2/28/26
 
THROOP, Pa. – A tough loss in game one gave way to a blowout defeat in game two as Lackawanna College baseball dropped a pair of games Saturday afternoon to UConn Avery Point at Mid Valley HS. The Falcons fell 13-11 in game one, and then 22-6 in six innings of game two.
 
The doubleheader marked the first meeting between the two teams that competed for last year's NJCAA East District Championship, which the Falcons won to go to the Division II World Series.
 
This year's version of Lackawanna (2-7) was ahead 10-5 heading into the top of the seventh of game one, just three outs away from a solid win to start the day, but the Pointers (2-2) went haywire at the plate, with UCAP hitting three home runs and scoring eight runs in the inning to completely flip the game on its head. After loading the bases with nobody out, a bases loaded walk and a ground out to short scored two runs to make it 10-7. Then UCAP really hit it big, smashing a three-run homer to tie the game. The Falcons hit a batter and got a strikeout for the second out of the inning, but a two-run shot gave UCAP the lead. The Pointers added a solo homer to make it 13-10 heading into the bottom half.
 
The Falcons, who had already hit three home runs earlier in the game, got a leadoff double from Deacon Brown (Williamsport, PA) to put a runner in scoring position. A walk with one out put two on and brought the tying run to the plate. Hunter Austra (Larksville, PA) singled home Brown to make it 13-11 and bring the winning run to the plate, but the pinch runner got picked off and a line out to center ended game one and gave UConn Avery Point the game one win.
 
It was an unfortunate end to a great game one for Lackawanna, which grabbed a 4-1 lead in the bottom of the second through back-to-back-to-back solo home runs from Kolton Haifley (New Oxford, PA), Julian Abreu (Philadelphia, PA), and Brown.
 
Later, after Avery Point had rallied to tie the game at 5-5, the Falcons scored a run to make it 6-5 on a sac fly in the fourth, posted three more runs in the fifth, and then had another sac fly in the sixth inning to go up 10-5 heading into the final inning.
 
Brown was 4-for-5 with two runs and two RBIs, while Tristian Kuijer (Haarlem, NED) had two hits, an RBI, and a run scored. Haifley was 2-for-3 with two RBIs, while Abreu scored three runs and posted a pair of hits. Pitcher Jacob Amador (Boulder, CO) took the game one loss, giving up five runs on three hits in the seventh inning. Each team had 15 hits and there were nine combined home runs in the contest, with UCAP hitting six of them.
 
That home run parade continued in game two, only it was one-way traffic from the visitors, as UCAP hit four more homers, including three grand slams, in the 22-6 shellacking in six innings against Lackawanna.
 
UCAP scored ten runs through the first four innings, getting a grand slam in the fourth, followed by a two-run homer in the same inning that made it 10-0 heading into the bottom half.
 
Deacon Brown connected on his second homer of the day, a two-run shot, which made it 10-2 in the bottom of the fifth and helped Lackawanna avoid the ten-run rule, but the Pointers poured it on in the sixth, scoring 12 runs in the top frame of the sixth. UCAP scored four runs in the inning on a sac fly and three straight bases loaded walks, then hit a grand slam to make it 18-2 with two away. Another walk forced a pitching change, but a double, then a walk loaded the bases again and led to another grand slam to make it 22-2 heading into the bottom of the sixth.
 
Lackawanna added four runs in the bottom of the sixth thanks to a grand slam from pinch hitter Julian Montez (Westfield, NJ), making it 22-6 with nobody out, and the Falcons had the bases loaded with two down before a fielder's choice ended the contest.
 
UCAP had 13 hits and posted six extra-base knocks, while the Falcons struggled to get the offense going until later in the game. Brown had two RBIs, while Montez led the Falcons with his four RBIs. Josiah Williams (Emmaus, PA) took the loss, giving up eight runs on seven hits in three innings.
 
The Falcons will have a week off until their next contest, which is a three-game set on the road at College of Southern Maryland. First up is a doubleheader at 12:00pm ET on Saturday, March 7^th, followed by a single game on Sunday, March 8^th, also at 12:00pm ET.