3/28/25
 
SCRANTON, Pa. – And early jump and great starting pitching helped Lackawanna College baseball humble Raritan Valley CC, 14-1, in seven innings on a cloudy, sometimes rainy Friday afternoon in Region XIX DII play at Scranton HS baseball field.
 
The Falcons (12-10, 4-0) got an excellent start from Ryan Novakowski (Forty Fort, PA) on the bump, and scored eleven runs through the first three innings to build a lead that was never put into serious threat. Novakowski struck out eight batters and allowed just one run on two hits, pitching all seven innings of the run-rule contest. Five Falcons had two or more hits, as Jake Kelleher (Exeter, PA), Louis Kegerreis (Murrysville, PA), and Jason Prudente (Bear Creek Twp., PA) each had three base-knocks, while Jordan Czerniak (Levittown, PA) and Brooks Henderson IV (Feasterville, PA) each had two hits. Kegerreis had two runs and five RBIs, scoring three of those RBIs on his fourth home run of the season, coming in the second inning. Kelleher had three runs, while Prudente had a pair of runs and two RBIs.
 
The Falcons got singles from their first three batters, as Kelleher led the inning off with a single, then came home to score on a double from Tyler Lepage (Macungie, PA), and another run scored on a single from Kegerreis. Before an out was recorded for the Falcons, they led 2-0. A passed ball scored a third run, then a Henderson single made it 4-0. Prudente later followed with a two-out single to center to score Henderson and put the Falcons up 5-0 heading into the second inning.
 
Raritan (6-9-1, 2-2) got a leadoff single to start the second inning, but Novakowski sandwiched a strikeout with a pair of fly outs to strand the runner. After Kelleher and Czerniak led the second off with back-to-back singles, Kegerreis went deep to left field for a three-run homer to blow things open at 8-0.
 
The Falcons added three more in the third, through a Prudente RBI single, and back-to-back RBI hits from Czerniak and Kegerreis. Lackawanna led 11-0 after just three innings.
 
While Novakowski continued to mow down the opposition, the Falcons kept adding pressure. A run scored in the fifth, courtesy of an RBI single from Josiah Williams (Emmaus, PA). Lackawanna added two more in the sixth, thanks to an RBI single from Jack Friend (East Setauket, NY) and a sac fly from Antonio Digrigoli (Brooklyn, NY). Lackawanna held a 14-0 heading into the top of the seventh.
 
With the run-rule in effect, Raritan needed to score runs to keep the game going. A hit batter broke a streak of 15 straight outs from Novakowski, and a single, followed by a walk, loaded the bases for the Lions with nobody out. A strikeout was the first out of the inning, but the Falcons were forced to trade an out for a run when a fly ball to right was deep enough to score the runner on third, spoiling the shutout. Novakowski got his eighth and final K with a swinging strikeout on the next batter to end the game early and give the Falcons the game one victory in the three-game set.
 
Lackawanna College has now won five-in-a-row, and the Falcons have another pair of games coming on Saturday, March 29^th, when they travel to take on Raritan in a doubleheader to wrap up the series. First pitch is set for 12:00pm ET at Raritan Valley's baseball field in Branchburg, NJ.