STROUDSBURG, Pa. — The ESU baseball team got off to another hot start and used its first-inning offense to cruise to another win, defeating Goldey-Beacom 18-5 at Creekview Park on Wednesday afternoon.
PITCHING NOTABLES
- Peyton Brannock had a strong bounce-back start to pick up his first win of the season. Brannock made it through 5.1 IP, striking out half the batters he retired.
- After Brannock came out of the game, Cole Dymek and Johansel Brito entered in succession and kept the Lightning off the scoreboard. Dymek got the final two outs of the sixth inning and tossed a shutout seventh inning, striking out two. Brito entered the game in the eighth, only facing two batters to record three outs in eight pitches.
BATTING NOTABLES
- Connor Reilly had himself a day at the plate, finishing with five RBIs while going 2-3 with two other walks. Reilly's grand slam early in the game was the first of the senior's career.
- Zander Condeelis had a two-hit day as well, also going 2-3 while driving in one run and walking twice.
- Aidan Butz came off the bench later in the game for ESU, as he went 1-2 with a two-run home run as a pinch hitter.
- Parker Frey reached base twice and added two RBIs for the Warriors during his five at-bats. His scoring started with a RBI single as he later drew a bases-loaded walk to bring in his second.
- Ryland Yinger also had a productive pinch-hitting appearance in the eighth inning, driving in two runs with a double in his only plate appearance of the day.
HOW IT HAPPENED
- Brannock got ESU up to bat with a quick first inning, striking out three of the four batters he faced. Once the Warriors got up to the plate, they took the lead and never looked back. Walker Zampella singled to left field and Cole Serfass earned a bases-loaded walk, bringing up Ryan Manning. The centerfielder doubled up the middle, scoring Zampella from second and giving ESU runners in scoring position. The next batter was hit by a pitch, bringing up Reilly. He took the fourth pitch he saw to deep left-center field for his first grand slam, putting ESU up 5-0 after one.
- Over the next two half innings, Brannock picked up three more strikeouts as the Warriors' bats went back to work. Troy Davis got on board with a single and advanced to second base on a wild pitch. Reilly reached first base with a walk, and with Easton Albert up to bat, Davis got caught in a rundown. The Lightning's pitcher threw a pick-off attempt to second base, but Davis had a good enough jump that the extra throw gave him enough time to make it to third base safely. With second base open, Reilly stole it during the same at-bat, but the catcher's throw was inaccurate and made it to the outfield, allowing Davis to score easily. Albert then hit a pop fly to right field to move Reilly over, bringing up Condeelis, who punched a line drive down the right field line to make it 7-0.
- The Warriors hit double-digit runs with a three-run fifth inning. Albert was hit by a pitch, and Condeelis was walked on four pitches, bringing up Braydon Hubbard. Hubbard took a 2-1 pitch and sent it back past the pitcher and just by the second baseman, scoring the lead runner. Zampella then earned another four-pitch walk to load the bases, and Serfass got an 0-2 pitch he liked to hit a single to center field and score one. Frey came up to the plate, drawing a bases-loaded walk for the Warriors' 10th run to make it 10-2.
- ESU had its highest-scoring inning of the game in the eighth after the Lightning made up a little bit of ground. Leading 10-4, Frey started the frame with a leadoff single and a stolen base to give ESU a runner in scoring position. Butz came into the game, pinch-hitting for Davis, and sent a laser over the left field wall for two more runs. Reilly, Albert, and Condeelis all walked to load the bases, bringing Yinger up to bat for Hubbard. Yinger nearly gave ESU its second grand slam of the day, but a ground rule double still gave the Warriors an additional two runs. East Stroudsburg capitalized on defensive miscues by Goldey-Beacom that extended the inning, scoring twice on two separate errors, while bringing in the other two runs by fielder's choice and a bases-loaded hit by pitch.
- The Lightning got one run back as Jaden Newton closed out the contest by securing the final three outs, giving ESU the 18-5 win.
GAME NOTES
- The game was the first-ever meeting between East Stroudsburg and Goldey-Beacom.
- ESU has now scored 18 or more runs seven times since 2020, the most during that stretch being 24 at home against Caldwell last season.
UP NEXT
The Warriors face off against D'Youville this weekend for a four-game series, a team they swept last year to kick off their home schedule in their first four games against D'Youville in program history. Saturday's doubleheader is slated for an 11:30 a.m. first pitch, with Sunday's action set for the same time.
