Box Scores
W 15-2 / W 7-4
EAST STROUDSBURG - The East Stroudsburg University baseball team scored early in the first game and late in the second game to sweep Wilmington University, 15-2 and 7-4, and set the school record with 29 wins in a season on Thursday afternoon at Mitterling Field.
The Warriors (29-19) scored 12 runs in the first inning of the opener, including the 10th home run of the season by senior OF Kevin Thompson to tie the school record, and junior pitcher Jeremy Gigliotti earned his fifth win of the season and extended his streak of consecutive innings without an earned run to 26.
In the second game, ESU trailed 4-1 before senior 3B Mark Angelo hit a two-run homer in the fifth inning and a two-run double in the sixth to give the Warriors the lead. Sophomore Tom Admire improved to 5-3 and struck out eight in six innings, and junior Christian Saveri picked up his fourth save to help the Warriors break the school record of 28 wins which was set in 1998.
Thompson's home run, a three-run shot which also gave him ESU's single-season record with 30 extra-base hits, was the final blow in a 10-hit first inning in the first game. The Warriors had five consecutive singles through the second half of the order, senior OF Mike Bortz and freshman 2B Ryan Guarino both doubled when the lineup turned over, and Thompson drilled his 15th career home run to right field to tie Ryan Hatfield for the second-most in school history.
Bortz hit a three-run homer in the third, his 12th in two seasons at ESU, to make the score 15-0 and Wilmington (16-20) scored two unearned runs in the fifth to complete the scoring.
Gigliotti allowed two hits and struck out three in three innings of work in his 10th start of the year to move his record to 5-2 and lower his ERA to 2.72. Senior Jason Colletti threw two innings in his 13th appearance of the year and freshman Brandon Snyder tossed the final two frames and hasn't given up an earned run in 11 innings on the mound this season.
ESU had 16 hits in the opener led by Bortz at the top of the lineup. The center fielder was 3-for-5 with two stolen bases, two doubles, a home run, five RBI and scored three times, while Thompson went 3-for-4 with his home run for three RBI.
In the second game, ESU scored once in the first on an RBI single by Angelo, the start of a big game for the Warriors' third baseman. He was 3-for-4 in the game, stole two bases, scored twice and had all five of ESU's runs batted in. He picked up his PSAC-leading 21st double of the year finished the day with 29 extra-base hits this season, one behind Thompson's school record.
Wilmington tied the game at 1-1 with a run in the second, and went ahead 4-1 with three unearned runs in the fourth as ESU committed three errors in the inning. The Warriors didn't get anything going in the bottom of the frame before starting their comeback in the fifth, as Guarino singled with one out and Angelo homered down the right field line for his seventh of the season.
Admire got a one-two-three inning, including his eighth strikeout of the game, in the top of the sixth and ESU went back to work with freshman SS Evan Gallagher, who was 4-for-4 in the doubleheader, collecting his final hit of the day to open what would prove to be a four-run inning.
Junior OF Brendan O'Malley reached on a fielders' choice on a sacrifice bunt attempt and beat a throw to second after Bortz hit a ground ball to third to give the Warriors runners on first and second with one out. Guarino was hit by a pitch to load the bases, and Angelo doubled to left to drive in two runs and give ESU a 5-4 lead.
Wilmington intentionally walked senior 1B Chris Zsenak to load the bases, and Jordan Oncay threw a wild pitch to the backstop that scored two runs when Guarino came down the line and Angelo scored from second on an error by the catcher.
Saveri closed the game for the Warriors in the seventh, pitching around a pair of singles to notch his fourth save of the year. He dropped his ERA to 2.77 and has 46 strikeouts and just eight walks in 39.0 innings over 18 appearances, including three starts.
Guarino benefited from hitting in front of Angelo, going 1-for-2 with a walk and a hit by pitch, and scored three runs. Gallagher was 2-for-2 in both games and junior DH John Pisker went 3-for-7 with a double, keeping his batting average well above .400 at .436 (41-for-94).
The Warriors have eight more opportunities to add to their school-record win total, beginning on Sunday with a doubleheader against Columbia Union at 1 p.m. at Mitterling Field.
