EAST STROUDSBURG, Pa. — The ESU baseball team looks to build momentum heading into the heart of their 2026 season, as the Warriors prepare for a four-game series against Mansfield this weekend.

SCOUTING EAST STROUDSBURG

• ESU is coming off its first conference series win of the season against Bloomsburg, taking three of the four games to improve to 18-12 overall and an even 6-6 in conference. Prior to that, the Warriors split with Millersville and took one game against West Chester.
• The Warriors won both road games of the series, splitting the last two at home versus the Huskies. They picked up two unorthodox victories in games two and four of the series, getting outhit 12-3 but winning 6-4 at Bloomsburg, and then only tallying two hits to Bloomsburg’s seven in a 3-1 series finale win.
• ESU used a couple of new-look lineups late against Bloomsburg, as only Parker Frey and Connor Reilly were the two preseason starters still playing their natural positions. Walker Zampella shifted over to second base, and Cole Serfass played left field, but ESU capitalized on walks, Bloomsburg defensive errors, and smart base running to generate runs.
• Zampella jumped to take the team lead in OPS, now with a mark of 1.014 and a .349 batting average. His best day last week was Friday, going 4-6 at Bloomsburg with a home run, a pair of RBI, and scoring four times himself. His long ball in the first game of the series gave him back-to-back games with a home run, leading the team with three on the season.
• Frey’s production has dipped slightly since ESU entered conference play, but he still has gotten on base at least once in all but three of the Warriors’ 12 PSAC games. Batting .337 with a .978 OPS, he’s tied for the fewest strikeouts on the team among starters with nine, and also tied for the team lead with 19 RBI.
• The bulk of Connor Reilly’s offensive production has come from his ability to take pitches and draw walks. He has 24 bases on balls this year, the most on the team, getting on base 43.4% of the time. Additionally, he and Frey have been just about perfect defensively at two of the most important positions on the field. Frey has a perfect fielding percentage with 203 putouts at first base, and Reilly has only committed one error with 169 putouts, catching seven runners stealing too. Frey is third in the PSAC in putouts but is the only player in the top 15 without an error. 
• Cole Serfass is still searching for his first home run of the season, but is in a good spot for it, going against his former team. The two-time Second Team All-PSAC member as a Mountaineer is moving back and forth between DH and left field, and while his slugging has been a tick down this season, he’s still found ways to get on base consistently. He has an OBP of .421 and is tied for the second-most hits on the team with 28.
• While ESU ranks middle of the pack with the ninth-best batting average, 12th-best slugging percentage, and fifth-best on-base percentage, it’s gotten them wins against some of the top teams the PSAC East has to offer while working through injuries. The team pitching has been steady with the sixth-best ERA, seventh-best opponent batting average, and seventh-fewest earned runs allowed.
• Leading the rotation for ESU is Ryan Dewees. With a 2.90 ERA and .220 batting average against, he ranks fifth and seventh in those categories in the conference, respectively. He’s pitched the most innings for ESU with 40.1 IP, with a complete game earlier in the year against West Chester.
• Next up in the rotation is Ethan Woods, coming in with a 2-3 record and a 4.26 ERA. Prior to his last outing against Bloomsburg, he had gone five-plus innings in each of his last three starts, allowing two earned runs or less.
• Evan Hughes has given the Warriors another ace to start the second day of their weekend series, as his numbers are right up there with Dewees at the top of the conference leaderboard. His 3.47 ERA is tenth in the conference and his .239 batting average against is one spot higher, as the two-time PSAC East Pitcher of the Week leads the team with five wins in seven decisions.
• Peyton Brannock had one of the best starts of his career to clinch the series against the Huskies, going 6.0 IP. He only allowed one earned run and struck out five, improving his record to 3-2.
• Caden Leonard picked up his first win of the season after entering in relief in game two versus Bloomsburg. He completed 4.0 IP and allowed one earned run, as he and Brannock lead the team in ERA against conference opponents, Leonard with 2.25 and Brannock with 3.55.

SCOUTING MANSFIELD

• The Mountaineers come into the weekend 11-21 overall and 2-10 in conference, looking to snap a five-game losing streak. They were swept by Shepherd and lost a nine-inning non-conference game to Lock Haven last week after going 1-3 against West Chester and Kutztown the two weekends before.
• Slade McTigue leads Mansfield as one of two players with an OPS above .800, accumulating a .935 mark this season. He’s leading the team in batting average and OBP as well, hitting .348 and getting on base half the time he’s up to bat.
• Ryan Sekulski is second on the team in both batting average and OBP, batting .314 with an OPS of .821. He has 50 total bases on the year, the best for the Mountaineers, but has struck out a team-high 24 times.
• Batting for Billy Riggs has been feast or famine so far, as he ranks sixth on the team with a .262 batting average, but leads the Mountaineers in RBI. His 21 RBI come from one home run, seven doubles, and 18 singles.
• Kahale Burns has caused chaos on the basepaths as Mansfield’s leader in stolen bases, going 19-24 on attempts. Leading the team in runs with 24, he’s batting .276 and has an OBP of .375.
• Mansfield’s starting rotation this season has consisted of Garrett Emerick, Quinn Shindler, and Tyler Swineford. All three have two wins on the season, as Emerick is 2-3 while Shindler and Swineford are 2-4.
• Shindler, the team’s game three starter last weekend, has the best ERA on the team with a 5.45. Opponents are hitting .262 against him, and he’s also recorded the most strikeouts out of the three starters with 39.
• Swineford has built up a 7.64 ERA over 35.1 IP, coming in second in strikeouts with 29. Limiting bases has been an issue, as he’s given up a team-high 12 doubles in addition to five home runs.
• Emerick has pitched the most innings for Mansfield, 39.1, but has the highest ERA of the three starters and batting average against. With batters hitting .323 against him and with his 8.01 ERA, he’s given up 19 extra-base hits, including 10 home runs.
• The Mountaineers rank near the bottom of the conference in both batting and pitching. They’re 11th, 12th, and 13th in OBP, batting average, and slugging percentage, respectively, and have a 7.59 team ERA, the fourth-worst in the PSAC. Defensively, they’ve committed 37 errors, the fourth-most.

SERIES HISTORY

• All-time, ESU is 103-108-2 against the Mountaineers since 1927. Since Head Coach John Kochmansky took over, the Warriors have comfortably held the advantage. Going back to 2008, ESU is 50-16, winning 12 of the last 13 series. The only time ESU didn’t outright win since 2012 was a 2-2 split in 2015.
• The Warriors are riding a 12-game winning streak against Mansfield, winning very game since the final meeting in 2022. ESU is 5-0 at Creekview Park, 6-0 at Mansfield, and won the one neutral site game.