3/17/25
 
SCRANTON, Pa. – Lackawanna College baseball will test itself this week with a tough opponent on Tuesday, March 18^th, as the two-time defending Division III national champion RCSJ Gloucester Roadrunners come to town for a single nine-inning Region XIX cross-divisional contest.
 
First pitch is set for 3:00pm ET at Scranton HS Baseball Field, weather permitting. There will be a pay-per-view video livestream available via the Lackawanna College Athletics Network at lackawannafalcons.com/LIVE.
 
About Lackawanna College
The Falcons (7-9) split a doubleheader in their last bit of action, beating Allegany College of Maryland in game one, 14-0, before falling 6-1 in game two. Lackawanna had 15 hits in game one, including a pair of home runs, and got a stellar outing from the pitching staff. In game two, the Falcons hit a home run in the top of the first inning, but that would be all in the way of runs, as Lackawanna College was held scoreless the rest of the way, committing five errors. You can read the full recap HERE.
 
In 16 games, the Falcons are hitting a combined .316, compiling a collective .950 OPS, which includes a .417 OBP. Lackawanna has 67 extra-base hits, including 45 doubles and 18 home runs. The Falcons are slugging at .533, and they have scored 125 runs. Lackawanna has drawn 72 walks and struck out 130 times as a team this year, while stealing 19 bases.
 
On the mound, the Falcons have a 7.05 ERA, giving up 108 runs, 87 earned, on 128 hits through 111 innings pitched. Teams are hitting .281 against the Falcons this season, with seven home runs and 32 extra-base hits. Lackawanna has struck out 120 batters and walked 90. The Falcons have also plunked 22 batters this year.
 
Defensively, the Falcons have 33 errors and a .930 fielding percentage. The Falcons have caught seven baserunners stealing this year and have forced five double plays.
 
Sophomore shortstop Brooks Henderson IV (Feasterville, PA) leads the team, hitting .426 in his 15 appearances. Henderson has a 1.160 OPS with six doubles, tied for second on the team, and 15 RBIs. He's got a .475 OBP on the year. Brooks leads the Falcons with 23 overall hits this season, and he has scored 14 runs, tied for first on the team, and has drawn six walks on the year. Henderson has six multi-hit games, going 3-for-5 with two runs scored and a pair of RBIs in the 13-6 win over Bryant & Stratton on February 9^th. He was a perfect 4-for-4 with two runs scored and a triple in the game one win against Onondaga on March 9^th. Henderson had a ten-game hitting streak that was snapped with a 0-for-3 performance in game two against Allegany. He was 2-for-6 with a homer and a double, along with two runs scored and an RBI, in the 11-9 win against RCSJ Cumberland. He was a combined 1-for-6 with a run scored and two RBIs against Allegany in two games. Defensively, Henderson has 21 putouts, 29 assists, and four errors on the year from his shortstop position.
 
First-year outfielder Deacon Brown (Williamsport, PA) is second on the team with 20 total hits and has a .400 batting average this year. Brown has a 1.188 OPS and a .508 OBP. Brown has scored 12 runs, tied for fourth on the team, and he has posted six doubles, two homers, and 14 RBIs, second on the squad. He's drawn seven walks and has been hit by five pitches, also first on the team. Brown has five multi-hit games on the year and has an eleven-game hitting streak. He was a perfect 3-for-3 in the loss to Bryant & Stratton on Sunday, February 9^th, hitting a double and driving in another run. Deacon hit a two-run homer in game one against Onondaga on March 9^th, then hit another two-run homer in game two. Deacon has nine hits in his last seven games, and six of them have been for extra bases. He was a combined 2-for-6 with a double in the two games against Allegany. Deacon has been busy in the field, with 29 putouts, three assists, and one error this year.
 
Sophomore Louis Kegerreis (Murrysville, PA) is a .321 hitter this season through 14 appearances, collecting 18 total hits. Kegerreis has 14 runs scored this season, tied with Henderson for first on the team, and he has a team-high nine doubles and 16 RBIs. Kegerreis has a .987 OPS, boosted by a .643 slugging percentage on the season. He has drawn three walks, but is tied for second in strikeouts with 12 this year. Kegerreis has five multi-hit games this season, including three of his last four games. Kegerreis was 3-for-5 against Cumberland on March 12^th, hitting a two-run homer in the first, a double, scoring two runs, and driving in three more. He's 8-for-16 in his last four games with six runs scored and eight RBIs. Louis went 3-for-7 with two doubles, a homer, and three RBIs in two games against Allegany. He has 16 putouts and 17 assists this season in the field.
 
