3/18/25
 
SCRANTON, Pa. – In one of the most bizarre and incredible games of baseball you could ever see, Lackawanna College nearly completed an historic comeback victory against RCSJ Gloucester, falling just short in a wild 20-18 non-region contest on a gorgeous Tuesday afternoon at Scranton HS baseball field.
 
The Falcons (7-10) pushed the D3 #1 Roadrunners (19-0) to the absolute brink in a game that had the following things occur:
 

• A combined 38 runs
• A combined 31 hits
• A combined 17 walks
• A combined 17 different pitchers
• A combined 13 wild pitches
• A combined nine hit batters
• An inning where nine runs were scored, six scoring on wild pitches alone
• In that same inning, the potential go-ahead run scored, but was wiped off because they didn't touch home plate, and were therefore called out
• A defensive lineman threw a 1-2-3 inning
• A player broke his bat in half on a swing…an aluminum bat.
• 23 runs scored in the final 2.5 innings

 
What it comes down to is that Gloucester held a 15-6 lead heading into the bottom of the eighth inning, having just plated four runs on a ground out, a passed ball, and a two-run error. The Falcons came to the plate in hopes of just trying to cut into the lead. What they got, instead, was one of the wildest innings they'd ever play.
 
It started with a Kenny Hirschfeld (New Hyde Park, NY) double, and he quickly scored on a Quinten Jones (Harrisburg, PA) single that made it 15-7, Roadrunners. A deep John Hughes (Hamilton, NJ) double to right-center field put runners on second and third, still nobody out, and forced a pitching change from the Roadrunners.
 
That pitching change didn't work, as the next batter was hit to load the bases, a wild itch brought a run home, and a walk loaded the bases again, forcing another change. The next pitcher threw a wild pitch to let another run home, then walked the next batter, then threw another wild pitch to score another run and force the third pitching change of the inning.
 
At this point, the deficit was down to 15-10, and Lackawanna had the bases loaded, still with nobody out. A walk was issued to load the bases, but a bad back pick attempt at third saw the ball skitter away into the outfield, allowing two runners to score and getting the Falcons within three at 15-12. Another walk put two on, still with nobody out. Another wild pitch sent runners to second and third before the first out was recorded via strikeout.
 
That brought Hirschfeld back up for his second at-bat of the inning. This time, he singled home a run to cut it to just two, and, miraculously, brought the go-ahead run to the plate for Lackawanna College, with runners on the corners and still one out.
 
Another wild pitch scored the runner on third and brought it to 15-14, Gloucester in front, with the tying run on second. A walk, followed by another wild pitch, put runners on second and third. Hughes drew a walk, which loaded the bases and prompted another pitching change, the fourth of the inning.
 
Another wild pitch, the seventh of the inning, brought home Hirschfeld to tie the game at 15-all. The Roadrunners finally got out #2 on a strikeout, bringing up Brooks Henderson IV (Feasterville, PA) with the go-ahead run 90-feet away.
 
Then, as if to up the ante, something even more bizarre happened. Another wild pitch bounced in the dirt and skipped back to the backstop, and it looked like the go-ahead run crossed to give the Falcons a lead. However, the Roadrunners appealed that the runner didn't touch home and had the catcher step on the plate with the ball in hand. The umpire agreed, and called the Falcons out, ending the inning early and erasing the go-ahead run, leaving the two teams knotted at 15 heading into the ninth inning.
 
RJ Mustaro had the big hit, as he often does, in the ninth inning, pounding a single to right field to score a pair of runs with one out to give Gloucester the 17-15 lead. Later, with the bases loaded and still one out, it was the Roadrunners' turn to benefit from a wild pitch, scoring a run to make it 18-15. A sac fly pushed it to a four-run lead, and then a two-out single to left scored the 20^th run of the game for the Roadrunners, giving them what looked to be a comfortable 20-15 lead heading into the bottom half.
 
Henderson stepped in to lead off the bottom frame, but was called out on a borderline strike on the outer half of the plate, much to his dismay. With one out, Nick Matson (Nanticoke, PA) took flight to deep left field for a solo homer, hitting the netting for the batting cage out in left field to give the Falcons a spark. Jordan Czerniak (Levittown, PA) hustled down the line to get on because of an error on the infield, then advanced to second because of the error. Now in scoring position, Czerniak stole third, but it would make no difference for Jason Prudente (Bear Creek Twp., PA), who launched a two-run shot to left field to get the Falcons closer at 20-18.
 
A strike out put two down, but back-to-back singles brought Hughes, the potential game-winning run, to the plate. Gloucester chose to intentionally walk the big righty to get to Jackson Weidner (Wildwood, MO), who stepped in with the bases loaded and two outs. Weidner battled, but ultimately half swung at a pitch up in the zone and flew out to shallow center field, ending one of the wildest games ever played.
 
Hirschfeld finished 3-for-4 with two runs scored and an RBI, while Matson was 3-for-5 with two runs scored and three RBIs. Prudente pinch-hit halfway through the game and ended up with three hits, two runs scored, and three RBIs. Hughes had two hits and two runs scored, while Deacon Brown (Williamsport, PA) added a pair of hits and an RBI. The Falcons used nine different pitchers. Jay Creighton (Somers, NY) and big lefty Julian Montez (Westfield, NJ), who doubles as a defensive lineman with Lackawanna College football, were the two most effective pitchers, giving up no runs on no hits in a combined 2.1 innings pitched. Hayden Klyver (Wilton, CT) took the loss, giving up the five runs in the ninth inning to the Roadrunners.
 
Lackawanna will try to bounce back when it starts Region XIX DII play this coming weekend, starting with a single nine-inning contest on the road at Delaware Tech CC in Georgetown, DE on Friday, March 21^st. First pitch is set for 3:00pm ET. Then, on Saturday, March 22^nd, the Falcons will host DTCC for a doubleheader at Scranton HS baseball field starting at 1:00pm ET.