EAST STROUDSBURG – The 19th-ranked East Stroudsburg University baseball team used brilliant pitching and timely hitting to defeat Lock Haven, 4-1, in the PSAC East series opener on Thursday afternoon at Creekview Park.
Playing their final home game of the regular season, the Warriors improved to 34-10 overall and 15-7 in the conference while the Bald Eagles fell to 18-19 and 7-14 in the PSAC East.
With the score tied at 1-1 in the bottom of the seventh inning, redshirt junior
Tim Haverstick delivered a two-run double into the left centerfield gap to give the Warriors their first lead of the afternoon at 3-1.
Notables
- Haverstick finished 2-for-3 with a pair of RBI and graduate student Victor Cruz went 1-for-3 with a double, a walk and a RBI
- Redshirt freshman Parker Frey was 1-for-3 with a one run scored while freshman Shanley Wall went 1-for-1 with a one RBI and one run
- Coming around to score a run for the Warriors was Jack Rothenhausler and Jeremy Piatkiewicz
- Earning the no-decision, Chase Nowak was brilliant as the graduate student went 6.0 innings, allowing one run on five hits to go along with 10 strikeouts. The Wilkes-Barre native retired 12 straight Bald Eagles which included five consecutive punchouts.
- Making his 20th appearance of the season, Nick McAuliffe (5-1) collected the victory after firing 3.0 scoreless innings in which he yielded two hits and two walks while striking out four
- The Warriors entered today's game with the third most steals in NCAA Division II at 165 and pushed their single-season school record total to 169 after recording four stolen bases
- ESU has punched their ticket to next week's PSAC Tournament and locks up the No. 2 seed in the East with at least one win tomorrow
- In this week's polls, ESU was receiving votes in the NCBWA Top 25 and maintained their spot at No. 4 in the NCBWA Atlantic Region Poll. The Warriors moved up to No. 19 in the Collegiate Baseball Division II Poll and held steady at No. 8 in the Perfect Game Top 25.
How it Happened – ESU 4, Lock Haven 1
The Bald Eagles put together a two-out rally in the top of the first inning as Justin Lichtenwalner singled up the middle and Blaise Zeiders followed with a run scoring double off the wall in right field to give Lock Haven a 1-0 lead.
ESU took advantage on an error from Lock Haven in the bottom of the second inning as Frey reached base to start the frame before coming around to score on a double from Cruz to tie it up at 1-1.
After a handful of scoreless innings, the Warriors used a pair of hits to plate two runs in the home half of the seventh to grab a 3-1 lead. With Frey on third following a single and Piatkiewicz on first after a walk, Haverstick smoked a double into left center field to bring home the pair.
The Warriors added a two-out insurance run in the bottom of the eighth inning when Wall singled home Rothenhausler, who walked and stole second to get into scoring position.
Up Next
ESU concludes the regular season tomorrow as the Warriors head to Lock Haven for a twin bill beginning at noon from Watkins Field
