Box Score

NYACK, N.Y. – Freshman 3B Robert Patete went 5-for-7 in the cleanup spot and junior OF Zac Menendez set the school record for stolen bases in a season as East Stroudsburg University posted a 15-7 win at Nyack in non-conference baseball on Monday.

Patete was one of six Warriors with at least two hits as part of a 20-hit attack, including seven in an eight-run eighth inning when they sent 14 batters to the plate. ESU had 20 hits for the second time this season following a 22-7 win over Philadelphia U on March 29.

Menendez improved to 26-for-28 on the base paths and also moved within one walk of the school record at the top of the order for the Warriors (20-14), who assured themselves of their fifth straight 20-win season under head coach John Kochmansky and seventh straight overall.

Menendez broke the record of 24 stolen bases set by Scott Roth in 2000 and tied by Brett Reynolds in 2001. He has 37 walks this season, one behind the record set by Joe Ragozino in 1989, and was ranked second in Division II in walks per game entering the week. He will take a .493 on-base percentage and 32 runs scored into this weekend's PSAC East series with Kutztown. (ESU Record Book)

Senior SS Evan Gallagher was 3-for-5 with three RBI and two runs in the No. 2 spot for his 13th career game with at least three hits and first this season. Gallagher became the third player in school history with 200 career hits on Saturday against Kutztown and is one hit from tying J.D. Stern (204, 1996-99) for second all-time.

Junior 1B Brian Ernst stayed hot at the plate, going 3-for-6 with a double, four RBI and two runs as he hit safely in his 11th straight game. The top four hitters – Menendez, Gallagher, Ernst and Patete – combined to go 12-for-25 with seven RBI and eight runs.

Sophomore OF Chris Knott (2-for-3, RBI, run, 3 walks), senior OF Jason Kelmer (2-for-5, 3 RBI, 2 runs, walk) and sophomore DH Mark Romano (2-for-4, double, 2 runs, 2 walks) also had two-hit games. ESU had at least one hit and one run from all nine spots in the lineup.

Freshman Jabin Weaver made his first career start in nine appearances and threw 6.0 innings, giving up five hits, two runs (one earned) and striking out five without a walk. He lowered his ERA to 0.93 in 19.1 innings this season.

Three ESU pitchers got one out each in the seventh when Nyack scored four runs to get within 7-6, but the Warriors responded with their big eighth inning to widen the margin. Junior Kurt Stettner got the last out of the seventh and pitched the eighth, and junior Mike Glassic struck out two in a perfect ninth inning.

ESU took a 1-0 lead in the first on an RBI single by Knott, and Gallagher and Ernst had back-to-back RBI singles to make it 3-0 in the fourth. After Nyack got a run back in the bottom of the inning, the Warriors tallied four more in the fifth on a two-run single by redshirt freshman 2B Jayson Rathjens and a two-run double by Ernst.

Patete, Knott, Forth and Kelmer all singled to open the eighth inning, with Kelmer collecting two RBI. The Warriors scored five of their eight runs with two outs keyed by Gallagher's two-run single and an RBI double by Patete.

The Warriors had four stolen bases – two by Menendez and one each by Gallagher and Knott – to give them exactly 100 on the season, two away from the school record set in 2000. Menendez (26-for-28), junior OF Eric Boyer (19-for-20), Gallagher (14-for-17), Knott (14-for-17) and Kelmer (11-for-13) have all hit double-digits and senior 2B Ryan Guarino is 9-for-11. ESU has been caught just 16 times this season.

ESU (20-14, 4-8) travels to Kutztown (21-9, 8-4) for the first half of this weekend's four-game PSAC East series on Friday. The Golden Bears come to Mitterling Field on Saturday for a 1 p.m. start.

GAME NOTES
* Ernst is 19-for-40 during his 11-game hitting streak to raise his team-leading batting average to .348.
* Patete's 5-for-7 day lifted his average nearly 30 points, from .318 to .347.
* Patete is the fourth ESU player with a 5-hit game in the last 10 years, all coming since 2007. Gallagher had 5 hits vs. Urbana last season.
* The Warriors were 21-27 in Kochmansky's first season in 2008 and are 29 games over .500 since then, going 32-22 in 2009, 26-20 in a PSAC Tournament trip in 2010 and 27-20 while making the PSAC Tournament and finishing third in the NCAA Division II Atlantic region in 2011. They are 20-14 so far this season.