Box Scores
Game 1 - L 4-3
Game 2 - W 10-0

Photo Gallery

KUTZTOWN – Defending PSAC baseball champion East Stroudsburg University posted a 10-0 win in the nightcap to split a doubleheader at Kutztown and move within one win of securing a spot in next week's PSAC Tournament on Friday afternoon.

ESU (28-15, 14-12) dropped the opener, 4-3, before a 14-hit attack and the right arm of redshirt sophomore Matt Festa led the Warriors to the decisive victory in the nightcap.

The Warriors improved to 8-1 this season after losing the first game of a doubleheader – in the process, they enter Saturday with a two game lead over Kutztown (24-19, 12-14) for the PSAC East's fourth and final playoff spot going into the final day of the regular season.

Festa improved to 5-1 with six shutout innings and senior OF Eric Forth was 3-for-3 at the plate to pace the Warriors offensively. ESU scored three runs in the second inning, then broke it open with a six-run third inning.

In the opener, both teams scored three runs in the first – the only scoring until Kutztown went ahead on a sacrifice fly in the bottom of the sixth. ESU got the tying run to third base but was unable to push it across in the seventh.

Redshirt senior DH Nico Delerme, who leads the PSAC in batting (.443) and on-base percentage (.556), was 4-for-6 with two walks, Forth was 4-for-6 with a walk and a hit by pitch and senior SS Eric Linares was 4-for-6 as ESU outhit Kutztown, 23-8, in the twinbill.

Saturday's doubleheader begins at 1 p.m. at Mitterling Field. A split or sweep would give ESU its fourth trip to the PSAC Tournament in the last five years. The Warriors are coming off their first PSAC championship since 1971 last spring.

Game 1 – L 4-3

Senior Ryan Lubreski allowed just three hits and one earned run in 6.0 innings for his second complete game of the season, but Kutztown prevailed in the opener.

The Warriors scored three runs on four hits in the first, starting with infield singles by sophomore 2B Nick Rabasco and redshirt sophomore 3B Drew Hercik. Delerme hit an RBI single, Hercik scored on a wild pitch and Forth banged an RBI double for a 3-0 lead.

Kutztown scored three runs, all unearned, in the bottom of the first inning on a two-out, three-run double by Brandon Hickey.

Kutztown managed just two more hits off Lubreski and didn't get a runner in scoring position until the sixth, when the Golden Bears loaded the bases with one out. A sacrifice fly by pinch-hitter Brady McNab put KU ahead 4-3 before Lubreski got out of the jam.

In the bottom of the seventh, Linares hit a leadoff single and pinch-runner Nick Espino moved to second on a sacrifice bunt and third on a ground ball before Kutztown reliever Colin Holmes (1.1 IP, 1 hit) got a strikeout to end the game.

Delerme was 3-for-3 and Linares was 2-for-3 as the Warriors held a 9-3 advantage in hits.

Game 2 – W 10-0

Festa got a 1-2-3 inning in the bottom of the first and ESU's bats went to work in the second and third innings, as the Warriors jumped out to a 9-0 lead through 2.5 innings to earn the split.

ESU scored all three runs in the second with two outs, getting three straight RBI: singles from Linares, Rabasco and Hercik after Delerme walked and Forth singled to start the inning.

In the third, Delerme and Forth both had hits to open the frame, redshirt sophomore 1B Matt Walewski hit an RBI single and ESU didn't look back, plating six runs in the inning. Linares and Rabasco both had RBI singles, senior OF Chris Knott was hit by a pitch with the bases loaded and Delerme and Forth both walked to drive in runs.

ESU added another run in the fourth on an RBI single by redshirt freshman 2B Jay Young.

Festa improved to 5-1 in 11 games (nine starts) for the Warriors, holding Kutztown to five hits without issuing a walk. He leads ESU with 59.1 innings pitched and had five strikeouts, pushing his season totals to 44 strikeouts and 13 walks.

Redshirt sophomore Jabin Weaver pitched a scoreless seventh in his first appearance of the season to preserve the shutout.

Rabasco (2-for-3, 2 RBI, run), Forth (3-for-3, RBI, 2 runs) and Linares (2-for-3, 2 RBI, run) led the offense for ESU against five Kutztown pitchers.