4/27/25
 
SCRANTON, Pa. – There was offense aplenty for Lackawanna College baseball on Sunday, as the Falcons posted 33 combined runs across two games in a doubleheader sweep over Monroe CC, 13-1 and 20-13, in non-region action at Scranton HS baseball field.
 
The Falcons (25-15) had 31 combined hits, eleven for extra-bases, and four home runs, while scoring runs in nine of the ten innings where they came to bat. Deacon Brown (Williamsport, PA) hit three home runs and had nine RBIs across two games, while Louis Kegerreis (Murrysville, PA) and Kenny Hirschfeld (New Hyde Park, NY) each had five RBIs in a wild game two victory for the Falcons. Liam O'Leary (Souderton, PA) got the game one victory, striking out eight in four innings, while Trey Sajeski (Holland, PA) also struck out eight in four innings in game two, picking up his seventh win of the season.
 
Monroe CC (20-14) jumped out to a lead in game one, pushing a run across with a walk and two straight singles with just one out, but O'Leary got back-to-back strikeouts to end the early threat and get the Falcons into what would be a dominating bottom of the first.
 
Jake Kelleher (Exeter, PA) hit one of his three singles in game one to open the inning, then the Falcons used a walk and an HBP to load the bases with just one out. Brooks Henderson IV (singled in a run to tie the game, and the Falcons took the lead for good when Nick Matson (Nanticoke, PA) singled in two more. Mark Zuppo (Garnet Valley, PA) singled in Henderson to make it 4-1, Falcons. A strikeout, followed by a walk, loaded the bases again with two outs. Kelleher, up for the second time in the inning, singled hard to center to score two more, then the big blow came when Brown hit a towering drive to right center, clearing the hill behind the right field fence and colliding with a car in the parking lot. That three-run detonation made it 9-1, Falcons, heading into the second inning.
 
The Tribunes loaded the bases with one out in the second, but O'Leary struck out two straight batters again to get out of any trouble. The Falcons stranded two in the bottom half, and Monroe stranded two more in the top of the third.
 
Lackawanna tacked two more runs on in the bottom of the third, when Brown hit another long shot to right field that kept carrying and carrying until it just cleared the fence inside the right field pole for a two-run homer, making it 11-1, Falcons. They added another two in the bottom of the fourth, this time on a two-out single from Brown with the bases loaded to make it 13-1, Falcons, heading into the fifth.
 
Lefty reliever George Creighton (Somers, NY) came on for the fifth inning, pitching around a two-out walk to end the game early for the Falcons via run-rule.
 
Kelleher finished 3-for-3 with three runs and two RBIs, while Brown was 3-for-4 with two runs and seven RBIs. Henderson and Matson each had two hits, while Jack Friend (East Setauket, NY) scored a pair of runs.
 
Much like the first game, Monroe jumped ahead in the first inning, hitting a solo home run with one out, then putting three straight singles on the board to scratch another run across. Sajeski, much like O'Leary in game one, bounced right back with a pair of strikeouts to get out of trouble and get the Falcons to the home half.
 
A one-out single, followed by an error, put Brown in scoring position in the bottom frame, and he scored when John Hughes (Hamilton, NJ) doubled to deep right center field. Kegerreis doubled him home down the left field line to tie the game at two, then advanced to third on a wild pitch. Later, with runners on the corners, and still one out, Matson reached on an error, scoring Kegerreis to make it 3-2, Falcons. Later, Hirschfeld scored two more runs with a double to push the Lackawanna advantage to 5-2.
 
In the bottom of the second, Lackawanna added three more, two of which came on a two-run home run to center from Kegerreis. Matson doubled home another run with two outs to make it 8-2, Falcons, after two innings.
 
Monroe stranded the bases loaded in the third, and Lackawanna scored three more runs in the bottom half, all with two outs. Kegerreis singled home a pair of runs, and Henderson doubled to make it 11-2, Falcons, after three.
 
The Falcons put three more on the board in the bottom of the fourth, as Hirschfeld doubled a run home, then Brown hit his third homer of the day, scoring two runs to make it 14-2, Falcons, after four innings of play.
 
The Falcons made a pitching change in the fifth, and Monroe finally got the offense going, touching up reliever Ryan Novakowski (Forty Fort, PA) for seven runs, then scoring another run on Hayden Klyver (Wilton, CT) to erased any thoughts of a run-rule and cut the deficit to 14-10. Lackawanna answered back with five runs in the home half to re-assert control, scoring two runs on wild pitches, then getting RBI singles from Hirschfeld, Hughes, and Antonio Digrigoli (Brooklyn, NY).
 
Up 19-10 in the top of the sixth, the Falcons sent Klyver back out, who got to two outs with a runner on third. A walk kept the inning going, and the Tribunes made Lackawanna pay with three straight singles to cut the deficit to 19-13 heading into the bottom frame.
 
The Falcons got one more hit from Hirschfeld in the bottom half, scoring another run to make it 20-13. Lackawanna loaded the bases with one out, but back-to-back strikeouts stranded the bases loaded and kept the Falcons from putting another crooked number on the board. In the top of the seventh, Nick Matson (Nanticoke, PA) came on to end the game, getting a pair of strikeouts and a ground out to retire the side in order and seal the doubleheader sweep.
 
Kegerreis finished 3-for-5 with five RBIS and two runs, while Henderson was 3-for-4 with three runs. Hirschfeld went a perfect 4-for-4 with five RBIs and three runs. Hughes had two hits and three runs, and Brown added two more RBIs and three more runs.
 
Lackawanna College has now won four straight games, and the Falcons will get back to action with a non-region contest at home on Tuesday, April 29^th, hosting the SUNY Westchester CC Vikings for a single nine-inning contest. First pitch is scheduled for 3:30pm ET at Scranton HS baseball field.