MILLERSVILLE – For the first time in program history, the East Stroudsburg University baseball team is headed to the Super Regionals as the Warriors defeated Charleston (W.V.), 6-3, in a winner-take-all game at the Atlantic Regional #2 on Sunday at Cooper Park. The Golden Eagles cruised to a 16-3 victory in the opener to force the elimination game.

Navigating an hour and a half rain delay to collect their 40th victory of the season, the Warriors are headed to West Chester next Friday and Saturday (May 27-28) to battle the Golden Rams in the best-of-3 Atlantic Super Regional. The winner will advance to the championship, which will take place from June 4-11 at the USA Baseball National Training Complex in Cary, N.C.

“This group the last couple of years with COVID had things not go their way but we stayed resilient the entire time,” said 15th-year head coach John Kochmansky.

Kochmansky added “It’s been a complete team effort from top to bottom…our bullpen took some heat in the beginning and middle of the season but now they are one of our strengths.” “Not only did this victory today give us a chance to keep playing in the Super Regional, but 40 wins is a tribute to this group and how well they’ve played all year.”

In the opener, Charleston was in control from the start as the Golden Falcons took a 5-0 lead in the bottom of the second inning. The Warriors got one run back to make the score 5-1 but Charleston responded with nine runs across the fourth and fifth innings to blow the game open.

ESU found themselves in trouble to open the second game as Charleston took a 2-0 lead in their first at-bats. However, the Warriors responded in the bottom of the first inning with three runs to take a lead that wouldn’t be relinquished. With the score at 4-3 in favor of ESU, redshirt senior Tommy Dunleavy delivered a no doubt two-run home run to give ESU a three-run cushion.

Dunleavy then came on in relief following his eighth long ball of the season to fire 4.0 scoreless innings, striking out four and limiting Charleston to two baserunners to collect his third save.

Batting out of the leadoff spot, redshirt Brainy Rojas provided the spark on offense by finishing the day 3-for-7 with four walks, three RBI and one run scored. PSAC East Freshman of the Year Jack Rothenhausler extend his career-high hit streak to eight games, going 4-for-7 with a walk and three runs.

Notables
- CJ Peechatka stretched his team-high on-base streak to 30 games after reaching in both games

- By getting on base seven times in the double header, Rojas has now set a new school record for times reached base at 332, surpassing the mark of 327 set by Ian Allen in 2017

- Rojas scored the 161st run of his career to remain third all-time in program history and is now three away from the program record, while still ranking second for stolen bases with 79

- Brock Kauffman saw his 15-game hit streak come to an end in the opener and remains at second all-time in school history for hits with 223. The Blue Ball, Pa. native is two shy from breaking the school record of 224, held by Jacob DeBoer (2004-07).

- Nate Fiala earned his fifth win of the year and surpassed Justin Guidos’ single-season number for games pitched by making his 24th appearance

- Rothenhausler continued to rewrite the freshman record book as his three runs scored today tied the mark of 34. The Bethlehem native holds ESU freshman records in hits (55), doubles (17), home runs (7), extra base hits (26), total bases (97) and is tied for RBI with 34.

- Kauffman and Jeremy Piatkiewicz each stole a base to raise their season total to 135, which ranks tied for fifth in all of NCAA Division II

- ESU matched the record for home runs in a single season as Dunleavy slugged the 55th

- The Warriors move to 8-9 all-time in the NCAA Tournament

How it Happened – Game One
Charleston jumped on the Warriors in the bottom of the second inning, using five singles and a pair of walks to plate five runs. Five different Golden Falcons recorded an RBI to make the score 5-0.

ESU scored their first run of the game in the top of the fourth inning to trim their deficit to 5-1. The Warriors loaded the bases on a hit by pitch to Rothenhausler, a single from Tim Haverstick and walk to Anthony Torreullas before Rojas worked his 45th free pass of the season to record the RBI.

The Golden Eagles responded in the home half of the inning with two runs on four hits to regain a 7-1 advantage. Drew Klaserner drove in a pair on a single to right field after Charleston loaded the bases with three straight bas hits.

After Charleston loaded the bases to open the bottom of the fifth inning, the Warriors recorded two straight outs with a chance to keep the game within striking distance. However, the Golden Eagles used two hits and took advantage of a pair of ESU errors to tack on seven runs, which stretched their lead to 14-1.

The Golden Eagles would push their edge over the Warriors to 16-1 in the bottom of the seventh inning as Brayden McCallister belted a two-run home run to left field.

The Warriors got a run back in the top of the eighth inning as Peechatka was plunked by a pitch with two outs and the bases loaded to bring home Tommy Ajjan, making the score 16-2.

With runners on the corners and two outs in the top of the ninth inning, Rojas flared a single into left center field, bringing home Rothenhausler which made the final score 16-3 in favor of Charleston.

How it Happened – Game Two
The Golden Eagles continued their hot streak at the plate, scoring two runs on two hits in the top of the first inning to take a 2-0 lead. Charleston plated the games’ first run on a bases loaded walk and Brayden McCallister followed with an RBI single. The Warriors were able to limit the damage as double play helped end the frame.

ESU responded in the home half of the inning with three runs on a trio of hits to take their first lead of the afternoon at 3-2. Rojas got the Warriors started with a leadoff walk before racing around to score on a single from Kauffman. Peechatka followed with a triple that landed at the bottom of the center field fence to tie the game and Torreullas delivered a sacrifice fly to put ESU ahead.

The Warriors stretched their lead to 4-2 in the bottom of the fourth inning as Rojas delivered a single to score Haverstick, who got ESU started with a one-out base hit before moving into scoring position on a walk to Piatkiewicz.

Charleston used small ball to get a run back in the top of the fifth inning as with runners on the corners, Klaserner dropped down a bunt to score Braxton Boddorf, trimming the Golden Eagles deficit to 4-3.

With two outs in the home half of the inning, Dunleavy delivered a no doubt two-run home run over the left field fence to stretch ESU’s advantage to 6-3. Rothenhausler kept the frame alive for the Warriors with his second hit of the game.