GREENSBURG – The third-seeded East Stroudsburg University baseball team fell in their opening game of the Atlantic Regional to No. 6 seed Mercyhurst, 8-6, on Thursday afternoon at the SHU Baseball Complex.
The Warriors dropped their third consecutive game, moving to 35-13 on the season while the Lakers improved to 29-15. ESU will now face Shippensburg in an elimination game tomorrow at 11 a.m.
With Mercyhurst holding a 3-2 lead headed into the eighth inning, the back and forth commenced as each team combined to plate nine runs over the final two frames. The Lakers scored twice in the top of the eighth before ESU responded with a pair of runs to make the score 5-4. In the ninth inning, Mercyhurst seemed to put the game out of reach after going ahead 8-4, but the Warriors scored twice and had the bases loaded before the final out was recorded.
In the bottom of the ninth inning,
Matt Ervolina set the single-season school record for stolen bases with his 37th and counting. The sophomore eclipsed the previous mark of 36, set by Ian Allen in 2016. On the season, Ervolina is now 37-of-43 and came into today's game ranked tied for 14th in NCAA Division II.
Notables
- Parker Frey rose to occasion for the Warriors offensively as the redshirt freshman went 2-for-3, smacking his first career home run and a double, to go along with a walk, a run batted in and two runs scored
- Graduate student Victor Cruz went 1-for-4 with a pair of RBI while Ben Piripavel, Cameron Hubbard, Logan Stirr each added a hit and a RBI
- Jack Rothenhausler finished 1-for-4 with a walk and a run scored and Ervolina reached twice on a pair of walks while coming around to score two runs
- PSAC East and NCBWA Atlantic Region Pitcher of the Year Chase Nowak (8-4) suffered the loss after yielding three runs (two earned) on six hits and three walks while striking out four.
- Junior Nick McAuliffe provided long relief out of the bullpen as the All-PSAC East selection fired 4.2 innings, allowing two runs on three hits to go along with six punch outs. Brent Francisco (0.2 innings), Mike Yates (0.2 innings) and Ryan Dewees (0.1 innings) each appeared for ESU.
- Mercyhurst's starter Aiden Kelly (6.0 innings, one run, three hits, eight strikeouts) was credited with the win and Santino Campoli registered his first save of the season after recording the final out
- Offensively, Luke Jackson led Mercyhurst with a trio of singles while five different Lakers record a two hits, including John Susnik with a two-run home run
- The Warriors' defense, which entered today's game with the second best fielding percentage in NCAA Division II at .982, committed uncharacteristic three errors
How it Happened – Mercyhurst 8, ESU 6
With one out in the top of the second inning, John Susnik gave the Lakers a 1-0 lead with a solo home run to left field.
Mercyhurst used four hits and took advantage of an ESU error in the top of the fourth inning to extend their advantage to 3-0. With one out, the Lakers loaded the bases on three consecutive hits before an infield single from Zachary Kourous, followed by a Warriors' throwing miscue that allowed two runs to cross home plate.
Hitless through their first four innings, the Warriors recorded a pair of knocks in the bottom of the fifth and scored a run to trim their deficit to 3-1. Frey doubled to left center field for ESU's first hit of the afternoon and Kelly walked with two outs to set up Piripavel, who delivered a RBI single up the middle.
The Warriors continued to close the gap in the bottom of the seventh inning as Frey lifted a leadoff solo blast over the right field fence to get ESU within one at 3-2.
The Lakers responded in the top of the eighth inning, scoring two runs on a pair of hits to regain a 5-2 edge. With two outs and the bases loaded, Luke Jackson singled through the left side to plate both runs.
In the home half of the inning, ESU got a pair of runs right back with the help of two Mercyhurst errors to cut their deficit to 5-4. Ervolina started it off for the Warriors with a free pass before stealing second and advancing to third on an error. Hubbard followed with a slow roller to third base that was mishandled, allowing Ervolina to score. Then with two outs, Cruz poked a RBI double to the left center field gap to bring ESU within one run.
In the top of the ninth inning, Mercyhurst tacked on a trio of key insurance runs as the Lakers pushed their lead to 8-4. With the bases loaded, a fielding error by ESU allowed a pair of Lakers to cross home plate before a two-out single off the bat of Eric Horba put Mercyhurst ahead by four runs.
ESU nearly completed an improbable two-out comeback in their final at-bats as the Warriors plated two runs to make the final score 8-6. Ervolina started the rally for the Warriors with a walk, stole second and ultimately came around to score on a RBI single from Stirr. The chaos continued when Rothenhausler singled and Haverstick walked to load the bases for Cruz, who worked a full count free pass to get ESU with two runs. Then on a full count to
Shanley Wall, the Lakers produced a strikeout to end the game.
Up Next
The Warriors will face PSAC East foe Shippensburg at 11 a.m. tomorrow in an elimination game at the SHU Baseball Complex
