Box Scores
W 3-2 (8 inn.)
L 4-3

WEST CHESTER – Senior pitcher Brian Ernst took a no-hitter into the seventh inning and senior outfielder Eric Boyer had the go-ahead single in the eighth in a 3-2 win in the opener, at East Stroudsburg University split a PSAC East baseball doubleheader with defending NCAA Division II champion West Chester on Saturday at Serpico Stadium.

Ernst had a career-high 12 strikeouts and blanked the Golden Rams (17-11-1, 8-2) for the first six innings in a duel with All-American Joe Gunkel. West Chester tied it, 2-2, in the seventh but ESU (19-9, 5-5) pushed the winning run across in the top of the eighth and junior Colin Taylor stranded the tying run on third in the bottom half.

In the nightcap, junior Ryan Lubreski took a 3-1 lead into the seventh, but West Chester rallied for three runs and won on a two-out, walk-off single by Rob Spekhardt.

The series moves to ESU's Mitterling Field on Sunday at 1 p.m.

Ernst moved into ESU's career top 10 with 146 career strikeouts in the same week that he entered the top 10 in career hits (173), becoming the first player in school history to reach those marks in both categories.

The Warriors had won six straight entering the doubleheader, which they extended to seven with the victory in game one.

Game 1

Ernst and Gunkel matched zeroes through four innings, with a two-out single by ESU junior catcher Eric Forth in the second inning the only hit for either team.

The Warriors broke the deadlock in the fifth as junior OF Chris Knott hit a leadoff double, Forth drew a walk and redshirt freshman 3B Drew Hercik followed with an RBI double that brought home Knott for the game's first run. Freshman OF John Armbrust lifted a sacrifice fly to right for a 2-0 advantage before Hercik was thrown out at home trying to advance on a potential wild pitch.

Ernst recorded 12 of his 19 outs via strikeout and shut down West Chester, 1-2-3, in both the fifth and sixth innings after the Warriors took the lead.

Chris Pula broke up the no-hit bid with a leadoff double in the seventh, and after a passed ball, flyout and walk, Tyler Coleman singled to center to plate West Chester's first run.

Ernst got his 12th and final strikeout, fanning Kyle Frazier for the second out of the inning, but Justin Roman came through with a pinch-hit single to score pinch-runner Rob Lessig from second and tie the game at 2-2 and move the winning run 90 feet from home plate.

Taylor relieved Ernst and struck out leadoff hitter Mike Raimo to end the threat, and the Warriors produced the winning run in the top of the eighth.

Redshirt sophomore OF Andy Brandstetter, who entered the game as a defensive replacement in the fifth, had a leadoff bunt single and moved to second on a sacrifice bunt by junior SS Eric Linares. Ernst drew a one-out walk to bring up Boyer, who singled to center to bring home Brandstetter for a 3-2 lead.

In the West Chester eighth, Taylor got a flyout and a groundout for the first two outs of the inning before Pula belted a triple to left center. The junior right-hander got Ben Spezialetti to groundout to Linares at short to end the game.

Ernst went 6.2 innings, allowing two runs on three hits in the seventh. He walked three and hit one batter in addition to his 12 strikeouts. He had his previous career-high of 11 in a 3-0, three-hit shutout of Mansfield last year.

Gunkel, who threw two shutouts in last year's College World Series, went all 8.0 innings on the mound for West Chester. The junior struck out 11, walked two and allowed three runs on five hits.

Game 2

Lubreski entered with a 4-0 record and nearly replicated Ernst's standout performance, holding West Chester to one run on five hits through the first 6.0 innings, before the Golden Rams' offense came to life in the seventh.

ESU took a 1-0 lead with an unearned run in the first, as Ernst had an infield single, junior 1B Mike Tenaglia reached on a two-out error and Knott had an RBI single to score Ernst with the game's first run.

West Chester made it 1-1 in the second on an RBI single by Spekhardt but left the bases loaded, and the Warriors went back in front in the fourth as Knott hit a leadoff homer to left center for a 2-1 lead.

Lubreski got out of trouble in both the fourth and fifth, wiggling out of a two-on, one-out jam in the fourth and pitching around a leadoff double and a two-out error in the fifth.

The Warriors made it 3-1 with a two-out run in the sixth as Knott was hit by a pitch and scored on an RBI double by Forth.

West Chester didn't threaten in the sixth, but scored three runs on three hits and one error int eh seventh. Taylor relieved Lubreski after a one-out error and a single by Jordan Wlodarczyk, but Roman cut it to 3-2 with an RBI single and Spezialetti scored the tying run on a wild pitch. It was first- and –third with two outs when Spekhardt singled to left-center to score Frazier with the winning run.

Lubreski threw 6.1 innings, allowing three runs (one earned) on six hits. He struck out two and walked five. Taylor took the decision in both games.

Fred Breidenbach went the distance for West Chester, giving up three runs (two earned) on five hits while striking out seven.

Knott was 2-for-2 with two RBI and two runs scored in game two, and was 3-for-5 in the doubleheader. He leads the Warriors with a .374 batting average, 15 extra-base hits and 24 RBI through 28 games.


Game Notes
* Knott's home run was the 10th of his career. He is the third player with 25+ doubles, 10+ triples and 10+ homers in school history, joining Ryan Hatfield (2000-03) and Gary Vyskocil (1983-86).

* Ernst passed Tim Bishop (1983-86) for 10th on ESU's career strikeout list. Bishop had 144 strikeouts and 134 hits in his career and is the only other ESU player with 100+ hits and strikeouts. Ernst (2012) and Bishop (1984) are also the only players with 50+ hits and strikeouts in a season.

* Ernst can become the fourth player in PSAC history with 150 career hits and 150 career strikeouts on the mound.

* ESU's 13 strikeouts in game 1 (Ernst 12, Taylor 1) are tied for the most by an ESU team against a PSAC East opponent since 2003. The Warriors struck out 12 against Millersville last season.