EAST STROUDSBURG, Pa. — The ESU baseball team has the chance to establish a foothold atop the PSAC East standings against Shippensburg, as the two 10-6 teams meet this weekend.

SCOUTING EAST STROUDSBURG

• The Warriors are starting to find a groove, winning eight of their last nine games to improve to 23-12 overall. They’re coming off back-to-back series wins, taking three games against Bloomsburg two weekends ago and sweeping the Mountaineers most recently. 
• ESU has won six games in a row, outscoring Bloomsburg, Mansfield, and Queens 43-15 during this stretch.
• It’s been a full team effort, with players stepping up out of the bullpen and in the lineup to fill in for injuries. Batting-wise, Walker Zampella continues to lead the charge, coming into the series on a five-game hitting streak. He has a pair of three-hit games over his last three outings, posting a 1.001 OPS on the season to lead the team.
• Right behind Zampella in OPS are Parker Frey and Troy Davis. Frey has been his dependable self both at the plate and defensively at first base for ESU. He has eight hits in his last five games, scoring eight times himself as well. He’s been perfect at first base so far, recording 237 putouts and 10 assists without an error.
• Davis has been one of a handful of outfielders to see playing time lately for ESU, stepping up with a .969 OPS this year. He has three RBI and runs in his last three games, leading the team with 18 stolen bases as well.
• Cole Serfass is heating up at the right time, with home runs in back-to-back games. He’s gone 4-7 in his last two games, driving in three RBI and scoring four times. While the power is now coming along, he’s been steady all year, batting .327 with an OBP of .404.
• Connor Reilly has the active hitting streak on the team, reaching base with a hit in seven consecutive games. One of ESU’s more disciplined batters at the plate, the senior catcher has worked a team-high 27 walks to build up a .445 OBP.
• Perhaps the biggest beneficiary of the available playing time for ESU has been Chase Frantz. The true freshman was the designated hitter in the second and fourth games against Mansfield, as well as the Warriors’ non-conference game at Queens. He went 7-10 in those three contests, driving in three RBI and scoring once. While he’s yet to consistently start for the Warriors, he’s given ESU an extra bat to call on in a pinch-hitter situation.
• Another key to ESU’s hot streak has been the performance from its bullpen. Over their last four games, the Warriors' relief pitchers haven’t allowed an earned run, throwing 17.0 scoreless IP.
• ESU’s relief pitchers accounted for all but one out in its win over Queens, shutting the Knights out in the final eight innings. Kyle Phillips, Evan Kovalcik, and Patrick Yoder all went at least 2.0 IP, while Cole Dymek and Johansel Brito each threw one inning. For Dymek, it was his second shutout appearance during this stretch, throwing 3.0 IP against Mansfield as well. He and Kovalcik both have an ERA below 2.00, as Dymek boasts a mark of 1.59, and Kovalcik has a 1.17 ERA. 
• The longest outing of an ESU bullpen arm in that stretch was Caden Leonard’s 3.1 IP against the Mountaineers. He struck out 7 of his 10 batters retired, bringing his season total up to 20 across 13.2 IP.
• One thing that stands out from the bullpen’s performance is that they’ve been closing out games despite missing Jake Albert, who leads the team in saves with four. He should return soon, adding another arm to back up the Warriors’ strong rotation of starters.
• Starting pitching has been ESU’s most consistent strength all season long, with Ryan Dewees, Ethan Woods, Evan Hughes, and Peyton Brannock making up the group of four. Dewees is the ace of the group, posting a 2.72 ERA over 46.1 IP, recording 60 strikeouts. He’s tied for the conference lead in strikeouts, tying for fourth in ERA.
• Woods has been able to go four or five strong innings in each start for ESU, including a season-high 6.0 IP against D’Youville in early March. He’s picked up 21 strikeouts in 16.0 IP in conference play, settling in with a 4.29 ERA.
• Hughes recovered in his last start after a blip against Bloomsburg, throwing five innings of two-hit baseball to keep Mansfield off the scoreboard. He brought his ERA back down to 3.05 in the win, the eighth-best in the PSAC, and has struck out at least five batters in each of his last five starts.
• Brannock has become a more reliable fourth starter since the West Chester series, going 2-0 in his three starts since then. He’s worked at limiting damage and stranding runners. Only ceding five earned runs on 16 hits over his last 12.2 IP.

