Box Score

CARY, N.C. – Four runs in the fourth inning and three runs in the fifth turned a 3-2 contest into a 10-2 advantage for the East Stroudsburg University baseball team on Saturday in a 12-6 victory against Pace at the USA Baseball Complex.
 
The Warriors (8-2) tallied 12 hits in the contest while three players had multi-hit outings against the Setters. ESU also limited the use of its bullpen as redshirt freshman Chase Nowak tossed four innings before handing things over to his relievers. Pace (3-1) tried to rally late against the Warriors, scoring four runs in the seventh inning but would be unable to muster any offense over the final two innings.
 
Junior CJ Lopez paced the Warriors offensively with three hits in four trips to the plate. Lopez delivered a double along with a two-run home run in the fifth inning to finish with four runs batted in. Junior Joey Paolini went 2-for-3 with a pair of doubles and two RBI for ESU, while junior Anthony Torreullas had a pair of hits and one RBI. Sophomore Brainy Rojas finished with three RBI for the Warriors, including two off a triple in the fourth inning.
 
ESU took a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the first inning as redshirt senior Christian Rishel scored sophomore Brock Kauffman with a single. Rishel extended his on-base streak to 10 games, while Kauffman pushed his hitting streak to eight games. Paolini increased the lead to 2-0 in the second with a double that plated Lopez and would later score on a passed ball to make it 3-0.
 
Pace trimmed the deficit to 3-2 in the third after manufacturing a pair of runs against Nowak. He would work out of the inning to prevent any further damage and keep the lead intact for ESU. The fourth inning featured a pair of run-scoring doubles from Paolini and Torreullas along with a triple from Rojas that gave the Warriors a 7-2 advantage.
 
Lopez increased the ESU lead to 9-2 in the fifth inning as he went yard for the third time this season. The Warriors would then hit double-digits as Rojas delivered a sacrifice fly to right field to score Paolini. ESU would hold onto its 10-2 lead until Pace scored four runs in the top of the seventh inning.
 
Three run-scoring singles highlighted the frame for the Setters, who would be able to get to the ESU bullpen late in the contest. Despite allowing a pair of runs in the inning, redshirt junior Joe Setticase got some help from his defense as the Warriors turned a 5-4-3 double-play with a pair of runners on base. Freshman JP Nolan would get ESU out of the inning and strand a runner on base for the Setters.
 
Lopez capped-off his offensive day at the plate with a single that would score Kauffman and Torreullas to make it 12-6 ESU. Nolan would see Pace load the bases in the top of the ninth inning following a pair of hits and a walk. Nolan recorded his third strikeout of the contest to halt any rallies from the Setters and strand the bases-loaded.
 
Crookham (1-0) earned the win for ESU after working the middle-innings, while Nowak took a no-decision after exiting the contest prior to the start of the fifth inning. Nolan fanned three batters in his 2.1 innings of work for ESU, allowing three hits and walking one batter.