Sophomore outfielder Nick Matson (Nanticoke, PA) is a .321 hitter this season through 15 games, collecting 17 hits and driving in ten runs. Matson has scored nine runs and has put up six doubles on the year. He has drawn five walks and stole five bases, but he leads the Falcons with 14 strikeouts this season. Matson has seven multi-hit games this season, and he was 3-for-6 in the opener against Bryant & Stratton, driving in six runs and posting two doubles. Matson was a combined 3-for-7 with two runs scored and a double in the split against Allegany on the weekend. Matson has 27 putouts on the season.
 
Sophomore first baseman John Hughes (Hamilton, NJ) is a .432 hitter with 16 hits in 12 games this year. Hughes has a 1.362 OPS, with 13 runs scored and 13 RBIs. He has six doubles, a triple, and two home runs this season. Hughes has drawn eight walks, tied for the team lead, and he has been hit by three pitches. Hughes has a .551 OBP this year, and he's slugging at .811. Hughes has four multi-hit games this season, and he was 3-for-5 with three doubles and three RBIs in the win against Cumberland on March 12^th. Against Allegany, he was a combined 1-for-6 with a run scored, two RBI, and a homer.
 
Sophomore catcher and DH Jake Kelleher (Exeter, PA) is a .342 hitter through 13 games this season, compiling a .973 OPS on the year. Kelleher has scored 12 runs and collected 13 total hits, posting four doubles, a homer, and eight RBIs. Kelleher has drawn eight walks, tied with Hughes for first on the team, and he has two stolen bases. Kelleher has two multi-hit games this season, including going 3-for-4 with three runs scored, a double, and two RBIs in the game one win against Allegany on Saturday. He was a combined 4-for-7 in the two games, and he has recorded at least a hit in his last three games. Kelleher has caught two runners stealing this season as a catcher and has five assists and no errors on the year behind the plate.
 
Sophomore catcher Kenny Hirschfeld (New Hyde Park, NY) is a .308 hitter this season in his 14 appearances, collecting 12 total hits and driving in seven runs. Hirschfeld has three doubles and a homer, and he has scored ten runs. Hirschfeld had two hits in each of his first two games and has three multi-hit games on the season. Hirschfeld was a combined 1-for-4 with one run scored in the doubleheader against Allegany.
 
Sophomore infielder Tyler Lepage (Macungie, PA) is a .429 hitter with a 1.514 OPS through ten appearances this season. Lepage has five homers, first on the team, and has eleven RBIs. His 1.000 slugging percentage is first on the squad. He has 12 total hits, and eleven runs scored on the year. Lepage has drawn four walks and been hit by a pair of pitches. Lepage has four multi-hit games this season. He was 3-for-4 with two runs scored, a double, two homers, and three RBI in a 15-7 loss to Patrick & Henry on February 23^rd. He went 2-for-5 with two runs scored, four RBI, and two homers in a win against Bryant & Stratton back on February 9^th. Lepage missed four games, but returned to the lineup last week against RCSJ Cumberland. He played in game one against Allegany, going 2-for-3 with two runs scored, two RBIs, and a home run. Lepage has six putouts and eight assists this season.
 
Sophomore pitcher Liam O'Leary (Souderton, PA) leads the team with 25.1 innings pitched, making five appearances, four of which have been starts. O'Leary has a 2-2 record with a 6.39 ERA. He has given up 22 runs, 18 earned, on 30 hits, while striking out a team-high 32 batters and walking 13. The opposition is hitting .283 against him this year, and he has hit a team-high six batters. O'Leary's best outing happened against Monroe on March 8^th, where he went six innings, striking out a season-best nine batters, and allowed three runs, all earned, on five hits. O'Leary has recorded at least four strikeouts in all five of his appearances this season. He took the loss in his last outing, giving up five runs, four earned, on six hits in five innings of work against Allegany.
 
Sophomore pitcher Ryan Novakowski (Forty Fort, PA) is second on the team in innings pitched, throwing 23.1 innings on the year. Novakowski is 1-2 with a 7.33 ERA in his five appearances, all starts. Novakowski has given up 19 runs, all earned, on 26 hits, with 24 strikeouts and eleven walks. Batters are hitting .286 against Novakowski this year. His best outing came against Allegany this past weekend in game one of the doubleheader, striking out nine in a complete game shutout in seven innings. He scattered four hits and walked three in the 14-0 win.
 
