4/4/26
 
THROOP, Pa. – Mercer County CC used the fifth inning to its advantage on Saturday, helping propel the #20 Mustangs past Lackawanna college baseball in a doubleheader sweep at Mid Valley HS baseball field in Region XIX Division II play, by scores of 28-6 and 5-3.
 
The Falcons (9-18-1, 4-5) were right in it in game one, trailing just 4-3 going into the fifth inning, but the Mustangs (19-7, 7-2) devastated the Lackawanna bullpen, piling up 16 runs on eleven hits, including four home runs. Lackawanna went to the 'pen to start the inning, and Mercer quickly had the bases loaded with one out when a two-run double made it 6-3. A walk brought a second pitching change, but a hit batter with the bases loaded forced in another run. A two-run double broke it open at 9-3, and a hit batter loaded the bases again. A one-run single made it 10-3 and forced another pitching change. Another one-run single was followed by a grand slam home run that completely broke the game wide open at 15-3. Later, with two outs, a double was followed by a two-run homer that made it 17-3. That was the first of three-in-a-row, with a pair of solo homers following to make it 19-3. Another RBI single made it 20-3 before a strikeout mercifully ended the wild fifth.
 
The Mustangs added another homer in the sixth, scoring eight more runs to get a 28-3 lead, taking advantage of four bases-loaded walks and two bases-loaded hit batters. Lackawanna posted three runs in the seventh to round out the scoring.
 
Mercer had led 3-0 after two innings, but the Falcons had pulled back close when Julian Abreu (Philadelphia, PA) hit a two-run homer to highlight the third. Sean Moore (Philadelphia, PA) added a solo shot in the fourth inning to get the Falcons within 4-3 after four, but it all went downhill after that.
 
Starter Josiah Williams (Emmaus, PA) took the loss, giving up four runs on seven hits in four innings. Moore was 2-for-3 with two runs and an RBI, while Abreu had the two-run homer. Otherwise, it was slim pickings, as the Falcons were held to just five hits with seven strikeouts.
 
Game two was much more competitive, as Lackawanna held a 3-1 lead through the first four innings of play. An error at second let Danny Stickney (Secane, PA) reach and let a run score in the top of the first, and Abreu grounded out for an RBI in the second to put Lackawanna ahead 2-0. After Mercer answered with its own RBI ground out in the third, Kolton Haifley (New Oxford, PA) singled home a run in the third to push the Lackawanna advantage to 3-1 after three innings of play.
 
Starting pitcher Makai Day (South Williamsport, PA) got into some trouble in the top of the fourth, striking out the first two batters before loading the bases with a hit batter and two walks, but he induced a ground ball to short for the third out to get out of trouble and keep the Falcons ahead. But, once again, it was the fifth that would be the undoing for Lackawanna.
 
After the Falcons went to the bullpen, Mercer quickly tied the game, using a leadoff single and a two-run homer that made it 3-3. Reliever Tristan Kuijer (Haarlem, NED) recovered to get the next three outs, but the Falcons were now under duress to make something happen.
 
The bottom of the sixth seemed like Lackawanna's chance, as Moore reached on an error at third to lead the inning off, then got to second. A strikeout was the first out, and a ground out pushed Moore to third, but the Falcons were unable to get him across, and the seventh inning came up.
 
A one-out walk put a runner on board, and another home run, a two-run shot once again, was the difference, as Mercer hit the front at 5-3. Kuijer bounced back for a pair of strikeouts to end the inning, but Lackawanna was retired in order in the bottom frame to secure the doubleheader sweep for Mercer.
 
Day pitched four strong innings, giving up one unearned run on one hit and striking out five, but Kuijer took the loss, giving up four runs on three hits in three innings of relief. Mark Zuppo (Garnet Valley, PA) was 1-for-3 with a run scored, while Haifley was 1-for-3 with an RBI, and Matthew Cichocki (Bridgewater, NJ) had a hit and a run scored.
 
The Falcons go 1-2 on the weekend and now sit at 4-5 in Region XIX DII play, fourth-place. Meanwhile, Mercer is 7-2 overall and in first place, holding the tiebreaker over 7-2 Sussex County. Raritan Valley, which Lackawanna swept earlier this season, is in third at 5-4.
 
Lackawanna has a non-region contest on Tuesday, April 7^th, when the Falcons are scheduled to host Monroe University for a single nine-inning contest. The game is set for a 6:30pm ET start at Scranton HS baseball field.