| Box Score 2 5/16/25
 
SCRANTON, Pa. – In a game delayed nearly six hours from its original start time, Lackawanna College baseball completed one of the most miraculous comebacks in the history of the program, as the Falcons rallied from a 14-0 deficit to win, 23-17, in its NJCAA East District Tournament game against SUNY Rockland CC on Friday afternoon at the University of Scranton's Volpe Field.
 
The Falcons (32-16) fell behind in a disastrous first inning and were down 14-0 after the second, but they rallied to score 21 straight runs to turn the game completely upside down. Lackawanna slowly and methodically chipped away at its deficit up until the seventh, where they trailed 14-12. A bases loaded walk, followed by a sac fly, tied the game, and the Falcons took the lead on a wild pitch. Later, after a Nick Matson (Nanticoke, PA) single made it 16-14, outfielder Grant Dalton (Bedford, IN) came to bat and blew things wide open, crushing a three-run homer to right-center that gave Lackawanna a five-run lead at 19-14. In all, the Falcons scored nine runs in the seventh, then, after Rockland scored three in the top of the eighth, Lackawanna added two more in its half of the eighth inning, building a six-run lead that would be protected by Liam O'Leary (Souderton, PA) with a 1-2-3 ninth inning.
 
Tyler Lepage (Macungie, PA) had a pair of doubles and three RBIs, along with two runs scored. Brooks Henderson IV (Feasterville, PA) had four hits and five runs scored, including a two-run home run. Matson scored three runs, Jake Kelleher (Exeter, PA) had three runs and two RBIs, and Louis Kegerreis (Murrysville, PA) had three runs and two hits. Lackawanna had 21 total hits, eight for extra-bases, with six doubles and two home runs. Relief pitcher Jay Creighton (Somers, NY) earned the victory, pitching two scoreless innings for his third win of the year.
 
Things certainly didn't start pretty for the Falcons, as the Region 15 champion Rockland (30-17-1) poured on 13 runs on eight hits and three errors. 17 batters came to the plate as the Hawks rocketed out to the front. An error at short with the bases loaded and one out let the first run of the game score, and a towering drive that hit the top of the wall and bounced down cored another pair to put Rockland ahead 3-0. Three straight singles, followed by another error, made it 7-0, Hawks. Another single pushed the lead to eight, and chased Lackawanna starter Ryan Novakowski (Forty Fort, PA) from the game. Zach Ruffing (Marlborough, MA) came on in relief, with just one out. A single scored another run, but Ruffing got a strikeout to put two away. With the bases loaded and two outs, a hit batter forced in the tenth run of the inning. Another error up the middle plated three runs, making it a 13-0 advantage for the Hawks, up until Ruffing got a fly out to mercifully end the inning.
 
Lackawanna had a leadoff baserunner after Jake Kelleher (Exeter, PA) was hit by a pitch, but a 1-6-3 double play ended the inning and got Rockland to the second inning, where the Hawks added another run on a two-out double to center.
 
Down by two touchdowns to start the bottom of the second inning, the Falcons began to try to climb the mountain. Kegerreis singled to get on, and Lepage launched a double to deep left-center field to get the Falcons on the scoresheet. Henderson stepped in and took an 0-1 pitch for a ride into left field, clearing the fence with ease and making it a 14-3 deficit. A sac fly from Kelleher gave the Falcons a fourth run for the inning, and the comeback was on.
 
Down 14-4 in the bottom of the fourth, Henderson scored on a Mark Zuppo (Garnet Valley, PA) single up the middle. Kelleher singled in another run, followed by a sharp double down the right field line from Deacon Brown (Williamsport, PA), making it 14-7. A wild pitch scored another run, and the Falcons were within 14-8 after four.
 
Ruffing continued to keep Rockland quiet in the fifth, and the Falcons added another run in the bottom half, scoring on another RBI single from Zuppo that made it 14-9. Lackawanna had the bases loaded, but a ground out to first ended the potential rally.
 
In the top of the sixth, Creighton came on and overcame an infield error to strand a runner. The Falcons scored three more in the bottom of the sixth inning, highlighted by another Lepage double, a balk, and an RBI groundout from Dalton. After six innings, Lackawanna had turned a 14-0 deficit into a 14-12 contest.
 
Creighton got around a runner getting to third in the seventh, and the Falcons rewarded him with their nine-run seventh inning, highlighted by Dalton's three-run blast.
 
Rockland answered back in the top of the eighth, getting to reliever Josiah Williams (Emmaus, PA). A two-out wild pitch, followed by a two-run single, made it 21-17, before Williams got a big strikeout to end the inning.
 
A pair of sac flies scored runs in the bottom of the eighth, and O'Leary came on for the ninth inning to get the Falcons the incredible come-from-behind victory.
 
The win puts Lackawanna College into the NJCAA East District semi-final against UConn Avery Point. The game is set for a 3:00pm ET start on Saturday, May 17^th, at Scranton HS baseball field. At the same time, Rockland will be playing Mercer County CC in an elimination game at the University of Scranton's Volpe Field. The winner between Mercer and Rockland will face the loser of Lackawanna and UCAP in an elimination game at 6:00pm ET at Scranton HS.
 
UConn Avery Point 11 – 10 Mercer County CC
In a game with twists and turns aplenty, one last turn came in the top of the ninth pushed UConn Avery Point past Mercer County CC, 11-10, in an NJCAA East District Tournament game at the University of Scranton's Volpe Field on Friday afternoon.
 
The Pointers (30-6) led after a five-run first and were ahead 7-5 after the top of the seventh inning, when Mercer rallied to take a 10-7 lead into the final inning of play.
 
With its back against the wall, UCAP loaded the bases with no outs, then, after a strikeout, the Pointers struck with a two-run double to right, getting within a run at 10-9. A ground ball to the left side froze the defense and let the tying run score on the fielder's choice, and a ground out to second pushed the go-ahead run across to make it 11-10, Avery Point, heading into the bottom frame.
 
In the bottom half, the Vikings (34-19) put two runners on with one out. UCAP got the second out when the runner on second was picked off, and a fly out to center ended the game and sent the Pointers into the semi-final to face Lackawanna College.