Box Scores
W 6-2
L 9-6

Sunday: Cystic Fibrosis Awareness Day (info and how to help)

SHIPPENSBURG - Redshirt senior Matt Festa improved to 8-0 and set an East Stroudsburg University record with his 20th career victory as the Warriors split a PSAC East baseball doubleheader (W 6-2, L 9-6) at Shippensburg on Friday.

Festa remained perfect in eight starts and broke the ESU record of 19 career victories set by Mike Balent (19-10 - 1982-85) and tied by Mike Zimorowicz (19-17 - 1999-02).

ESU, ranked No. 17 in this week's NCBWA Division II poll, improves to 24-9 (8-6 PSAC East) and hosts Shippensburg (15-19, 6-8) in the second half of this weekend's series on Sunday at 1 p.m. at Mitterling Field.

Festa improves to 20-5 in 28 career starts over three seasons for the Warriors. He also tied the school single-season record with his eighth victory, matching the mark set by Ryan Lubreski (8-1) during the 2013 PSAC championship season.

Festa allowed two runs on five hits, struck out eight and walked five. He earned his fourth straight PSAC East complete game victory, going 4-0 with a 2.25 ERA, 28 strikeouts and 12 walks in 28.0 innings in divisional play.

Overall, Festa is 8-0 with a 1.94 ERA, 57 strikeouts and 17 walks in 51.0 innings. He entered the week with the PSAC lead in wins (next closest was five), and his seven wins were one off the NCAA Division II leaders.

Redshirt junior OF Robert Bennie (5-for-8, 2 doubles, 3 RBI, 2 runs) led ESU's offense on Friday, including a 3-for-4 effort with a double, two RBI and a run in the opener.

Junior OF Ian Allen was 3-for-7 with two doubles, a walk, RBI and run, redshirt junior OF Casey Saverio was 3-for-8 with an RBI and a run, and redshirt senior 3B Drew Hercik (1-for-4, 4 walks, run) and sophomore OF Christian Rishel (0-for-4, 4 walks, 2 runs) both reached base at least four times.

Sunday's doubleheader, postponed from Saturday, will be the Warriors' annual Cystic Fibrosis Awareness Day and Alumni Day.

GAME 1 - W 6-2

ESU staked Festa to an early lead with a four-run second inning off Shippensburg starter Mark Curtis (6.0 IP, 5 runs, 8 hits, 6 strikeouts, 2 walks).

Rishel drew a one-out walk, Saverio singled and sophomore catcher Steven Zimmerman, Jr. walked to load the bases, with redshirt junior 2B Jay Young driving in a run with a groundout. Bennie followed with a two-run double to plate Saverio and Zimmerman, and scored on an RBI double by Allen for a 4-0 lead.

Ship scored a run on a bases loaded walk in the second, but Festa left the bases loaded with a strikeout of leadoff hitter Mike Marcinko to get out of the jam.

The Warriors tagged on a run in the fourth as Zimmerman walked, stole second and scored on an RBI single by Young.

Ship made it 5-2 in the bottom of the fifth and threatened for more, but Festa struck out cleanup hitter Dalton Hoiles and got a popup by Nick Spangler to strand three Raiders.

The Warriors left two runners on in the sixth before pushing the lead to 6-2 in the seventh on a leadoff walk and stolen base by Hercik and a two-out RBI single by Saverio.

Festa got a double play in the sixth and pitched around a one-out walk in the seventh to secure his record-setting 20th career victory.

ESU had 16 baserunners (nine hits, seven walks) led by Bennie (3-for-4, double, 2 RBI, run) and Allen (2-for-3, 2 doubles, walk, RBI) at the top of the order. Saverio (2-for-4, RBI, run), Zimmerman (1-for-2, 2 walks, run) and Young (1-for-3, 2 RBI, run) combined to reach six times and collect three RBI and three runs in the 7-8-9 spots.

GAME 2 - L 9-6

Ship scored two in the first, two in the second and four in the fourth to lead 8-0, then survived a five-run ESU fifth.

Andy Crum (4.2 IP, 5 runs, 4 hits, 5 strikeouts, 4 walks) was the winner for the Raiders, with Kyle McClintock (2.1 IP, run, 3 hits, strikeout, walk) securing the save.

The Warriors didn't manage a hit until the fifth, when they used five hits and three walks to push five runs across.

Rishel drew a leadoff walk, Saverio singled for the Warriors' first base hit and Young had an RBI groundout to plate ESU's first run of the game.

The next four runs were scored with two outs as six straight batters reached - Bennie RBI single, Allen walk, redshirt junior SS Conner Crookham RBI single, Hercik walk, redshirt senior 1B Matt Walewski two-RBI single and Rishel walk - before McClintock entered in relief and got a groundout with the bases loaded to preserve Ship's tenuous 8-5 lead.

The Raiders added an insurance run in the sixth, and ESU scored one run in the seventh as Crookham had a leadoff double, Hercik singled and Crookham scored on a double play before Ship ended the threat.

Bennie (2-for-4, double, RBI, run) and Crookham (2-for-4, double, RBI, 2 runs) both had two hits. Hercik was 1-for-2 with two walks and Rishel 0-for-1 with three walks and a run.

Ship got to ESU's starter, junior Tyler Eckman, for eight runs (five earned) in 4.0 innings. Redshirt sophomore left-hander Dan Woodley got one out and walked one in the sixth, and junior Ben Bortz (1.2 IP, 1 run) got the final five outs.

Spangler was 5-for-7 in the doubleheader for Ship, including 3-for-4 with a pair of doubles in the nightcap. Ship had 14 hits on the afternoon.

GAME NOTES

* Festa, a transfer from Dominican (N.Y.) prior to the 2014 season, went 5-1 with a 3.64 ERA in 11 games (9 starts) in 2014 and 7-4 with a 5.01 ERA in 14 games (11 starts) in 2015 in his first two seasons at ESU.

* He entered the week ranked 5th in the PSAC in ERA (1.84) and 1st in the PSAC in wins (7-0).
* Entering the week, Festa was the only DII pitcher with 5+ wins to earn the victory in every game in which he had appeared.

* Festa moved into 7th at ESU in career strikeouts (167), 16th in inning pitched (175.0) and t-12th in career starts (28). He lowered his career ERA to 3.65.

* Bennie's five-hit day gives him a team-leading .436 batting average (58-for-133) with 22 extra-base hits (12 doubles, 2 triples, 8 home runs) for a .737 slugging percentage. He has a team-high 45 runs and has 32 RBI (one of 6 Warriors with 30+).

* Hercik reached base five times and has a team-high .535 on-base percentage, along with a .396 batting average and .613 slugging percentage.

* ESU entered the week ranked 2nd in DII in runs per game (9.9), 2nd in batting average (.362), 1st in on-base percentage (.465) and 6th in slugging percentage (.558).