Box Scores
W 2-1 (8 inn.) / L 9-5
EAST STROUDSBURG - East Stroudsburg University and Mansfield split a PSAC East baseball doubleheader on Friday at Mitterling Field to send the race for the division's final playoff spot into the final day in a three-way tie between ESU, Mansfield and Millersville.
The Warriors (31-21) won a pitchers duel between junior left-handers, 2-1 in eight innings, in the opener before the Mounties (22-28) took the second game 9-5. Both teams have 9-13 conference records, as does Millersville, which split a pair of 2-0 games with Kutztown on Friday.
ESU would secure its second playoff appearance in three years with two wins at Mansfield on Saturday, or one win and a Kutztown sweep of Millersville. ESU holds the tiebreaker with both schools, but Mansfield holds the three-way tiebreaker if the schools all finish with 10 wins due to its 3-1 record Millersville.
ESU's Jeremy Gigliotti (7.0 IP, 10 strikeouts) and Mansfield's Eric Rosenberger (7.1 IP, 14 strikeouts) locked up in the opener in a game that wasn't decided until Mansfield reliever Tyler Noel threw a pair of wild pitches that allowed pinch runner Brendan O'Malley to score the game's winning run in the bottom of the eighth inning.
Gigliotti entered with a streak of 26 consecutive innings without allowing an earned run and held the Mounties scoreless through the first five innings. Meanwhile, Rosenberger retired the first nine batters he faced before senior OF Mike Bortz walked to lead off the fourth, but was thrown out trying to steal second.
Senior DH Mark Angelo broke the scoreless tie two batters later with the first of his two home runs on the day, a shot to right center that gave the Warriors a 1-0 lead. Angelo also homered in the second game, giving him nine on the season, and went 5-for-6 to push his hit total to 73, second-most in school history.
Mansfield tied the game at 1-1 in the sixth when Cody Stinger drew a leadoff walk, stole second and third, and scored on a single by Chris Coleman. The run ended Gigliotti's streak at 31 2/3 innings, which spanned starts against Bloomsburg (6.0 IP), Shippensburg (9.0 IP), Millersville (7.0 IP) in his first career shutout, and Wilmington (3.0 IP) last Thursday.
Gigliotti's 10 strikeouts matched his career-high and give him 68 on the season, the third-most in school history behind former major leaguer Joel Bennett's 100 in 1991 and 77 in 1990.
The game went into extra innings when ESU couldn't capitalize on a leadoff single by Angelo in the seventh, and Stinger's base hit for Mansfield in the top of the eighth brought junior Christian Saveri into the game for his 20th appearance of the year. The Mounties moved Stinger up to third, but Saveri got Coleman out to end the inning and turn it over to the offense.
Junior C Brendan O'Connor started the frame with a base hit and was replaced by O'Malley, who moved up to second on the second hit of the game by sophomore 3B Edwin Padua. Mansfield brought Noel, its top reliever, into the game to face Bortz, but the Warriors' leadoff hitter never had to swing the bat as Noel threw two wild pitches and O'Malley scored the winning run.
In the second game, Mansfield led from the second inning on to tie the series at 1-1. The Mounties had 11 hits and were led offensively by Coleman (2-for-3, 3 RBI) and designated hitter Nate Grove (3-for-3, 5 RBI), the sixth and seventh hitters in the order.
Mansfield took a 2-1 lead in the second, built a 5-1 margin in the third, then held off the Warriors with a pair of two-run innings in the fifth and seventh.
ESU scored runs in four of the first five innings and Angelo went 3-for-3 with two RBI and two runs, including a solo homer that made the score 7-5 through five innings, but Noel (2.1 IP, 0 runs) was much more effective for the Mounties in the nightcap and got a pair of insurance runs in the seventh to seal the win.
Chris Zelko (4.2 IP, two earned runs) started for Mansfield, while three pitchers went to the hill for ESU. Sophomore Tom Admire (2.1 IP) took the loss, with seniors Jason Colletti (3.2 IP) and Bill Hezel (1.0 IP) appearing in relief.
The Warriors honored Angelo, Bortz, Colletti, Hezel and fellow seniors Chad Schlegel, Kevin Thompson and Chris Zsenak before the game for their contributions to the program during their careers at ESU, which include a school-record 31 wins going into Saturday's action at Mansfield.
