexel Hill, PA) was excellent in relief, after a shaky seventh. He danced around a one-out single in the top of the eighth, then fired up a big zero in the top of the ninth, with two assists from Brooks Henderson IV (First Year; Feasterville, PA) at the hot corner to keep the Titans off the base paths, and to set up the Falcons rally.
 
Russell got the win, throwing four innings of relief, and giving up a run on two hits and five strikeouts. Kelleher was 1-for-3 with two runs scored and an RBI, while D'Amico, Rickert, Kegerreis, Matson, and Jacob Simpson (Sophomore; Scranton, PA) all went 1-for-3.
 
Game one for the Falcons on the day was a tight-contest with Mercer. The top-seeded Vikings (33-21) used a four-run fourth inning to snag the lead, doubling three separate times to put some distance between themselves and the Falcons. Starter Collin Williams was excellent, giving up two runs on five hits in 6 2/3 innings, and closer Ryan Conover went 2 1/3 innings for the save.
 
The Falcons were held in check until the seventh inning, when they finally broke through on Williams. With a runner on first and two outs, Henderson doubled to put runners in scoring position. D'Amico followed with an RBI-single to get Lackawanna on the board, and Kelleher matched that with an RBI-single of his own to cut the deficit in half at 4-2. A Rickert walk loaded the bases and forced a pitching change with two outs, but Conover got the strikeout with the bases loaded to end the threat.
 
Lackawanna got a base runner in the eighth, but a 6-4-3 double play ended that chance, and the Falcons were retired in order in the ninth to end the game and send Lackawanna into the elimination bracket, setting up that wild game two win over Morris.
 
Nicholas Finarelli (Redshirt First Year; Hunlock Creek, PA) got tagged with the loss, giving up four runs on nine hits in four innings, with five strikeouts. Nicholas Biasi (First Year; Hazle Twp, PA) pitched well in relief, giving up just a hit and striking out six in four innings. D'Amico went 2-for-4 with an RBI, while Henderson was 1-for-3 with a run scored, and Michael Miller (Sophomore; Lafayette Hill, PA) was 1-for-3 with a run scored.
 
Lackawanna College will now advance into the Region XIX DII Baseball Championship, where the Falcons will face the top-seeded Mercer County CC Vikings. The first of a potential two games will be on Sunday, May 12^th, at 11:00am ET at Mercer County CC's baseball field. If Mercer wins, the Vikings are the champions. If Lackawanna wins, there will be a winner-take-all championship game immediately following the conclusion of game one.
 
The winner from the weekend will advance to the East District tournament, to be played next weekend at SUNY Sullivan County CC in Loch Sheldrake, NY.