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Game 1 - W 8-7
Game 2 - L 7-6

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EAST STROUDSBURG – East Stroudsburg University rallied from a 7-0 deficit for an 8-7 win in the opener, then nearly came back from a 6-1 margin in a 7-6 loss in game two as the Warriors took three of four games from Kutztown in this weekend's PSAC East series, which culminated Saturday at Mitterling Field.

Senior Ryan Beck tied ESU's record with his 10th career save in the opener as the last of six pitchers to take the mound. The fifth, sophomore Keenan Stare, was credited with the win – his school record-tying seventh of the season – after junior catcher Nico Delerme had the go-ahead single with one out in the sixth inning.

Stellar relief pitching and timely hitting was the story of the day for the Warriors as they secured their second straight 3-1 series win over Kutztown.

ESU (23-15, 7-9 PSAC East) opened the series at Kutztown (24-12, 9-7) on Friday with two wins, 5-4 and 11-7, for their first road sweep of the Golden Bears since 2000, which was also ESU's last series win until last spring.

ESU relievers combined to hold Kutztown to eight hits and two runs (one earned) in 12.2 innings on the day, as the Warriors' two starters combined to get four outs. In game one, five relievers – freshman Jabin Weaver (3.1 IP), redshirt junior Brandon Snyder (0.1), sophomore Keith Moyer (1.1), Stare (1.0) and Beck (1.0) – held Kutztown to one run on six hits in 7.0 full innings on the mound.

The offense battled to get 10 hits in both games, with eight players collecting hits in the opener and nine getting a hit in game two.

Junior Brian Ernst, ESU's starter in game one, extended his hitting streak to 15 games by going 1-for-3 in both ends of the doubleheader. He had a key hit in the opener when ESU scored the tying run in the fifth, and also had a leadoff single in the fifth inning of the second game.

Senior SS Evan Gallagher and senior 2B Ryan Guarino also extended their own hitting streaks to 10 games, both the longest of their careers.

Gallagher, who moved into second in school history in career hits on Friday, was 2-for-3 with an RBI and two runs in the opener. Delerme also had two hits, going 2-for-3 with an RBI and a run. Freshman 3B Robert Patete was 2-for-4 in the second game.

GAME 1

ESU's comeback from the 7-0 deficit was its largest since rallying from a 10-2 hole in a 15-10 win over Millersville in April 2003.

Ernst entered the day with a 2.21 ERA, fifth in the PSAC, in 36.2 innings but couldn't record an out as the first eight Golden Bears reached base on five walks and three singles.

Weaver came on to get out of the inning with a double play and a strikeout, keeping Kutztown's margin at 6-0. KU added another run in the second, but the 7-0 lead quickly became 7-6 when ESU scored six runs on six hits in the third.

Three straight singles by sophomore 1B Mark Romano, Delerme and Guarino loaded the bases for junior OF Zac Menendez, whose grounder to third was mishandled as Romano crossed to get the Warriors on the board. Gallagher reached on an RBI fielders choice and Ernst had an RBI groundout to make it 7-3.

The Warriors weren't done, as Patete singled to bring home Gallagher, the first of three straight run-scoring hits with two outs. Junior OF Eric Boyer followed with a triple high up the hill in right field, and redshirt freshman OF Andy Brandstetter, pinch-hitting for sophomore OF Chris Knott due to injury, surprised the Golden Bears with a base-hit bunt to score Boyer and get the Warriors within 7-6.

Weaver went 3.1 innings, giving up just the second-inning run, before being relieved by the left-handed Snyder and Moyer as the Warriors used three pitchers to get an out each in a scoreless fourth.

Moyer got out of trouble in the fifth, and the Warriors tied it at 7-7 in the bottom half. Gallagher led off with an infield single, Ernst smoked a base hit to right to get Gallagher to third and Patete lofted a sacrifice fly to plate the tying run.

Stare came on in the sixth, getting a double play to erase a leadoff walk and a fly ball after a single and a walk to end the inning and get ESU back to the plate.

Brandstetter led off the bottom of the sixth with a walk and sophomore C Eric Forth laid down a pinch-hit sacrifice bunt to get him into scoring position. Delerme followed with a base hit to bring home Brandstetter with the go-ahead run and an 8-7 lead.

Beck notched his second save in as many days, and his fifth of the season, without incident in the seventh. On Friday, he surrendered two runs but ESU locked down a 5-4 win in the opener. Saturday, he got a fly ball and strikeout before Shayne Houck, the two-time PSAC East Player of the Year, reached on a base hit. Beck retired cleanup hitter Matt Albaugh on a ground ball to Patete at third as the Warriors prevailed.

GAME 2

Kutztown jumped out to a 6-1 lead through the top of the second before the Warriors came back with three in the bottom half to make it 6-4.

Junior Kurt Stettner relieved junior left-hander Mike Glassic with one out in the second and went 3.2 innings without allowing a hit while striking out four and walking three.

While ESU temporarily shut down the Kutztown offense, the Warriors' bats were quiet as well as they couldn't capitalize on base runners in the fourth, fifth or sixth innings.

KU added an insurance run in the top of the seventh on an RBI single by Albaugh, which proved to be crucial in the bottom of the frame.

Kutztown brought on closer Jason Henderson, who got the first two outs before Patete singled to extend the game. Knott followed with a homer to left field, his team-leading fourth of the season, to make it 7-6 and Brandstetter walked to represent the tying run before Henderson got a fly ball to end it.

Kyle Stoudt improved to 3-1 for Kutztown, going 4.0 innings and allowing four runs (three earned) on seven hits. Colin Holmes blanked the Warriors in the fifth and sixth before they got to Henderson in the seventh.

Sophomore Colin Taylor, ESU's starter in Friday's opener, threw 1.2 innings in relief of Glassic and Stettner and was charged with an unearned run in the seventh. Snyder came on to get the final out as a left-handed specialist.

SERIES NOTES

ESU hit .345 in the series with four players collecting at least five hits. Ernst was 7-for-12 with 3 RBI and 2 runs and is hitting .500 (26-for-52) in 15 games since March 26. He leads the Warriors with a .370 average and 35 RBI, and picked up his 100th career RBI on Friday at Kutztown.

Patete was 6-for-11 with six RBI and five runs in his first PSAC East series since moving to the cleanup spot. The freshman from Owen J. Roberts High School is hitting .368 – just behind Ernst's .370 – with 39 hits and 26 RBI.

Guarino was 5-for-11 over the weekend with three runs, and Gallagher was 5-for-15 with 4 RBI and 5 runs. Gallagher moved into a tie for third with 182 career games played at ESU and Guarino surpassed the 150-game mark over the weekend, currently ranking 14th with 152.

Two reserves, Romano and Brandstetter, also played pivotal roles. Romano was 3-for-5 with 2 RBI and 2 runs and belted a two-out, two-run single in the bottom of the sixth in ESU's 11-7 win on Friday. He also singled to start the Warriors' six-run third in Saturday's opener.

Brandstetter, playing for the first time since an injury that nearly ended his season on February 18 at Chowan, had the key base-hit bunt to make it 7-6 in the third inning of the opener and walked and scored the winning run in the sixth. He also had an infield single to start ESU's three-run second in the second game.

On the mound, Moyer and Stare both appeared in three games in relief. Stare worked 5.0 innings, giving up one run on two hits, and was the winning pitcher in the second game on Friday and first game on Saturday. Moyer worked 4.0 innings, giving up one run on four hits, and was credited with the win in the first game of the series.