EAST STROUDSBURG – The East Stroudsburg University baseball team will compete in the NCAA Division II Baseball Championships for the first time since 2016 as the Warriors travel to Millersville, Pa. for the Atlantic Regional hosted by the Marauders from May 19-22.
The Warriors (37-17), who are one victory shy of tying the school records for wins in a season, are the No. 6 seed in the seven-team field and face No. 3 Gannon (29-15) on Thursday at 2:00 p.m. in a first round game. ESU punched their ticket to the big dance for the first time in five seasons after making a run to the PSAC Championships, before falling to Millersville.
The second seeded Marauders, who are hosting the Atlantic Regional 2 at Copper Park, welcome sixth seed Charleston in tomorrow’s first game at 11 a.m.
The Atlantic Regional 1 is hosted by No. 1 seed West Chester. The three-team regional also features fourth seed Slippery Rock and Seton Hill, the fifth seed. The winners of the two regionals will meet in a Super Regional on May 27-28, with the winner of the best of three series advancing to the NCAA Division II Championships in Cary, N.C. on June 4-11.
ESU will make its fourth NCAA trip under 15th-year head coach John Kochmanksy after previously advancing to the NCAA Tournament in 1985, 2011, 2013 and 2016.
The Warriors own a 5-8 mark in the NCAA Tournament and are 5-6 under Kochmansky after going 2-2 back in 2016.
The Series
Thursday will be just the sixth meeting all-time between ESU and Gannon but the second in as many days as the Warriors eliminated the Golden Knights from the PSAC Tournament with an 11-3 victory on May 11.
About the Warriors
Pitching
Paced by All-PSAC East and D2CCA All-Atlantic First Team selections Chase Nowak and Brent Francisco, the Warriors’ pitching staff has dismantled opposing lineups all season, holding a 3.45 ERA as a unit which ranks atop of the PSAC and sixth in all of Division II. The staff has also struck out a school record 476 batters and counting this year.
The two right-handers have combined to post a 14-2 record and a 2.52 ERA, totaling 192 strikeouts in 161 innings pitched. Francisco leads the PSAC in strikeouts with 109, Nowak sits second in ERA at 1.94 and the duo is tied for second in games started with 14.
Out of the bullpen, ESU has turned to right handers Justin Guidos and Nate Fiala while Tommy Dunleavy has emerged as a dependable reliever. Fiala has appeared in a team-high 19 games with a 3-1 record and 3.23 ERA while Guidos has pitched in 18 games, recording one save and a 2.93 ERA in 43.0 innings. Over his last three appearances, Dunleavy has thrown 6.1 innings, yielding just one base runner while punching out 14. The Bushkill, Pa. native earned a pair of saves in the PSAC Tournament.
Hitting
At the plate, PSAC East Freshman of the Year Jack Rothenhausler has produced an excellent first season with ESU as he leads the team with a .355 batting average and .645 slugging percentage to go with a freshman record seven home runs.
All-PSAC East First Team outfielder Ben Piripavel has batted .320 while leading the team in on-base percentage (.443) and stolen bases (30), which is second in the PSAC. While eclipsing the school records for doubles and runs batted in, three-time All-PSAC selection Brock Kauffman is hitting .337 with 25 extra-base hits and 38 RBI. Kauffman is at 218 career hits which is second all-time in school history and seven from shattering the school record of 224, set by Jacob DeBoer (2004-07).
Jeremy Piatkiewicz continues to play outstanding defense and swing the bat well on the left side of the infield, as the sophomore is hitting .322 with a .405 on-base percentage and stellar .977 fielding percentage. D2CCA All-Atlantic second team selection Anthony Torreullas has put together a tremendous bounce back campaign, leading the team with 51 RBI and nine home runs to pair with a .320 batting average.
Batting out of the lead-off spot, redshirt senior Brainy Rojas has been the kick start for the Warriors offense this season, leading the league with 42 walks to increase his school record total to 127 and counting. Behind the plate, catcher Tim Haverstick has caught 39 of ESU’s 54 games while throwing out 10 base runners this season.
In his first season in the ESU uniform, CJ Peechatka garnered All-PSAC East Second Team honors at the designated hitter position, while also splitting time in left field. Peechatka is hitting .326 with .620 slugging percentage 42 hits, nine home runs and 31 RBI.
