Box Scores
Game 1 - L 1-0
Game 2 - W 8-3

Photo Gallery

EAST STROUDSBURG – Senior outfielder Chris Knott hit the 200-career hit mark and redshirt sophomore Matt Festa earned a complete game win, helping East Stroudsburg University to a split with PSAC East leader Bloomsburg on Friday at Mitterling Field.

ESU (26-13, 12-10) posted an 8-3 win after dropping a pitchers duel with Bloomsburg (24-14, 16-6) in the opener, as the Huskies came away with a 1-0 win on a two-out single in the top of the seventh.

Senior Ryan Lubreski took just his third loss in 20 career starts, falling to 13-3 in two seasons at ESU. Bloomsburg's Casey Cooperman held the Warriors to five hits.

Knott is the fifth player with 200 career hits in school history, entering the day with 199 and finishing with 203 after going 4-for-6 on the afternoon. Knott has set six ESU career records this season for doubles (44), triples (16), home runs (19), extra-base hits (79), total bases (334) and RBI (145).

Redshirt senior Nico Delerme was 3-for-6, including a bases-clearing double in the sixth inning of the nightcap.

Delerme leads the PSAC in batting average (.431) and on-base percentage (.549) and ranks second behind Knott in slugging percentage (.651) and RBI (39). Knott is second in average (.423), third in on-base percentage (.506) and first in slugging percentage (.723) and RBI (43).

The two schools will meet in the second half of this weekend's four-game series at Bloomsburg. ESU entered the week ranked No. 4 in the NCBWA Atlantic Region poll, with Bloomsburg entering at No. 10.

The game two loss ended an eight-game winning streak for Bloomsburg. Both teams were coming off four-game sweeps last weekend, ESU vs. Mansfield and Bloomsburg vs. Kutztown. ESU split with West Chester Monday, while Bloomsburg swept Shippensburg.

Game 1 – L 1-0

Lubreski and Cooperman matched zeroes until the seventh inning, when Eric Frain's one-out double and Damin Muth's two-out single were enough offense for Bloomsburg.

The Huskies turned two double plays, getting out of the fourth and sixth innings to keep ESU off the board.

Bloomsburg had leadoff baserunners in each of the first three innings but Lubreski got out of trouble each time. The Warriors' first big threat came in the fourth, when Knott hit a leadoff single for his 200th career hit. Delerme reached on a fielders choice and Forth singled to put runners at the corners, but Cooperman got a double play to end the inning.

Lubreski stranded the go-ahead run at third in the sixth, but Muth's flare single to left field broke the tie with two outs in the seventh.

Knott and Delerme had back-to-back one-out singles in the sixth before a double play extinguished the threat.

Cooperman allowed five hits, struck out three and walked one for Bloomsburg to improve to 5-4 on the season. He entered with a 1.86 ERA in 63.0 innings pitched.

Lubreski fell to 5-2 on the year and 13-3 in his career after going 8-1 as a junior in his first season at ESU. He surrendered nine hits, struck out four and walked two in his first complete game of the year.

Game 2 – W 8-3

Bloomsburg scored a first-inning run off Festa, but the Warriors responded with a five-run second – getting six singles, a walk and a hit batter to break the game open off Bloomsburg starter Tyler Hill (1.2 IP, 6 hits, 5 runs, 1 strikeout, 1 walk).

Three Warriors had two hits each – Knott (2-for-3, RBI, run), Delerme (2-for-3, 4 RBI, run) and sophomore catcher Ryan Richards (2-for-3, RBI, run) – as ESU had 10 hits overall.

In the second, Delerme hit a leadoff single, then redshirt sophomore OF Matt Walewski, senior 1B Mike Teanglia, Richards and senior SS Eric Linares all hit consecutive singles to bring two runs in and load the bases.

Redshirt sophomore 2B Jay Young was hit by a pitch to make it 3-0, then Knott belted a two-out single and Delerme drew a bases loaded walk (his PSAC-leading 32nd of the year) to give the Warriors a 5-0 lead.

Bloomsburg got two runs back in the top of the third, but didn't dent the scoreboard again as Festa dealt his second complete game of the season. He improved to 4-1 and lowered his ERA to 4.05 in a team-high 53.1 innings.

ESU added three insurance runs in the sixth, loading the bases with two outs for Delerme, who doubled to deep right-center to extend the lead to 8-3.

Game Notes

* ESU's career hits list:
224 – Jacob DeBoer, 2004-07
212 – Evan Gallagher, 2009-12
204 – J.D. Stern, 1996-99
203 – Chris Knott, 2011-
201 – Brian Ernst, 2010-13