5/25/26

SCRANTON, Pa. – Lackawanna College baseball picked up seven nominations for the Region XIX Division II baseball squads, announced by the Region XIX baseball committee late last week.
 
The Falcons picked up four nominees on the first-team and three more nominees for the second-team. The first-team selections were outfielder Deacon Brown (Williamsport, PA), catcher Hunter Austra (Larksville, PA), designated hitter Danny Stickney (Secane, PA), and starting pitcher Nico Nattle (Phoenixville, PA). Second-team selections included infielders Julian Abreu (Philadelphia, PA) and Sean Moore (Philadelphia, PA), as well as outfielder Jake Virbitsky (Media, PA).
 
Lackawanna College's seven selections were second only to region champion Mercer County CC, which picked up eight selections, including Player of the Year (Jordan Raba) and Pitcher of the Year (Slade Harrill). Russ Stupienski was named co-Coach of the Year, splitting the honor with Sussex County CC coach Ramadan Mehmedi.
 
Brown had the most hits on the Falcons this season, picking up 56 base-knocks nad posting a .329 batting average through 47 games. Deacon scored 48 runs, second on the team, and he hit ten homers, tied with Stickney for a team-best. His 49 RBIs were second on the team, and he drew 25 walks and stole eleven bases this year. Deacon also hit four triples, tied for the team-high.

Austra hit .279 this season, posting 36 hits, nine of which were doubles, and 31 RBIs. Austra drew 25 walks and scored 32 runs. He caught seven runners stealing from behind the plate. Meanwhile, Stickney, who made the all-region squad as a designated hitter, also had seven runners caught stealing this season. Danny hit .285, mashing ten homers and driving in 50 RBIs, tops on the squad. Stickney scored 50 runs, first on the Falcons this year, and he drew 34 walks, second on the squad.
 
Nattle was 3-2 in 12 appearances with a 5.08 ERA, the best amongst the Lackawanna starters this season. In 44.1 innings, he struck out 39 btters and allowed 33 runs, 25 earned. Opponents hit .251 against Nico this season. Nico struck out a season-best eight batters in a win against Raritan Valley back on March 20th, but his best outing came on the road at Mercer County CC, where he gave up just two runs on two hits and struck out four in a win for the Falcons.
 
Abreu hit .297 this season, posting a 1.047 OPS, second on the squad. Julian scored 48 runs, tied with Brown for second on the team, and had ten doubles and six homers to drive in 31 RBIs. His 31 walks are tied for third on the team this year, and Abreu had 12 steals, putting him in a three-way tie for second on the Falcons. Julian had 79 assists and 53 putouts at second base this season, helping turn six double plays.
 
Moore hit .347 this past year, scoring 35 runs and hitting eleven doubles to drive in 41 RBIs. Moore drew 19 walks this year and stole four bases. Moore had 267 putouts and just two errors at first base this past season, helping finish off nine double plays this year.
 
Virbitsky hit .368 on the season, tops on the squad, and posted a team-best 1.119 OPS in 49 games. Jake had 44 runs scored and hit a team-high 14 doubles and four triples, driving in 41 RBIs. He led the team with a39 walks and a .515 OBP. 
 
Lackawanna College baseball had an up-and-down season, but managed to recover to make the Region XIX Division II championship game before bowing out to end its junior college competition schedule. Next season, Lackawanna College will compete in the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference and against four-year schools.

The full All-Region XIX squads are below, and the release from Region XIX can be found HERE:

All-Region XIX 1st Team
Jordan Raba - Mercer County CC (Infielder)
Seji Umezawa - Sussex County CC (Infielder)
Shaniel Maldonado - Mercer County CC (Infielder)
Will Austin - Delaware Tech CC (Infielder)
Reed Peterson - Sussex County CC (Outfielder)
Deacon Brown - Lackawanna College (Outfielder)
Zakary Sophy - Delaware Tech CC (Outfielder)
Hunter Austra - Lackawanna College (Catcher)
Danny Stickney - Lackawanna College (Designated Hitter)
Nico Nattle - Lackawanna College (Starting Pitcher)
Slade Harrill - Mercer County CC (Starting Pitcher)
CJ Brewer - Mercer County CC (Relief Pitcher)

All-Region XIX 2nd Team
Tommy Baase - Raritan Valley CC (Infielder)
Julian Abreu - Lackawanna College (Infielder)
Sean Moore - Lackawanna College (Infielder)
Nick Struble - Sussex County CC (Infielder)
Mikey Amrhein - Mercer County CC (Outfielder)
Kevin Stewart - Mercer County CC (Outfielder)
Jake Virbitsky - Lackawanna College (Outfielder)
Thomas Pichardo - County College of Morris (Catcher)
Zachary Clement  - Sussex County CC (Designated Hitter)
Nick Williamson - Delaware Tech CC (Starting Pitcher)
John Koch - Mercer County CC (Starting Pitcher)
Anthony Kownacki - Mercer County CC (Relief Pitcher)

PLAYER OF THE YEAR - Jordan Raba - Mercer County CC
PITCHER OF THE YEAR - Slade Harrill - Mercer County CC
COACH OF THE YEAR - Russ Stupienski - Mercer County CC/Ramadan Mehmedi - Sussex County CC