Lackawanna College

5/8/26
 
WEST WINDSOR TWP., NJ – Lackawanna College baseball played with the heart and fight of a defending champion, but the Falcons ultimately couldn't overcome the unrelenting onslaught from Mercer County CC, as the top-seeded Mustangs knocked off the Falcons, 19-11, to win the Region XIX Division II championship at Friday afternoon at Mercer County CC's home field.
 
The Falcons (21-28-1) got to the championship round thanks to a dominating 13-4 win against Sussex County CC (28-18) in the elimination game in the morning, getting a complete game outing from Makai Day (South Williamsport, PA) and a 4-for-5 showing from Jake Virbitsky (Media, PA), who hit two doubles and a two-run homer to help pace the Lackawanna offense.
 
That offense seemed to carry over in the championship series, as Lackawanna scored the game's first six runs to lead 6-0 after 1.5 innings of play. However, the Mustangs (33-13-1) responded with six runs in the second and third innings to tie the game, then took the lead with a two-run single in the fourth. Mercer kept adding runs the rest of the way, scoring in seven of the eight innings where it came to bat, pounding out 14 hits, and hitting a grand slam late to pour it on against Lackawanna with a six-run eighth.
 
First baseman Sean Moore (Philadelphia, PA) was 3-for-5 with three RBIs and a double, while Mark Zuppo (Garnet Valley, PA) went 3-for-5 with two RBIs. Deacon Brown (Williamsport, PA) had two RBIs and two runs scored, hitting a solo homer, and both Julian Abreu (Philadelphia, PA) and Matthew Cichocki (Bridgewater, NJ) each scored a pair of runs.
 
A scoreless first inning gave way to an explosive second, as the Falcons tagged Mercer for six runs. Hunter Austra (Larksville, PA) singled in the game's first run, advanced to second on an error, then scored on a Kolton Haifley (New Oxford, PA) single that made it 2-0. Cichocki singled home a third run, then Zuppo doubled two more runs home to make it 5-0. Virbitsky singled a sixth run in, and the Falcons had momentum and thought they had the Mustangs reeling.
 
It would prove to be false hope, however, as Mercer immediately got to work on Lackawanna starter Nico Nattle (Phoenixville, PA). A single and an error put a runner on second, and a one-out double, followed by a walk, loaded the bases. Nattle got a fielder's choice to trade an out for a run, but back-to-back singles scored two more runs to make it 6-3 after two innings. The Mustangs added three more in the third, also with two outs, taking advantage of two hit batters and a walk that loaded the bases and hitting back-to-back RBI singles to tie the game at 6-6 entering the fourth.
 
Brown came up with two outs in the fourth and smashed a long homer to right field to re-establish a one-run advantage for Lackawanna, but Nattle got in trouble again in the bottom half, loading the bases with nobody out. Mercer roped a single to score a pair to take an 8-7 lead, and had runners in scoring position with one out before a baserunning error cost them a pair of outs.
 
Pitcher Jacob Amador (Boulder, CO) came on in relief in the fifth, but a single, an error, and then a passed ball let a run score to make it 9-7. Amador settled in, however, pitching around a catcher's interference that loaded the bases with one out to get back-to-back strikeouts.
 
In the sixth, Lackawanna loaded the bases with two walks and a Zuppo single. Brown lifted a fly ball to center that was caught for a sacrifice fly, getting Lackawanna within one, and Moore singled home the tying run with two outs to make it 9-9 heading into the home half.
 
Mercer, as it had been doing, immediately responded in the bottom of the inning, getting a blazing leadoff triple and a walk to put two runners on. Liam Newhouse (Philadelphia, PA) came on in relief, and a single up the middle scored a run to make it 10-9. Newhouse got out of trouble, however, with a pair of pop ups and a strikeout to strand a pair.
 
The Mustangs lengthened their lead in the seventh inning, quickly loading the bases with nobody out thanks to a walk, a single, and a hit batter. Tobe Kuntz (Lancaster, PA) was brought in, and nearly pulled it out. Kuntz struck out a batter, but a wild pitch let a run score to make it 11-9. He struck out the next batter, but a two-run single opened up the lead to 13-9. Kuntz got a third strikeout, but it was a wild pitch, allowing the batter to reach and the inning to continue. Kuntz then struck out another batter for the rare four-strikeout inning, stranding a pair and keeping the Falcons alive.
 
