EAST STROUDSBURG – The 21st-ranked East Stroudsburg University baseball team won its ninth and 10th straight games after sweeping a PSAC East doubleheader from Shepherd on Friday afternoon at Creekview Park.
Despite trailing 3-0 in the opener, the Warriors (13-3, 6-0) scored six straight runs to earn a 6-4 victory, before blanking Shepherd (5-9, 0-2) in the night cap, 6-0.
ESU pitching continued to dominate as the combination of
Brent Francisco,
Caden Parker,
Nick McAuliffe and
Carson Renner limited Shepherd to four runs on 13 hits while striking out 21 Rams across the twin bill. Dating back to March 3, the Warriors have pitched to a 1.52 ERA in 65.0 innings, yielding 11 runs on 39 hits to go along with 71 punchouts.
Notables
Game One
- Mike Kelly paced the Warriors offensively as the redshirt senior went 1-for-3 with a walk, two RBI and one run scored
- Reigning PSAC East Athlete of the Week Shanley Wall finished 1-for-2 and drove in a run while redshirt freshman Walker Zampella was 1-for-2 with two runs scored
- Redshirt junior Cameron Hubbard (1-for-4), junior Jack Rothenhausler (1-for-3, walk) and redshirt sophomore Parker Frey (1-for-2) each had a single
- Jeremy Piatkiewicz (0-for-0) didn't record an official at-bat as the senior walked twice and was hit by pitch while scoring a run and recording an RBI
- ESU was patient at the plate as the Warriors worked 10 walks while going a perfect 3-for-3 on the base paths as Kelly, Rothenhausler and Zampella recorded a steal
- Francisco moved to 4-0 as the redshirt senior fired 6.0 innings, allowing three runs on seven hits while striking out a season-high nine Rams. Parker slammed the door in the seventh inning as the junior collected his fourth save of the season after recording a pair of strikeouts.
- Francisco collected his 22nd career victory to pull within five of the school record (27 – Nowak) and his 279 punchouts trail former teammate Chase Nowak (302) by 23 for the program high.
Game Two
- Rothenhausler finished 1-for-2 with two RBI and run scored while Hubbard went 2-for-3 with two runs and an RBI
- Kelly and Wall combined to go 2-for-5 with two RBI and two runs while Frey extended his hit streak to 12 games as the Bethlehem native went 1-for-2 with a run batted in
- McAuliffe (4-1) was lights out as the senior went 5.0 innings, allowing just two hits to go along with seven punchouts. McAuliffe lowered his ERA to 3.63 and has surrendered only one run over his last 14.1 innings pitched.
- Renner continued to impress as the freshman fired a scoreless final two innings while striking out three
- ESU improved to 10-4-1 all-time against Shepherd and have now defeated the Rams in six of the last eight meetings dating back to 2022
How it Happened – ESU 6, Shepherd 4 (Game One)
Shepherd got on the scoreboard first in the top of the third inning as the Rams used four hits to plate a trio of runs. Collin Snyder and Corey Jamison each drove in a run with doubles before Greg Borges collected an RBI with a sacrifice fly to centerfield.
ESU finally broke through in the bottom of the fourth inning as the Warriors used four walks, two hits and a pair hit by pitches to scratch across four runs. With the bases loaded, Piatkiewicz was plunked on the first pitch of his at-bat before Kelly followed with a two-run single through the left side to tie the game at 3-3. After Wall was hit by a pitch to reload the bases, Hubbard grounded into a double play to push across the go-ahead run.
The Warriors added a pair of insurance runs in the bottom of the fifth inning as Wall singled home Zampella before Kelly raced home on a failed pickoff attempt to give ESU a 6-3 lead.
Shepherd wouldn't go down without a fight in their final-at bats as a two-out RBI double from Corey Jamison made the final score 6-4 in favor of the Warriors.
How it Happened – ESU 6, Shepherd 0 (Game Two)
After being held in check through the first three innings, the Warriors broke through with four hits and three runs in the bottom of the fourth to grab a 3-0 lead. Wall led off the inning with a double and Hubbard followed with an RBI single to plate the game's first turn. Rothenhausler ensued with a double down the left field line to make the score 2-0 and Frey capped off the inning with a one-out run scoring single.
In the bottom of the fifth inning, ESU added three more runs on a pair of hits to stretch their edge to 6-0 over Shepherd. Piatkiewicz worked a leadoff walk, stole second and scored on a single up the middle from Kelly, who eventually crossed home played on a sacrifice fly from Wall. After a one-out triple from Hubbard, Rothenhausler lifted a deep fly ball to centerfield to plate ESU's sixth run.
Up Next
The Warriors travel to West Virginia tomorrow as ESU and Shepherd complete the four-game series with a doubleheader beginning at 1 p.m. from Fairfax Field
