3/24/26
 
VINELAND, NJ – It turns out the only thing that could separate Lackawanna College baseball and RCSJ Cumberland was darkness, as both the Falcons and nationally ranked Dukes battled to a 15-15 draw on Tuesday night in Vineland, NJ, with the game called off after nine innings due to the ever-deepening darkness.
 
The Falcons (8-10-1) will feel bittersweet about the result, as they held a 10-2 lead heading into the bottom frame of the sixth, but the Division III #9 Dukes (15-3-1) won't feel much better, after rallying with 13 combined runs in the sixth, seventh, and eighth innings, only to see the Falcons rally for three runs on a bases-clearing double from Danny Stickney (Secane, PA) that tied things at 15-15. Pitcher Sam Marsh (Phoenixville, PA) managed to strand a pair of runners in the bottom half, with both squads beginning to struggle to see the ball and each other out in the field, prompting the umpires to call it a day.
 
Lackawanna built a 10-2 advantage through some relentless offense, starting with an RBI double from Bobby Filler, Jr. (Philadelphia, PA) in the second inning. The Falcons added a pair of sac flies in the third inning, then a three-run homer from Stickney in the fourth that made it 6-0, good guys, heading into the middle innings.
 
Cumberland scored a pair on an error and a ground out, but the Falcons kept piling on, using a pair of two-run singles from Sean Moore (Philadelphia, PA) and Tristian Kuijer (Haarlem, Netherlands) that made it 10-2, Lackawanna, heading into the bottom of the sixth inning.
 
The wheels started to turn for the Dukes in the bottom of the sixth, as Cumberland got a walk and a sac fly to get within 10-4. An error let the Falcons go up 11-4, but Cumberland scored three more in the bottom of the seventh, using a two-run single and an error to get within 11-7 after seven.
 
Kuijer doubled a run home to give the Falcons a five-run lead at 12-7, but the wheels completely fell off in the bottom of the eighth. A bases-loaded single with one out made it 12-8, and then the big blow came with a grand slam to tie things up at 12-12. The Dukes, suddenly with all the momentum, got three more RBI singles to get a 15-12 advantage, setting up the top of the ninth.
 
Lackawanna used back-to-back one-out singles, followed by a walk, to load the bases. Danny Stickney delivered the key blow with a three-run double on the 2-1 pitch, clearing the bases and tying the game at 15-15. The Falcons got him to third on a ground out, but a strikeout on a 3-2 pitch stranded the go-ahead run 90 feet from the plate and let Cumberland have a go at trying to end the game.
 
Marsh came back on the hill after doing some mop-up duty in the bottom of the eighth, and the Dukes got back-to-back singles to put a pair on with one away. A fielder's choice put runners at the corners, but with two outs, and Marsh somehow got out of the jam, inducing a fly out to center to end in the ninth and, eventually, send the game into a tie.
 
Stickney was a problem for the opposition, going 4-for-4 with six RBIs and four runs, hitting three doubles and his three-run homer, while also drawing two walks. Moore went 3-for-5 with four runs and two RBIs, while Kuijer was 2-for-4 with four RBIs. Jake Virbitky (Media, PA) scored three runs and drew a pair of walks. The Falcons stranded nine runners. Jacob Amador (Boulder, CO) pitched well, giving up two runs, both unearned, on two hits and striking out five in five innings as the starter. The Lackawanna bullpen had a rough go, giving up 13 runs, nine earned, in four innings, walking five and striking out five.
 
The Falcons are back to action with the other RCSJ branch, taking on RCSJ Gloucester in a non-region contest on Wednesday, March 25^th. First pitch is at 3:30pm ET in Sewell, NJ, and it marks the first of two match-ups this season between Lackawanna and the four-time defending national champion Roadrunners, the top-ranked team in all NJCAA Division III.