4/13/25
 
WEST WINDSOR TWP., NJ – In a clash between the two top teams in Region XIX Division II, Lackawanna College baseball managed to split the spoils with Mercer County CC, as each side grabbed a win in the doubleheader on an overcast Sunday afternoon in New Jersey. Mercer won game one, 9-1, and Lackawanna took game two, 11-4.
 
The Falcons (19-13, 9-2) struggled at the plate in game one, recording only two hits and not scoring until the sixth inning, while Mercer steadily built a 9-0 lead through the first five innings.
 
Starter Ryan Novakowski (Forty Fort, PA) gave up one run in each of the first three innings, then had the dam break in the fourth, as the Vikings struck for five runs, all scoring with two outs on the board, to chase him from the game. Novakowski went 3.2 innings, giving up eight runs on ten hits, with three strikeouts.
 
The Vikings (25-10, 10-1) piled on 12 hits, drew four walks, and took advantage of three Lackawanna errors. The Falcons were led by Jake Kelleher (Exeter, PA), who scored a run and had a hit, and by Deacon Brown (Williamsport, PA), who had the RBI and the other hit for the Falcons.
 
A sac fly in the bottom of the first plated Mercer's first run, and the Vikings scored again in the second, taking advantage of an error on the infield to make it 2-0.
 
After the Falcons were sat down in order with three strikeouts in the top of the third, another sac fly scored a run to push the Mercer lead to 3-0. Later, the Vikings got greedy trying to steal third and were caught stealing, and Novakowski forced a fly out to right to get out of the inning.
 
Lackawanna wasted a one-out walk in the top of the fourth, and the flood gates opened in the bottom half. A leadoff walk almost didn't matter, after Novakowski got two straight outs, but with a runner on third and two down, an RBI single began a five-run rally with two outs. Another single put two on, then a two-run triple pushed the Mercer advantage to six. Another single made it seven, and an error on the infield let another run score to make it 8-0 and chase Novakowski from the game. Jay Creighton (Somers, NY) came in and, after an initial walk, got a fielder's choice to end the inning and strand the bases loaded.
 
The Falcons went down swinging in order in the top of the fifth, and the Vikings hit a solo homer to lead off the bottom half, before Creighton bounced back and stranded a pair of runners to minimize the damage, but it was 9-0, Mercer, after five innings.
 
Finally, the Falcons broke through in the top of the sixth. A one-out double from Kelleher was the first hit of the game for Lackawanna. A two-out walk put two on, and Brown delivered with an RBI single to score Kelleher and get Lackawanna on the board. A fly out with two on ended the potential rally, and neither team would score over the last two half innings of play, allowing Mercer to take game one.
 
As poorly as game one went, that's how well game two proceeded for the Falcons, as Lackawanna posted 19 hits and built up an 11-2 run heading into the seventh inning on their way to the 11-4 victory. Starter Trey Sajeski (Holland, PA) had one of his best games of the season, allowing four runs on eight hits in a complete game, striking out five batters. Brown was 3-for-3 with two RBIs and two runs and a solo home run, while John Hughes (Hamilton, NJ) went 3-for-5 with three runs and a solo home run, and Nick Matson (Nanticoke, PA) was 3-for-3 with two runs and an RBI double. Kelleher, Brooks Henderson IV (Feasterville, PA), Louis Kegerreis (Murrysville, PA), Tyler Lepage (Macungie, PA), and Jack Friend (East Setauket, NY) all had two hits apiece. Kelleher had a solo homer, Lepage had two doubles, and Henderson added a double.
 
Lackawanna hit the front in the first inning, as Brown homered with one out to get the Falcons in front for the first time all afternoon. Sajeski gave up a two-run homer in the bottom frame to give Mercer a 2-1 lead after an inning, but neither team could do anything in the second, setting the stage for the avalanche to start for the Falcons in the third.
 
Brown led the inning off with a single to give the Falcons a baserunner. With one out and Brown on second, Hughes singled to put runners on the corners. A Henderson RBI single tied the game, and the Falcons took the lead when Lepage doubled home a pair of runs to push the Falcons ahead at 4-2 after 2.5 innings.
 
In the third, Mercer had a baserunner with one away, but an unassisted double play was turned by Kegerreis to keep the Vikings quiet. Kelleher made the opposition pay with a solo homer to lead off the top of the fourth inning, giving Lackawanna a 5-2 lead heading into the bottom of the fourth.
 
After Sajeski retired the side in order in the bottom of the fourth, Lackawanna's lead expanded in the top of the fifth. Lepage led off with a double, and the Falcons eventually scored the run on an RBI double from Matson. Two walks loaded the bases, and a sac fly by Brown to center pushed another run across to make it 7-2, Falcons.
 
In the top of the sixth, Hughes led the inning off with a single, got to second on a sac bunt, then got to third on an error. Later, with two outs and the bases loaded, a passed ball scored Hughes. A two-run single from Friend followed to get Lackawanna above double-digits at 10-2. The Falcons loaded the bases with two outs again, but a liner to third ended the potential big rally.
 
In the bottom of the sixth, Mercer got a leadoff baserunner, but Sajeski induced a 5-4-3 double play to quickly eliminate the baserunner, then got a pop out to the catcher to end the inning.
 
Hughes capped the scoring for the Falcons in the top of the seventh with a solo home run to lead off the inning, making it 11-2, Falcons. In the bottom half, a two-run triple with one out scored a pair for the Vikings. Sajeski got two outs in his final three batters to keep any other runs from scoring and to secure the 11-4 win for Lackawanna College.
 
The split keeps the Falcons one game behind Mercer County CC in the Region XIX Division II standings and sets up a rubber match to decide the season series. That game is set for tomorrow, Monday, April 14^th, at the University of Scranton's Volpe Field in Scranton. First pitch is set for 12:00pm ET.