3/29/26
 
SUFFERN, NY – In a rematch from last year's playoffs, Lackawanna College baseball fell in a pair of games to SUNY Rockland CC, 11-8 and 18-7, in a non-region doubleheader on Sunday afternoon in New York.
 
The Falcons (8-16-1) were in both games, but couldn't completely overcome a deficit in game one and were chased in five innings of game two, as Rockland (5-12) scored nine runs in the home half to secure the run-rule victory and the sweep.
 
In game one, Lackawanna led 6-3 after three innings, thanks in part to a six-run third from the visitors. Starting the inning down 3-0, Lackawanna went to work to load the bases with nobody out. A bases-loaded walk to Deacon Brown (Williamsport, PA) gave Lackawanna its first run, and a two-run single from Sean Moore (Philadelphia, PA) tied the game at 3-3. Later, with one out and the bases loaded, another walk gave the Falcons the one-run advantage. An RBI ground out made it 5-3, and the Falcons scored their sixth on a wild pitch.
 
That lead would hold until a disastrous fourth inning. An error up the middle let the lead runner on, and the Hawks quickly loaded the bases with nobody out. An RBI single scored one run, but the Falcons bounced back with back-to-back outs to put two away. Another error on the Falcons, however, undid that work, letting two runs score to tie things up at 6-6. Later, a bases-loaded walk let the go-ahead run score, and another error on the infield let another run home, making it 8-6, Rockland, after four innings.
 
Rockland added a run on a passed ball in the bottom of the fifth to go up three runs, but the Falcons got two back on an RBI ground out, followed by an RBI single from Danny Stickney (Secane, PA), cutting the deficit to 9-8. Lackawanna had an opportunity later in the inning, with two on and two out, but an infield fly out stranded the runners and kept Lackawanna down by a run into the bottom frame.
 
The Hawks loaded the bases with one out and delivered a crushing blow with a two-run double on a 3-2 pitch, stretching the lead to 11-8. Lackawanna got a double play on a liner to end the inning, however, giving the Falcons some sort of boost heading into the top of the seventh. A one-out double from Kolton Haifley (New Oxford, PA) put a runner in scoring position for the Falcons, but a ground out, followed by a hard line out to left, ended game one.
 
Billy O'Neil (Holland, PA) got the start, giving up three runs on one hit and four walks in 1.2 innings, but it was Patrick Genco (Lutherville, MD) who took the loss, giving up five runs, four earned, in two innings of relief. Moore was 3-for-4 with two RBIs and a run scored, while Julian Abreu (Philadelphia, PA) scored two runs. Brown drew two walks.
 
Game two started well for Lackawanna, with the Falcons scoring the first five runs and leading 5-0 after the top of the second inning. An error and an RBI ground out let two runs score in the first, and three more came home in the second on a ground out, a fielder's choice, and a wild pitch. However, Rockland jumped on starter Levi Hooven (Johnson City, TN) in the home half of the second.
 
A leadoff homer started the inning, and a single, a walk, a wild pitch, and another walk loaded the bases. A two-run double cut the deficit to 5-3, and another walk forced Hooven out of the game with the bases loaded and still nobody out. A wild pitch scored a run, and, after a swinging strikeout, a two-run double gave the Hawks the lead at 6-5. Another run scored via a fielder's choice, and the Falcons trailed 7-5 after two innings.
 
Rockland added a run on a leadoff homer in the third inning, but the Falcons responded in the fourth, scoring two via an RBI single from Brown and a balk, getting within 8-7 after 3.5 innings.
 
Rockland hit a third-straight leadoff homer in the fourth inning to take a 9-7 lead, then started the deciding bottom of the fifth with another solo homer as a leadoff to make it 10-7. The Hawks would score nine runs in the inning, getting runs on a wild pitch, two RBI singles, two bases-loaded walks, a two-run double, and a sacrifice fly, all before an out was recorded and the game ended.
 
Hooven took the loss, giving up six runs on four hits in just one inning of work. Abreu was 2-for-2 with three runs, while Brown had a hit and three RBIs. Stickney scored a pair of runs and drew two walks.
 
Lackawanna is reeling, having lost six-straight games. The Falcons will try to bounce back with a road doubleheader on Tuesday, March 31^st, at Monroe CC. First pitch is set for 1:00pm ET in Rochester, NY.