Box Scores
W 7-2
L 2-1

Photo Galleries
Game 1
Game 2

EAST STROUDSBURG - Redshirt senior Matt Festa threw a complete game and tied East Stroudsburg University's record for career wins in the opener as the No. 12-ranked Warriors split a PSAC East baseball doubleheader vs. No. 4 Millersville (7-2, 1-2) on Thursday afternoon at Mitterling Field.

Festa improved to 7-0 on the season and 19-5 in his career, outdueling Millersville's Brandon Miller after the offense supported him with four runs in the first inning.

Millersville won game two, 2-1, behind a 6.1-inning effort by Cordell Shannon. The Warriors got the tying run to second in the seventh.

Junior Tyler Eckman threw 5.1 strong innings for ESU, allowing two runs (one earned).

ESU (23-6, 7-3) travels to Millersville (24-3, 8-2) for the second half of the series on Saturday. Millersville entered ranked No. 1 in the region and No. 4 in DII in the NCBWA poll, with ESU No. 2 in the region and No. 12 nationally.

Redshirt senior 3B Drew Hercik was 3-for-5 with two walks, an RBI and three runs and redshirt junior OF Robert Bennie was 3-for-6 with a walk and a run to lead the Warriors offensively.

Hercik's three hits give him 178 in his career, moving into 10th in school history. He also ranks in the top 10 in RBI (120 - 3rd), runs (139 - t-4th), home runs, doubles, extra-base hits, total bases and walks.

Festa, in his third and final season at ESU, tied a school record for wins (19) that was set by Mike Balent (19-10) from 1982-85 and matched by Mike Zimorowicz (19-17) from 1999-02.

GAME 1 - W 7-2

Festa (6-0, 1.70 ERA) and Miller (5-0, 1.08 ERA) entered as two of the PSAC's top pitchers, but the Warriors tagged Miller for four runs in the first inning and Festa (7.0 IP, 6 hits, 8 strikeouts, 2 walks) allowed a single run until the seventh.

After Festa opened the game with a walk, strikeout and double play, Bennie led off the bottom of the first with a single and junior OF Ian Allen followed with a two-run home run to right-center, his second of the season and the 10th of his career for the preseason All-America selection.

Redshirt junior SS Conner Crookham hit a ground-rule double and scored on an RBI single by Hercik. After a groundout, Hercik scored on an RBI single by sophomore OF Christian Rishel for a 4-0 lead.

The Warriors added two more runs in the third for a 6-0 lead on an infield single by Hercik, an RBI double by redshirt senior 1B Matt Walewski, a wild pitch and a sacrifice fly by Rishel.

The Marauders made it 6-1 in the fourth on a pair of doubles by Dan Stoltzfus and Jeremy Musser, but Festa got a strikeout to get out of the inning.

Festa retired seven straight and ESU made it 7-1 in the sixth on singles by sophomore catcher Steven Zimmerman, Jr. and redshirt junior 2B Jay Young, a walk by Bennie and an RBI groundout by Crookham.

Mitch Stoltzfus homered for Millersville to lead off the seventh, but a single and walk did no further damage to the scoreboard.

Festa has won each of his first seven starts this spring, including three complete games. He has a 1.84 ERA, 49 strikeouts and 12 walks in 44.0 innings.

Miller had allowed six runs (five earned) in 41.2 innings over six starts but yielded seven to the Warriors in 6.0 innings of work.

GAME 2 - L 2-1

Shannon and three relievers kept ESU off the board until the seventh, but the Warriors had a chance to tie with runners on first and second before falling.

Eckman allowed two runs (one earned) on a two-RBI single by Ben Snyder in the second for Millersville's only scoring. He allowed seven hits, struck out two and walked one.

Redshirt sophomore left-hander Dan Woodley (0.2 IP) and junior Ben Bortz (1.0 IP, 1 strikeout) got five straight outs in relief.

Bennie was 2-for-3 at the top of the lineup, Hercik was 1-for-2 with a walk and a run and Rishel drove in the Warriors' only run with an RBI groundout in the seventh.

Matt Ulrich (0.1 IP), Dylan Boisclair (walk) and Mike Mock (save - 0.1 IP, walk) relieved Shannon in the seventh for the Marauders.


GAME NOTES
* ESU entered the week ranked 2nd in DII in runs (11.0), 2nd in batting (.375), 1st in on-base percentage (.479) and 3rd in slugging percentage (.594)
* The Warriors have scored 302 runs in 29 games this season
* Allen's home run was ESU's 38th of the season, 3rd-most in school history (44 in 2009, 39 in 1984)