EAST STROUDSBURG – The East Stroudsburg University baseball team opened their three-game series against Saint Anselm with 14-2 and 8-1 victories over the Hawks on Sunday afternoon at Creekview Park.
The Warriors stretched their win streak to six games and sit at 8-2 through the first 10 contests of the season while Saint Anselm dropped to 1-8.
Notables
- Ben Piripavel had himself a day out of the leadoff spot as the redshirt junior finished 2-for-5 with a triple, four walks, six runs scored and four stolen bases
- Cam Hubbard flourished in the cleanup spot as the junior went 4-for-8 with a double, four RBI and two runs
- Junior transfer Matt Ervolina continued to swing a hot bat as the Breinigsville native finished 4-for-7 with two doubles, four RBI, two runs and two stolen bases
- Jeremy Piatkiewicz was responsible for five runs in the opener as the junior was 2-for-3 with a double, a home run, four RBI and a run scored
- ESU's pitching staff dominated Saint Anselm's lineup in the both games as the Warriors arms yielded three runs on 10 hits while striking out 17 over 16.0 innings
- Chase Nowak (2-1) was sharp in the opener as the graduate student fired 5.0 innings, allowing one run on four hits to go along with five punchouts. Quinn Warmkessel and Scotty Shamany pitched the final two innings in relief, combing for two strikeouts.
- In game two, Tom Reisinger (2-0) was dealing as the junior went 6.0 innings, surrendering one run on three hits while striking out a season-high seven batters. Reisinger lowered his ERA on the year to 1.96 over 18.1 innings of work.
- Redshirt senior Mike Yates (2.0 innings) and graduate student JP Nolan (1.0 innings) limited Saint Anselm to one hit the rest of the way
- Nowak continued to re-write the record book as he set the school record with his 40th career start. The Wilkes-Bare native notched his 234th career strikeout today, needing five more to set the program's career record currently held by Gigliotti (238). With his 21st career victory, Nowak (21-7) is three away from passing former ESU standout and current Seattle Mariners reliever Matt Festa (23-7, 2014-16).
- In this week's NCBWA Atlantic Region Poll, the Warriors jumped back up to No. 3. ESU is still receiving votes in the NCBWA Top 25 for the second consecutive week.
How it Happened – Game One (ESU 14, Saint Anselm 2)
Piripavel continued to set the table for the Warriors' offense as the redshirt junior scored the first run of the game to give ESU a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the first inning. Piripavel led off with a single through the left side, stole second, and ultimately raced home on an infield single from Ervolina.
Saint Anselm responded with a run in the top of the second inning as Daniel Scolaro produced a two-out double to deep left field to bring home Mike Pierro which tied the score at 1-1.
The Warriors broke the game open in the home half of the inning, plating six runs on five hits to regain a 7-1 lead. With runners in scoring position,
Tommy Ajjan smacked a double to bring home
Parker Frey and
Victor Cruz which made the score 3-1. Then with the bases loaded, Hubbard delivered another extra base hit to push the Warriors advantage to 5-1. The scoring continued for ESU on sacrifice fly from
Tim Haverstick and an RBI double from Piatkiewicz.
ESU added to their advantage in the bottom of the third inning with three runs on two hits to make the score 10-1. The Warriors took advantage of a Saint Anselm error to lead off the frame as Cruz would cross home plate on a wild pitch for ESU's eighth run. With Piripavel then aboard on second, Ervolina drove him in a double before coming around to score on a single from Hubbard to give the Warriors a nine-run cushion.
The Warriors tacked on four runs on three hits in the bottom of the fifth inning to increase their lead to 14-1. With runners on the corners, Piripavel came around to score on a RBI single from Hubbard and Piatkiewicz capped off the frame with a three-run blast over the fence in right field.
Saint Anselm took advantage of an ESU error in the top of the sixth inning to scratch across a run, cutting their deficit to 14-2 as Scolaro singled through the left side.
How it Happened – Game Two (ESU 8, Saint Anselm 1)
Following a lead off triple from Danny Kent in the top of the third inning, Richie Williams lifted a sacrifice fly to right field to give Saint Anselm a 1-0 lead.
The Warriors responded in the bottom half of the inning, using a trio of hits to score two runs for a 2-1 lead. After Stirr singled through the left side, Piripavel laced a triple down the right field line to tie the score at 1-1. Then on the first pitch of his at-bat, Ervolina poked a base hit up the middle to score Piripavel which put ESU in front.
After a few scoreless innings for both teams, ESU exploded with six insurance runs in the bottom of the seventh inning to stretch their lead to 8-1. The Warriors loaded the bases with a pair of singles and a walk before Ervolina delivered a sacrifice fly to center field to make the score 3-1. Then with the bases loaded,
Jack Rothenhausler was plunked by a pitch for ESU's fourth run of the game. Saint Anselm had a chance to limit the damage but a throwing error with two outs allowed to more runs to score. Cruz capped off the scoring with a two-RBI single.
Up Next
The Warriors and Hawks close out the series tomorrow with a single nine-inning game beginning at 11 a.m. from Creekview Park
