JOHNSTOWN – The 13th/18th-ranked East Stroudsburg University baseball team finished off the four-game of sweep of Pitt-Johnstown after defeating the Mountain Cats, 9-3 and 9-5, on Friday at Point Stadium.
The Warriors rallied from a three-run deficit in the series finale to win their fourth straight game, improving to 17-3 overall while the Mountains Cats drop their seventh consecutive contest, falling to 6-11.
Recording his 24th career victory, graduate student
Chase Nowak (24-7) became the program's all-time win leader eclipsing the previous record of 23 held by former ESU standout and current Seattle Mariners reliever Matt Festa (23-7, 2014-16).
Nowak settled in after allowing a run in the bottom of the first inning, throwing 5.0 innings and scattering five total hits while striking out five. The Wilkes-Barre set his third school record of the season and moved to 5-1 with a 2.10 ERA over 30.0 innings of work.
Notables
- Play in both games of the twin bill, Cameron Hubbard was 3-for-4 with two RBI and a run while Victor Cruz totaled three walks and runs as well as two RBI
- Junior Jeremy Piatkiewicz finished the day 3-for-5 with two walks, two RBI, three runs and sophomore Jack Rothenhausler went 3-for-7 with two runs and one RBI
- Making the start in game two, Mike Kelly was a perfect 3-for 3 with one walk, RBI and run scored a piece
- Despite not recording a hit on the afternoon, Matt Ervolina totaled three RBI and three runs scored
- In the opener, Tommy Ajjan and Shanley Wall combined to go 2-of-5 with a trio of RBI and runs while Parker Frey was 2-for-4 with two doubles
- After Ryan Dewees and Scott Shamany yielded five runs through the first two innings of the series finale, Quinn Warmkessel earned the victory of firing 5.0 scoreless innings and striking out a pair
- The Warriors added five stolen bases to increase their season total to 80. Going into the twin bill, ESU ranked tied for third with Angelo State in NCAA Division II.
- In this week's NCBWA Polls, ESU held steady at No. 18 in the Top 25 and at No. 2 in the Atlantic Region after receiving one first-place votes. The Warriors slid up one spot to No. 13 in the latest edition of the College Baseball Division II Top 25 and were ranked as high as No. 9 by Perfect Game.
How it Happened – ESU 9, Pitt-Johnstown 3 (Game One)
The Mountain Cats jumped out to an early 1-0 lead in the bottom of the first inning as Josh Ulery singled with one out before coming around to score on a double from Dylan Broderick.
ESU answered with a huge top of the second inning, plating four runs using three hits and a trio of walks. The Warriors loaded the bases after Rothenhausler singled followed by free passes to Cruz and Piatkiewicz. Ajjan gave ESU the lead on a two-run single through the right side before Wall recorded a RBI base hit to make the score 3-1. After a walk to Piripavel reloaded the bases, Ervolina drove in a run on a fielder's choice to put the Warriors ahead 4-1.
The Warriors took advantage of two errors by Pitt-Johnstown in the top of the fourth inning to push their lead to 5-1. With runners on the corners, Ervolina grounded out to second base which allowed Wall to race home.
ESU broke the game open in the top of the fifth inning with four runs on two hits making the score 9-1. Cruz got the Warriors started with a walk before advancing to third on a single from Piatkiewicz. After he raced home on a wild pitch, Wall and Piripavel worked walks to load the bases for Ervolina, who was hit by a pitch to put ESU up 7-1. Hubbard capped off the scoring with a two-run single to center field.
In their final at-bats, Pitt-Johnstown made the final score 9-3 after Broderick drove in a pair of runs on single through the right side.
How it Happened – ESU 9, Pitt-Johnstown 5 (Game Two)
ESU carried over their momentum into game two, scoring two runs on two hits in the top of the first inning. After loading the bases with a double from Hubbard and walks by Ervolina and Rothenhausler, Cruz recorded a sacrifice fly and Tankred singled to left center field to make the score 2-0.
Despite not recording a hit in the home half of the inning, the Mountains Cats took a 3-2 lead. With the bases loaded after three straight walks, Asher Corl lofted a sacrifice fly into center field which got Pitt-Johnstown on the board. Then with two outs, the Warriors committed an error which allowed two more runs to score for the Mountain Cats.
Pitt-Johnstown added to their advantage in the bottom of the second inning as Joey Maun and Karson Reffner each recorded RBI singles to make the score 5-2.
In the top of the fifth inning, the Warriors tied the game using three runs on two hits to make the score 5-5. With the bases loaded, Ervolina raced home to cut ESU's deficit to 5-3 after reaching on an error to lead off the frame. Then with two outs and runners in scoring position, Piatkiewicz delivered an infield single that plated a pair of runs to even it up.
ESU regained the lead in the top of the sixth inning as the Warriors scored three more runs on a pair of hits. After loading the bases, Frey produced a sacrifice fly that allowed Kelly to score and break the tie at 6-5. The offense continued for the Warriors as Rothenhausler delivered a run scoring single and Ervolina had a RBI groundout to put ESU up 8-5.
The Warriors added an insurance run in their final at-bats as Kelly singled to left field to plate Piatkiewicz, as the junior had a base hit to lead off the top of the seventh inning.
Up Next
The Warriors head to Shepherd on Monday to make up the single nine-inning game that was postponed on March 11. First pitch of the PSAC East contest is set for 2 p.m. at Fairfax Field.