Sophomore Trey Sajeski (Holland, PA) is third on the team, pitching 16 innings in five appearances this season. He's 1-1 with a 6.75 ERA. Sajeski has given up 15 runs, 12 earned, on 20 hits, striking out 18 and walking nine batters. The opposition is hitting .286 against him this season. Sajeski threw his best game on March 9^th against Onondaga, striking out a season-high seven in a season-long six innings. He gave up just one run on five hits for the win in the 11-1 victory for Lackawanna. In his last outing, Sajeski gave up a run on two hits in an inning of relief against Allegany College of Maryland.
 
The head coach for the Falcons is Mike McCarry, now in his seventh season with Lackawanna College. McCarry has had loads of success in his time with the Falcons, making the NJCAA Division II World Series in three of his previous six seasons. In 2019, his first year, the Falcons went 32-17, won the Region XIX championship, and then the Northeast District championship on their way to the national showcase. The Falcons duplicated that result in 2021, going 30-16, winning another region and district title, and then appearing in Enid, Oklahoma for the NJCAA DII World Series. McCarry's 2023 team went 40-17, tied for second all-time in program history in wins, and the Falcons won region and district gold, while also winning two games at the NJCAA DII World Series. McCarry is a southeastern Pennsylvania native, and he has ties to Northeast PA dating back to his time playing at Keystone College in 2003. McCarry started his collegiate coaching career at LaSalle University, where he served as the head assistant. He moved on the Stephen F. Austin as a pitching coach, before joining the Lackawanna staff. He is 173-109 in his career at Lackawanna.
 
About Rowan College of South Jersey - Gloucester
The Roadrunners (18-0) are the current #1 team in NJCAA Division III play, and they are the two-time defending national champions. Gloucester is a combined 122-13 since the start of the 2023 season. The Roadrunners won a slugfest of a doubleheader in their last pair of games, taking 16-15 and 14-11 wins against Delaware Tech this past Sunday. In game one, Gloucester built an early 11-3 lead, then saw Del Tech scored 12 runs between the fourth and the sixth innings to take a 15-11 lead into the bottom of the sixth. Gloucester, which hit six home runs in game one, scored the final five runs, winning on a walk off single down the left field line in the seventh. Gloucester hit three more homers in game two, building a 14-2 lead after four innings of play. Del Tech responded with two runs in the fifth, and then seven runs in the sixth to get within 14-11, before the Roadrunners closed the game out for the win.
 
This season, Gloucester is hitting at .375 as a team through 18 games, with a 1.080 OPS, which includes a .487 OBP and a .593 slugging percentage. The Roadrunners have 76 extra-base hits, including 46 doubles and 24 homers. They have scored 238 runs on the season, a 13.2 runs per game average. Gloucester has drawn 102 walks and struck out 80 times this season, while stealing 21 bags on the year. The Roadrunners have also been hit by 40 pitches this season.
 
As a pitching staff, Gloucester has a 3.36 ERA, giving up 62 runs, 49 earned, on 90 hits in 131.1 innings pitched. The Roadrunners have struck out 210 batters and walked just 61, and opponents are hitting just .197 on the year.
 
Sophomore outfielder RJ Mustaro leads the team with 39 total hits and has a .619 batting average this season through 18 games. Mustaro has a team-high 1.763 OPS, which includes a 1.079 slugging percentage and a .694 OBP. Mustaro leads the Roadrunners in runs scored (39), doubles (8), home runs (7), extra-base hits (15), RBIs (29), walks (17), and stolen bases (7). He has 12 games with two or more hits on the season, including his last seven games, where he's gone a combined 22-for-31 (.710) at the plate. Against Del Tech, he had eight hits, six runs scored, three RBIs, two doubles, and a home run.
 
First-year outfielder Matt Brunner is second on the team with 28 total hits this season, hitting .475 through 16 games on the year. Brunner has 31 runs scored on the year, second on the Roadrunners, and he has hit five doubles and three homers to drive in 24 RBIs. Brunner has a 1.234 OPS, boosted by his .522 OBP and a .712 slugging percentage. He has eleven games with two or more hits, at one time running an eight-game streak of multiple-hits in a game. His best was a 4-for-5 showing against Ocean County on March 11^th, scoring four runs, driving in four more, and hitting a double. Brunner was a combined 2-for-8 with four runs scored, three RBIs, and two homers against Delaware Tech this past weekend.
 
