STROUDSBURG – Junior
Ethan Woods and senior reliever
Caden Parker combined for a one-hit shutout in a 1-0 win in the opener, and No. 17-ranked East Stroudsburg University secured a four-game sweep of Kutztown with a 6-2 victory in the nightcap in PSAC East baseball on Sunday afternoon at Creekview Park.
Woods (5-1) went 6.1 innings, allowing just a leadoff single in the fifth inning, and Parker got a lineout for a double play to secure his eighth save of the season and the 20th of his career.
Freshman
Ryan Manning was 2-for-3 with two doubles and two RBI in game two, as the Warriors (35-9, 19-5) overcame an early 2-0 deficit by scoring in every frame from the second through the sixth.
ESU has secured a top-two seed in the PSAC East in the upcoming PSAC Tournament entering a four-game series vs. Millersville (34-7, 20-4) next weekend.
After a non-conference trip to Queens (N.Y.) on Tuesday, ESU and Millersville will meet on Thursday for a 10:30 a.m. doubleheader at Coca-Cola Park, home of the Lehigh Valley IronPigs, and then conclude the series on Friday with a 4 p.m. doubleheader at Millersville.
ESU honored six seniors on Sunday, a class that has contributed to a 155-57 record, three NCAA Tournament appearances, two PSAC runner-up finishes and the first two 40-win seasons in school history, going 41-20 and finishing as Atlantic Region runner-up in 2022, 36-14 in 2023, and 43-14 in 2024.
Batting Notables
* Redshirt senior
Dennis Pierce hit his 15th home run of the season after breaking the school record of 12 with a pair of homers on Friday at Kutztown.
* Manning had ESU's only multi-hit game. The Warriors won the opener with just two hits. Junior
Shanley Wall had a single in both games.
* Redshirt sophomore
Chaise Albus had the go-ahead two-run, two-out single in the third inning of game two.
Pitching Notables
* ESU pitchers held Kutztown to 4 runs over the four-game series and threw two shutouts, winning 6-2 and 4-0 on Friday at Kutztown.
* Woods struck out four, walked three and allowed just one hit in the opener.
* Parker extended his school record with his 20th save, adding eight this year to his single-season record 12 in his first year at ESU in 2024.
* Woods and Parker combined to face just one batter over the minimum of 21.
* Freshman
Cole Dymek (4-0) earned the win in relief in game two, throwing 3.0 scoreless innings with one hit and three strikeouts.
* Sophomore
Jake Albert (3.0 IP, 2 runs, 5 hits, 2 strikeouts, 1 walk) got the start and allowed two two-out runs in the second.
* Sophomore
Johansel Brito (1.0 IP, 1 hit) got the final three outs.
How it Happened (Game 1) – ESU 1, Kutztown 0
* The Warriors scored their only run in the first inning when Pierce reached on an error to start the inning, Wall singled, and Pierce scored on a throwing error by pitcher Kannon Zdimal (6.0 IP, 0 ER, 2 hits, 6 strikeouts, 1 walk).
* Woods got a double play after a leadoff walk in the top of the first, then retired the side in order from the second through fourth innings. A single on the first pitch of the fifth inning was Kutztown's only hit, and Woods stranded the tying run on third base with a strikeout following a pair of wild pitches.
* In the sixth, Kutztown worked a leadoff walk but catcher
Connor Reilly had an inning-ending caught stealing to keep the tying run out of scoring position (Reilly also threw out base stealers in the third and fourth innings of game two).
* After a one-out walk in the seventh, Parker relieved Woods and got a lineout to junior
Walker Zampella at second, who doubled the runner off first, to end the game.
How it Happened (Game 2) – ESU 6, Kutztown 2
* Kutztown jumped out to a 2-0 lead with four singles and a walk, all with two outs, in the second before Albert got a bases loaded strikeout to end the threat.
* Senior
Jack Rothenhausler walked and later scored on a sacrifice fly by Zampella to cut it to 2-1 in the bottom of the second.
* The Warriors scored two in the third to go in front as Pierce drew a two-out walk, Wall singled and moved up on an error, and Albus had a clutch two-run single for a 3-2 lead.
* ESU scored single runs in the fourth, fifth and sixth – getting two-out RBI doubles from Manning in both the fourth and sixth, and a solo homer by Pierce to start the fifth.
* Dymek yielded just a one-out single in the sixth across his three innings.
Warriors Seniors
* Rothenhausler, Pierce, shortstop
Francisco Taveras, Parker and fellow pitchers
Justin Johnson and
Greg Wiley were honored for their contributions to ESU.
* Rothenhausler enters the final week of the regular season with seven ESU career records for home runs (23, set Friday), doubles (64), extra-base hits (90), total bases (360, set Friday), times reached base (339, set Sunday), RBI (185) and HBP (44). He also ranks third with 221 hits, eight from the record; sixth with 148 runs, and second with 200 games played, three from the record. He's hitting .309 with a .426 on-base percentage, .604 slugging percentage, 43 hits, 17 doubles, 8 home runs, 58 RBI (five from the school record), and 28 runs, along with 17 walks and 15 HBP. He was first team All-PSAC East in 2024 and the PSAC East Freshman of the Year on the 2022 regional runner-up team.
* Pierce has slugged his way to the single-season home run record of 15 in his only year at ESU after transferring from Valdosta State. He's hitting .391/.500/.828 and has 25 extra-base hits, 53 RBI and 44 runs.
* Parker's two-year totals include 20 saves in 37 appearances (43.0 innings) on the mound, with a 1.67 ERA, 40 strikeouts, 19 walks and 39 hits allowed. He has a 0.95 ERA in 16 games (19.0 IP) this spring, and was a first team All-Region selection during his 12-save season last year.
* Taveras, a transfer from Lock Haven, is hitting .294 with a .448 on-base percentage, 30 hits, 29 walks, 22 RBI and 33 runs in 40 games (39 starts).
* Johnson is a transfer from Coppin State, where he was an All-MEAC relief pitcher, and Wiley transferred to ESU from Penn State-Abington.
