Box Score (Game One) |
Box Score (Game Two)
BLOOMSBURG, Pa. – The East Stroudsburg University baseball team scored six runs in the top of the fifth inning and held off a late rally from Bloomsburg to take game one of a doubleheader, 9-8, on Saturday at Litwhiler Field. The Huskies would be victorious in game two 6-3.
ESU (24-12, 10-6 PSAC East) hit a pair of home runs in game one against Bloomsburg while avoiding a four-game sweep. The Huskies (21-9, 10-6 PSAC East) trailed 2-0 and 3-1 in game two before rallying to score five runs in the bottom of the fifth inning and one run in the sixth inning.
Freshman
Logan Stirr finished the day 3-for-5 at the plate with a double, home run, and two runs batted in for the Warriors. His two-run home run in game one was his fourth of the season, tying him for second-most in a single season by a freshman. Senior
Zarley Cina went 3-for-6 and hit his third home run of the season, while sophomore
Brock Kauffman added a 3-for-6 effort at the plate.
Cina would give ESU a 2-0 lead in the top of the second inning of game one with a single through the right side that allowed redshirt senior
Christian Rishel to score along with Stirr. The Huskies would chip away at the deficit and make it 2-1 in the second inning off a single. Bloomsburg knotted the score 2-2 in the third with a bunt up the first base line and a runner on third.
The Warriors regained the lead in the fourth inning as Cina sent a ball over the fence in center field to make it 3-2. Stirr would get things going for ESU in the fifth inning with his two-run shot to center field that scored Kauffman to make it 5-2. Sophomore
Sirwalter Melendez and sophomore
Brainy Rojas followed with back-to-back run-scoring singles to increase the lead to 7-2.
Bloomsburg trimmed the deficit to 9-4 with a pair of runs in the sixth inning and would load the bases with two outs in the bottom of the seventh inning. Jared Burcin pulled his team within two runs after delivering a pinch-hit triple down the right-field line that emptied the bases. The potential tying run would reach base for the Huskies before redshirt freshman
Chase Nowak got a swinging strike three to end the contest and preserve the 9-8 victory.
Junior
Joe Baran (1-1) tallied his first win on the mound for the Warriors after limiting the Huskies to two runs off seven hits through four innings of work. He also fanned five batters and walked one, while Nowak recorded his first save after allowing a hit and recording the final out.
In game two, Kauffman got ESU onto the scoreboard with a run-scoring double in the top of the fourth inning. Kauffman would later score on a throwing error to make it 2-0 in favor of the Warriors. Junior
Anthony Torreullas delivered a single to right field in the fifth as Rojas scored to give ESU a 3-1 advantage.
A pair of run-scoring singles in the bottom of the fifth knotted the score for the Huskies, who would eventually take a 5-3 lead after consecutive runners scored from third via two wild pitches. The Huskies added to their lead with a bases-loaded walk in the sixth inning to make it 6-3.
The Warriors host Molloy on Tuesday for a single nine-inning non-conference matchup at Hughes Field beginning at 3 p.m. ESU returns to PSAC East action with a twin bill at home on Friday against Kutztown beginning at 1 p.m.