First-year corner infielder Alex Apicella has 25 total hits, tied for third on the team, and is hitting .357 through 18 games on the year. Apicella has a .898 OPS on the season, scoring 26 runs and driving in 12 more. He has three doubles, a triple, and a home run. Apicella has drawn seven walks this season and stolen a base. Apicella has seven multi-hit games on the year, which includes his last four appearances. Apicella has an eleven-game hitting streak heading into the game with Lackawanna. He's 9-for-16 in his last four games, scoring ten runs, driving in four more, and accumulating a double and a homer. Apicella was a combined 5-for-7 with five runs scored, a home run, and two RBIs in the doubleheader win against Delaware Tech.
 
First-year infielder Gavin West also has 25 total hits and has a .446 batting average through 16 games this season. West has scored 24 runs this year and has a 1.201 OPS, helped by a .522 OBP and a .679 slugging percentage. West has four doubles, a team-high three triples, and a homer for 16 RBIs on the year. West has drawn seven walks this season. He has eight multi-hit games on the season, including both games against Delaware Tech this past weekend, where he was a combined 4-for-7 with four runs scored, three RBIs, a double, a triple, and a homer in the sweep. West had a four-hit game against Rosemont College, scoring three runs, driving in three more, and hitting a triple in the win on March 4^th.
 
First-year corner infielder Nick Slogik has 22 total hits and is a .338 hitter on the year in 18 games this season. He has scored 21 runs and driven in 17 this year. Slogik is second on the team with seven doubles, and he has drawn eleven walks on the year. He has a .962 OPS on the season. Slogik has seven multi-hit games this year. His best game was a 4-for-4 showing against Rosemont College, scoring three runs and driving in four more. He was a combined 2-for-7 with two runs scored, two RBIs, and a home run against Delaware Tech over the weekend.
 
First-year pitcher Carson Magill leads the Roadrunners in pitching, appearing in four games, all starts, and pitching a team-high 16.2 innings. Magill is 2-0 with a team-high 0.54 ERA, striking out a team-best 30 batters and walking just one. He has given up two runs, only one earned, on 12 hits. Magill has struck out at least seven batters in all four of his appearances. He punched out a season-best nine batters in a 13-2 win against Union College this past Saturday, allowing one run on three hits in four innings.
 
Sophomore hurler Landon Edwards has made four appearances, all starts, and pitched 14 innings, going 1-0 with a 1.93 ERA, second on the team. Edwards has struck out 29 batters and walked just five, giving up six runs, three earned, on eleven hits. Edwards has struck out at least seven batters in all four of his outings. Edwards gave up two runs on one hit in three innings, striking out a season-best eight batters in an 18-2 win against Union College on March 15^th.
 
First-year pitcher Zach Wallace has made four appearances, pitching 13.2 innings and going 3-0 with a 1.32 ERA. Wallace has struck out 17 batters while giving up three runs, just two earned, on five hits. In three of his four games, Wallace has wracked up at least five strikeouts. In his last appearance, he struck out six, a season-high, in 4.1 innings of a 5-3 win at Union on March 14^th.
 
The head coach is Rob Valli, now in his 16^th season with the Roadrunners, and 22^nd year overall. Valli has won a pair of national championships, both occurring in the last two seasons, has gotten the Roadrunners to 13 NJCAA World Series appearances, and averages well over 35 wins a season in his tenure. This is Valli's second stint with RCSJ Gloucester, sandwiching a six-year stint with Temple University baseball. Valli has mentored over 30 All-Americans in his time, with over 70 players eventually advancing to professional baseball, including seven major league players. Valli has over 30 years of education and baseball coaching experience. He's a member of the faculty at Gloucester and also serves as the Health, Physical Education and Recreation program coordinator. Rob also spent time as a major league scout for nine seasons, working in the northeast to help major league organizations identify potential prospects. He is 763-351-2 all-time in his career, and 651-139-2 at Gloucester.
 
The Match-Up
Lackawanna College has not played Gloucester since the 2021 season. That year, the Roadrunners took the Falcons down in a doubleheader sweep at home, 20-2 and 2-1, before Lackawanna got the 7-5 win at home the next day. The win for Lackawanna came because of a rain-shortened contest in five innings.
 
First pitch of Tuesday's game is set for 3:00pm ET at Scranton HS Baseball Field, weather permitting. There will be a pay-per-view video livestream available via the Lackawanna College Athletics Network at lackawannafalcons.com/LIVE.
 
Lackawanna College will open Region XIX DII play in its next scheduled contests, as the Falcons travel to Georgetown, DE to take on Delaware Tech CC in the region opener on Friday, March 21^st. First pitch is at 3:00pm ET. Then, on Saturday, March 22^nd, the Falcons will host DTCC in a doubleheader at Scranton HS. First pitch of the doubleheader is at 1:00pm ET.