3/8/26
 
LA PLATA, Md. – Lackawanna College baseball slugged it out with the College of Southern Maryland on Sunday afternoon, but the Hawks pulled it out with a walk-off in extra innings to hand the Falcons a 14-13 defeat down in Maryland.
 
The Falcons (4-8) had plenty of firepower, posting six extra base knocks, including two home runs, and drawing eight walks, but Lackawanna committed three errors and gave the Hawks (2-5) nine walks and enough of an opening to rally for the win in extras.
 
In the top of the eighth, Lackawanna trailed 13-9. With the bases loaded and one out, Jake Virbitsky (Media, PA) drew a walk to force a run in. A passed ball brought the Falcons within two. With two outs and runners on second and third, Sean Moore (Philadelphia, PA) doubled home a pair of runs to tie the game. Despite the major momentum on the Lackawanna side, which would somehow be the last hit over the final three innings for the Falcons, as College of Southern Maryland shut Lackawanna down.
 
Tristan Kuijer (Haarlem, NED) came on in the bottom half and stranded the leadoff batter at third base to give the Falcons a chance to try to win in the ninth, but Lackawanna was retired in order. Southern Maryland got a one out baserunner and advanced him to second on a ground out, but Kuijer got the third out to send the game to extra innings.
 
The Falcons went in order again in the tenth, and the Hawks got a one-out double in the bottom half, but Kuijer again stepped up, getting a strikeout and a ground out to strand the runner and send the game to the eleventh inning. Lackawanna went down in order in the top half, and Kuijer started to show some signs of wear and tear in the bottom half.
 
A one-out walk put a runner on first, then a pinch-hit single placed runners on first and second. On an 0-2 pitch, the Hawks finally got the hit they needed, doubling home the game-winning run to take game three and avoid the series sweep.
 
Southern Maryland had initially taken a 1-0 lead on an error in the first, but the Falcons jumped in front thanks to a Virbitsky two-run home run with one out. The Falcons had two more base runners with two outs, but were unable to get a runner across. CSM scored four more runs in the bottom of the second, including a two-run homer with two outs.
 
Virbitsky singled another run home in the top of the third to bring the Falcons within two, but the Hawks put four more runs on the board in the bottom frame, getting a pair of RBI singles, an RBI double play, and then another RBI single to push things to a 9-3 CSM advantage after three innings.
 
CSM made it 10-3 after a wild pitch in the bottom of the fourth, but the Falcons got that run back on a solo shot from Danny Stickney (Secane, PA) in the top of the fifth. CSM put two more runs on the board in the bottom half, scoring on a passed ball and a wild pitch, taking a 12-4 lead into the sixth.
 
Lackawanna started to make its move in the sixth inning, getting an RBI single from Deacon Brown (Williamsport, PA), then a bases-clearing three-run double from Stickney to bring Lackawanna within four at 12-8. Julian Montez (Westfield, NJ) added a sac fly, and Lackawanna was within a three-spot after 5.5 innings.
 
CSM got a two-out RBI single to get back up four at 13-9 after seven innings, preceding Lackawanna's rally to tie the game in the eighth that sent the game to extras.
 
Kuijer took the loss, despite throwing a solid 3.1 innings of relief. He gave up a run on four hits and striking out four. Virbitsky went 3-for-4 with four RBIs and two runs scored, while Stickney was 2-for-4 with three runs and four RBIs. Moore had an excellent day at the plate, going 4-for-6 with a run and two RBIs.
 
The Falcons are scheduled to get back to action on Tuesday, March 10^th, when they are set to host the Senators from SUNY Ulster CC in a single nine-inning contest. First pitch is at 1:00pm ET at Scranton HS.