EAST STROUDSBURG, Pa. – The East Stroudsburg University baseball program will induct the ninth class of its "Bat Club" on Friday, October 1, following the conclusion of the golf outing at Great Bear Golf Club.

On Saturday, October 2, the Warriors will also host a scrimmage followed by an alumni/family picnic at Creekview Park.

Two Warriors – outfielder Robert Bennie (2016) and third baseman Drew Hercik (2013-16) – join 29 previous inductees.

Previous inductees to the Bat Club are - pitcher/shortstop Joel Bennett, outfielder J.D. Stern, second baseman Jacob DeBoer and pitcher Jeremy Gigliotti (2013), pitcher/infielder/outfielder Tim Bishop, shortstop Brett Reynolds, outfielder Josh Butler and third baseman Mark Angelo (2014), pitcher Mike Balent, outfielder Kyle Sheaffer, pitcher Christian Saveri and pitcher/first baseman Brian Ernst (2015), pitcher Don Rentschler, second baseman Tadgh La Bar and outfielder Kevin Thompson (2016), and catcher/third baseman Pete Radocha, second baseman Ryan Hatfield, catcher/designated hitter Nico Delerme and outfielder Chris Knott (2017), and shortstop Evan Gallagher, outfielder Eric Boyer, and second baseman Joe Bennie (2018), Mike Bortz, outfielder Bryan Yagel and pitcher Mike Zimorowicz (2019), pitcher Tyler Eckman, pitcher Matt Festa, third baseman Alan Frick and pitcher Ryan Lubreski (2020).

Information on the Bat Club honorees is below:

Robert Bennie (2016) – Bennie was selected by the Oakland A's in 24th round of the 2016 MLB Draft. He joined RHP Matt Festa (7th round - Seattle) as the first ESU teammates to be drafted in the same year in program history and became the Warriors' 6th and 7th MLB Draft picks. Robert joined his brother Joe Bennie (2013 - 28th round) as the only ESU players to be selected by Oakland.

In his only season with the Warriors, he was named All-America by the ABCA (2nd team) and D2CCA (3rd team). Bennie was a Tino Martinez Award national semifinalist, the PSAC East Athlete of the Year, ABCA Atlantic Region Player of the Year and NCBWA Region Co-Player of the Year. He was an ABCA, D2CCA and NCBWA All-Atlantic Region First Team selection as well as an All-PSAC East First Team honoree. Bennie set the school single-season records for hits (89), runs (67) and total bases (144) and was named ESU's Co-Team MVP with Matt Festa. Bennie helped the Warriors to a school record 38 wins and third NCAA Tournament appearance in the last 6 years in 2016.

Drew Hercik (2013-16) – The Nazareth, Pa. native put together one of the most impressive seasons in program history back in 2016 as he was selected to the D2CCA All-Atlantic Region 1st team at third base, ABCA All-Region 2nd team and All-PSAC East 1st team. Hercik also set school records for career games (203), runs (163) and walks (105) that year as well as the single-season record for walks with 51. Additionally, he helped the Warriors to a school record 38 wins and fourth NCAA Tournament appearance all-time after hitting .367 with a .517 on-base percentage and .605 slugging percentage. Hercik enters the Bat Club ranked in the top-5 of eight offensive categories in program history. He finished his career with a .305 batting average, .405 on-base percentage, .453 slugging percentage, 204 hits, 17 HRs and 127 RBI. 

Career Offensive Ranks

1st – Runs (163)
1st – Game Played (203)
2nd – Walks (105)
2nd – Times Reached Base (326)
3rd – Total Bases (303)
4th – RBI (127)
T-4th – Hits (204)
5th – Doubles (43)
T-5th – Extra-Base Hits (63)
T-7th – Home Runs (16)
T-16th – Stolen Bases (32)

Scrimmage & Alumni/Family Picnic
ESU's scrimmage begins at 10 a.m. on Saturday from Creekview Park against an opponent to be named at a later date. At the conclusion of the scrimmage, an alumni/family picnic will be held with free food and drinks.

For questions, more information, or if you're interested in attending any of these events, please contact ESU head baseball coach John Kochmansky at (570) 422-3263 or jkochmansky@esu.edu.