EAST STROUDBSURG – Playing their earliest home games in program history, the 23rd ranked East Stroudsburg University baseball team split a doubleheader against PSAC West foe IUP in the season-opener for both teams on Friday afternoon at Creekview Park.
IUP (1-1) hung on to defeat ESU (1-1) in the opener, 4-2, before the Warriors' pitching staff dominated the Crimson Hawks on their way to a 2-1 victory in game two.
Notables
- Playing in both games of the twin bill, Jack Rothenhausler and Cameron Hubbard each had two hits and a run batted in
- Jeremy Piatkiewicz finished with two hits, one walk and a pair of steals across seven plate appearances
- In the opener, Victor Cruz went 2-for-3 with a double and a RBI
- Making his ESU debut, Parker Frey (1-for-3) was credited with the game-winning RBI in game two as the redshirt freshman drove in Ben Piripavel to give ESU the lead
- Brent Francisco (1-0) picked up right where he left off as the redshirt junior fired 6.0 innings, allowing three hits and one run while punching out five to earn his 11th career victory and first of the year
- A trio of relievers locked down the Crimson Hawks the rest of the way as Jaden Newton, Tom Reisinger and Nick McAuliffe combined for five strikeouts and zero hits over 3.0 innings
- McAuliffe collected his first career save after transferring from New Orleans
- In game one, Chase Nowak suffered his first loss since April 30, 2021, as the graduate student yielded four runs on seven hits while striking out six over 6.0 innings of work
- Nowak registered his 38th career start, moving into a tie for third all-time and totaled his 226th career strikeout today. The Wilkes-Bare native needs 13 more to set the program's career record currently held by Jeremy Gigliotti (238, 2007-11)
- Fellow graduate student JP Nolan fired a scoreless inning after allowing two hits
- After setting the single-season record for steals in 2022, the Warriors went a perfect 5-of-5 on their attempts this afternoon
How it Happened – Game One
IUP wasted no time taking a lead as Harrison Pontoli blasted a home run to right center field to give the Crimson Hawks a 1-0 lead in the top of the first inning. With one out, the Crimson Hawks roped a single and double which put runners on second and third for Torrey Roper, who delivered an RBI groundout to put IUP ahead 2-0.
With two outs and a runner on first in the top of the third inning, IUP stretched their lead to 3-0 on an RBI double from Andrew Sicinski that brought home Pontoli.
The Warriors broke through in the bottom of fifth inning as Cruz produced a two-out single up the middle with runners on the corners, which allowed Hubbard to race home for ESU's first run of the season, making the score 3-1.
IUP got the run right back in the top half of the sixth inning as the Crimson Hawks took advantage of a leadoff double from Roper. Roper advanced to third before crossing the plate on a RBI groundout from Elijah Dunn to push their lead back to three at 4-1.
In the home half of the inning, the Warriors answered right back with a two-out rally to cut their deficit to 4-2.
Tim Haverstick got ESU started after getting hit by a pitch and Rothenhausler followed with a single to setup Hubbard, who poked a single to right field for the Warriors' second run.
How it Happened – Game Two
Following a one-out single, Piatkiewicz stole second and advanced to third on a throwing error by the Crimson Hawks before scoring on an RBI base knock from Rothlenhausler.
IUP took advantage of a two-out walk in the top of the second inning as Dunn doubled to left center with a pair of runners on base, bringing home Roper to tie the game at 1-1.
After a few scoreless innings, the Warriors broke the tie in the bottom of the fifth inning using pair of hits and stolen bases to regain the lead at 2-1. With one out, Piripavel worked a six-pitch walk and stole second before former high school teammate, Frey, drove in the redshirt junior on a single to left field.
Up Next
The Warriors travel to western Pennsylvania on Monday for another twin bill against the Crimson Hawks at 11 a.m. & 1:30 p.m. from Owen J. Dougherty Field