3/8/25
 
NEW ROCHELLE, NY – Lackawanna College baseball finally put things together, halting an eight-game skid and securing a much-needed doubleheader split with an 11-3 win at Monroe University in game two between the two in New York on Saturday afternoon. The Falcons fell 6-5 in game one, blowing a three-run lead late.
 
The Falcons (3-8) were excellent at the plate in game two, combining their offense with an excellent start from Liam O'Leary (Souderton, PA). O'Leary pitched six strong innings, giving up three runs on five hits and striking out a season-high nine batters.
 
Lackawanna hit the front in the second inning, plating a pair of runs courtesy of a Jack Friend (East Setauket, NY) single to center. Brooks Henderson IV (Feasterville, PA) added with an RBI single of his own, and the Falcons led 3-0.
 
They built on that lead with a pair of runs in the third, courtesy of a two-run triple from Kenny Hirschfeld (New Hyde Park, NY). Monroe scored a run in the third on a ground out, but Henderson added another RBI with a single in the fourth to make it 6-1, Falcons.
 
Monroe put together a pair of RBI singles to cut the Lackawanna advantage to 6-3 after four innings, taking advantage of a pair of Lackawanna errors in the inning, but the Falcons answered back with a two-run single from Jason Prudente (Bear Creek Twp., PA), plus an RBI ground out, extending the Lackawanna advantage to 9-3 after 4.5 innings.
 
Two more Falcons runs crossed in the sixth, thanks to a wild pitch and a triple from Deacon Brown (Williamsport, PA), and O'Leary danced around a pair of walks in the sixth to keep the Mustangs off the board. Nick Matson (Nanticoke, PA) came on for a rare relief appearance in the seventh for Lackawanna College. After a strikeout, back-to-back hits put runners on second and third with just one away. Matson recovered to get another strikeout, then induced a ground out to short to end the game and give Lackawanna the victory.
 
Henderson was 3-for-4 with a run scored and two RBI, while Brown went 2-for-3 with three runs scored, and both Hirschfeld and Prudente added two RBI, apiece. O'Leary's win is his second on the season.
 
Game one was the typical tight contest between Lackawanna and Monroe, with neither team holding much of an advantage until a wild sixth inning.
 
Trailing 3-2 heading into the sixth, the Falcons got going with a one-out double from Jake Kelleher (Exeter, PA). A walk put two on, and Kelleher advanced to third on an error from the catcher. The Falcons tied the game when Brown doubled to left, scoring Kelleher and bringing the go-ahead run to third. A fielder's choice forced the out at the plate, and Monroe went to the pen, now with runners on the corners and two down. Prudente got another big hit on the day, singling to left and scoring a pair of runs to put Lackawanna up 5-3 after 5.5 innings.
 
In the bottom of the sixth, a one-out triple gave the Mustangs some life, and a double to center scored the runner to cut the Lackawanna lead to 5-4 and place the tying run at second. That chased the starter, Ryan Novakowski (Forty Fort, PA), from the contest, and Lackawanna brought in Hayden Klyver (Wilton, CT) to try to clean up the mess. A ground out was the second out of the inning, but back-to-back singles swung the momentum back to Monroe, as the Mustangs took a 6-5 lead with two down, which is where the lead would stay heading into the seventh.
 
The Falcons placed a two-out runner on thanks to a walk, but a fly out to center from Kelleher ended game one and gave Monroe the victory.
 
Prudente was 1-for-3 with two RBI, while Kelleher was 1-for-3 with two runs scored, a walk, and an RBI. Brown went 1-for-3 with a run scored and an RBI. Novakowski gave up five runs in 5.1 innings of action, and Klyver was hit with the loss, giving up the go-ahead run in the sixth.
 
Lackawanna College will make its "home" debut on Sunday, March 9^th, as the Falcons are set to host the Lazers of SUNY Onondaga CC for a doubleheader at Schautz Stadium in Dunmore. First pitch of game one is at 1:00pm ET.