Lackawanna had one more push, as Zuppo led the eighth off with a single. Brown traded places with him on a fielder's choice, and Virbitsky walked to put two on and force a pitching change. Moore rudely welcomed the new pitcher with a double down the left field line that cut the lead to 13-11, but back-to-back strikeouts kept Lackawanna from getting closer and sent the game to the bottom of the eighth, where the wheels fell off.
 
Kuntz got a ground out to start the inning, but hit a batter and walked to more to load the bases. Sam Marsh (Phoenixville, PA) came on in relief, and traded a fly ball out for a run, making it 14-11, Mercer. The Falcons looked to be able to get out of the inning on the next batter, but the throw to first was off-line and let a run score and the inning continue. Mercer got a walk to load the bases, then a monster shot over the fence for a grand slam that completely blew the game open at 19-11, and sucked the life out of Lackawanna College.
 
The Falcons got a leadoff baserunner in the ninth, but two strikeouts sandwiched a caught stealing, and the defending champions were put to the sword, as Mercer won the Region XIX Division II championship.
 
It was a bitter end to what had started as a promising day for Lackawanna College, with Makai Day scattering three hits and four runs over seven innings of the Falcons' 13-4 win against Sussex in the morning elimination game. Lackawanna posted 16 hits and scored eight runs through the first three innings, before hitting the afterburners with five more runs in the final two innings to push the game to run-rule territory.
 
Playing Sussex for the fifth time this season, and second time in as many days, Lackawanna was determined to get off to a fast start, and that's what transpired in the first. Virbitsky doubled home a run, then Moore traded a ground ball out for another run to put the Falcons up 2-0. An error let a third run score, and Lackawanna had some juice, up 3-0 heading into the home half.
 
Day struck out the side in the bottom frame, and the Falcons picked right back up in the top of the second, getting a two-run single from Brown after a 13-pitch at-bat, then a two-run double from Danny Stickney (Secane, PA) that made it 7-0, Falcons, and forced a pitching change for Sussex.
 
The Skylanders got a run back in the bottom of the second, using a leadoff walk to eventually score on a one-out single, but Day limited the damage and Lackawanna scored a run in the top of the third on a wild pitch, taking an 8-1 lead.
 
Both teams were quiet into the fifth inning. The Falcons stranded two runners on base in the fifth, and Sussex made them pay in the home half. An error at third let the leadoff batter on. A one-out single pt two on, and a wild pitch put runners in scoring position. A walk loaded the bases, but Day traded a ground ball out for a run to get to two outs. Another error, this time in left field, let two runs score, getting Sussex within 8-4 and giving the Skylanders some life heading into the sixth.
 
A sac fly from Moore made it 9-4, Falcons, and Day had a nice bounce back inning in the sixth, avoiding an error in the middle and a two-out single to get a swinging strikeout and strand a pair of runners.
 
In the seventh, a pinch-hit single from Cichocki led the inning off for Lackawanna, and Haifley singled and advanced a base, putting runners in scoring position with nobody out. Abreu hit a two-run single to make it 11-4, and Virbitsky delivered the crushing blow, a two-run towering shot to right field that pushed the Lackawanna lead to 13-4 heading into the bottom half.
 
Day came back out and got a 1-2-3 inning to end the game early and send Lackawanna to the wild region title game. Makai threw 116 pitches and struck out four in the win. On top of Virbitsky's big day, the Falcons got two hits and two RBIs from Brown, three RBIs from Stickney, and three runs and two RBIs from Abreu.
 
The result with Mercer crowns the Mustangs as champions in Region XIX Division II, and it advances them to next week's East District tournament against the champion and runner-up from Region XV, as well as the winner of the sub-regional series between Monroe CC and UConn Avery Point. That tournament will be hosted by the eventual Region XV champion.
 
The result also ends Lackawanna College's season, and is the final junior college sports event in Lackawanna College athletics history. Next season, baseball, along with the other varsity sports at Lackawanna College, will be competing as a four-year program against four-year competition and with a full Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) schedule, as the College pursues membership in both the PSAC and the NCAA Division II. Despite the difficulties from the 2026 season, Lackawanna College baseball still managed to finish one game shy of a shot at a region championship.