3/26/25
 
MEDIA, Pa. – Lackawanna College baseball won its fourth-straight game with a 7-4 victory on the road against Region XIX DIII opponent Delaware County CC on Wednesday afternoon.
 
The Falcons (11-10) used seven pitchers through nine innings and had strong performances from just about everybody. Lackawanna struck out 14 batters and allowed only four runs on two hits, which all came in the final inning of play.
 
While the pitchers held the offense for Delco (1-14-1) at bay, the bats for the Falcons did just enough to keep things moving. Right fielder Deacon Brown (Williamsport, PA) went 4-for-4 with four RBIs, two coming on a two-run home run in the fifth inning. Brooks Henderson IV (Feasterville, PA) scored a pair of runs on two hits, while Jack Friend (East Setauket, NY) had a pair of hits, an RBI, and two runs.
 
Brown got the Falcons going in the first, after Henderson and John Hughes (Hamilton, NJ) hit back-to-back one-out doubles to put runners in scoring position. Brown lifted a ball to center field for a sac fly to score Henderson and put the Falcons in front, but another fly out ended the first early.
 
Pitcher Julian Montez (Westfield, NJ) got the start for the Falcons in the bottom half, and he retired three batters on an efficient eleven pitches, which included a strikeout.
 
A bases loaded sac fly scored another run for the Falcons in the second, and pitcher Josiah Williams (Emmaus, PA) retired the Phantoms in order in the bottom of the second with a pair of strikeouts and a fly out. Landon Brandt (Wapakoneta, OH) took over in the third and had a similarly strong inning, striking out a pair in a 1-2-3 third.
 
The Falcons wasted a pair of base runners in the top of the fourth, but pitcher Jack Hansen (Holden, MA) retired the side in order in the bottom frame to keep Delco off the base paths.
 
Hughes drew a leadoff walk in the top of the fifth, then came home when Brown homered, his fifth of the season, to make it 4-0, Falcons. Later, Friend singled home a run and got to third on an error, pushing the Lackawanna advantage to 5-0. Another sac fly scored Friend, and the Falcons led 6-0 after 4.5 innings.
 
Jay Creighton (Somers, NY) came on and gave up a leadoff walk in the fifth, the first baserunner of the game for Delco, but he recovered to get the next three outs and get the Falcons out of any serious trouble.
 
Lackawanna stranded two in the top of the sixth, and Cole Long (Burnettsville, IN) came on to pitch the bottom half. Another leadoff walk, followed by two stolen bases, put the Phantoms on third with nobody out. Long got back-to-back strikeouts, then picked off the runner at third trying to score at home to preserve the zero.
 
Pitcher Geoffrey Moore came on in the seventh and immediately struck out the side on nine pitches. That fired up the Falcons for the eighth, as Henderson doubled with one out, then came home on a Brown single with two outs to make it 7-0, Falcons. Lackawanna had runners in scoring position with two down, but couldn't get any more.
 
Flash forward to the bottom of the ninth, and Moore came back out for what would be his third inning of work. A leadoff walk, then back-to-back stolen bases, then another walk, all put runners on the corners with nobody out. A fielder's choice to short gave Delco its first run of the game, as the Falcons settled for the force out at second. A double to right field was the first hit of the game for the Phantoms and put runners in scoring position with one out, and an infield single, followed by an error at first, allowed two runs to score and make it 7-3. With a runner at second and still one out, another stolen base put that runner on third. Moore got a key strikeout to put two away, but a steal of home netted the Phantoms their fourth run of the inning. Before things could go any further, Moore induced a fly out to center to end the game and give the Falcons their fourth-straight win.
 
Since starting the year 2-8, Lackawanna has gone 9-2 over its last eleven games, with separate five-game and four-game winning streaks. Lackawanna College gets back to Region XIX Division II play on Friday, March 28^th, when the Falcons are scheduled to start a three-game series with Raritan Valley CC. Game one is set for 3:00pm ET on Friday at Scranton HS baseball field. The two teams will then play a doubleheader on Saturday, March 29^th, at Raritan Valley CC in Branchburg, NJ.