SCOUTING SHIPPENSBURG

• The Raiders come into the series with identical overall and conference records as the Warriors, winning three of their four games in the series against Millersville and West Chester.
• Offense hasn’t been an issue for Shippensburg, as they scored 59 runs in their last eight games. That’s been thanks to having four batters post an OPS above 1.000, led by AJ Wenrich’s 1.263. He’s second in the conference in that category, leading the team in runs with 34, RBI with 37, and home runs with eight.
• Mason Morris and Will Oates each have an OPS north of 1.100 as well. Morris has a team-best .549 OBP, leading the team in walks as well, with 17, with a .385 batting average. Oates’ batting average of .420 ranks sixth in the conference, tops on the team, coming in at second on Shippensburg behind Wenrich with 60 total bases.
• Brady Harbach is the Raiders’ fourth batter with an OPS above 1.000, building up a 1.010 OPS to this point. He’s batting .371, which is fifth on the team. He and Oates are each riding 10-game hitting streaks.
• Ty Sherman is the second Raider batting over .400, going 39-97 for a .402 average. Coming off being named the PSAC East Athlete of the Week and NCBWA Atlantic Region Hitter of the Week, he’s put the ball in play plenty, only drawing two walks.
• Sherman was the third Raiders batter to earn regional honors, joining Evan Shoffler and Wenrich. Shoffler is a two-time NCBWA Atlantic Region Hitter of the Week this year, batting .327 with a .959 OPS.
• Second on the team in slugging percentage behind Wenrich is Kyle Ausgotharp. He has a percentage of .638, hitting six home runs while driving in 22 RBI. With the power comes swing-and-miss potential, as he’s struck out the most on Shippensburg with 31 strikeouts.
• The Raiders’ three mainstays in the rotation have been Conner Barto, Kaleb Maksimik, and Jonah Mayer. Barto has thrown the most innings for Shippensburg this season, completing 46.2. He’s given batters the most trouble, holding them to a .226 batting average, striking out 44 hitters. His ERA does sit at 4.63, just ahead of Mayer’s 4.75.
• Mayer and Maksimik have similar stats, pitching at least 36.0 IP and each recording 28 strikeouts. Maksimik’s .278 batting average against beats out Mayer’s .305, but he’s also given up four home runs to Mayer’s one. Maksimik has the best ERA of the three, entering the weekend with a 3.38 ERA.
• Shippensburg has three other pitchers they’ve been able to lean on, as Brady Kain, Brenden Anderson, and Jacob Dennis have all pitched over 20.0 IP. Kain has been the Raiders’ most effective pitcher, recording a 2.02 ERA with a .151 batting average against. 
• Dennis is second on the team in appearances, pitching for the Raiders 12 times. He has an even 6.00 ERA with 16 strikeouts. Andersen is narrowly ahead of him in terms of ERA, coming in with a 5.67 mark. He and Kain have each made four starts, while all of Dennis’ appearances have been out of the bullpen.
• Shippensburg’s closer, Jack Robinson, hasn’t allowed an earned run in his last five outings. Going nearly a month since then, he has seven saves on the year with a 3.00 ERA.

SERIES HISTORY

• East Stroudsburg is 66-99 against Shippensburg all-time, their first matchup taking place in 1927. The Warriors are 35-28 against the Raiders since John Kochmansky became head coach in 2008, including a 7-4-4 series record.
• Although the battle between the two schools has been close since Kochmansky took over, the Warriors have been dominant in recent years. From 2021 on, East Stroudsburg is 15-3 against Shippensburg. The Warriors completed a sweep during the 2023 and 2024 seasons. During the 2025 season, ESU won the series 3-1, with Shippensburg taking the first game on their home field.