STROUDSBURG, Pa. — The ESU baseball team clinched a share of the PSAC East title with a series sweep against Kutztown to end the regular season, winning 7-2 and 9-3 at Creekview Park.
PITCHING NOTABLES
- Evan Hughes started the day for ESU with a win in game one, and Caden Leonard picked up the save. Hughes improved to 7-2, going 4.0 IP and striking out one. Leonard recorded his first career save, going the rest of the way for 3.0 IP and four strikeouts.
- Peyton Brannock picked up the win for the Warriors in the second game of their doubleheader today. Brannock, now 5-3, went five full innings, striking out four and allowing four hits, while only giving up one run in his last inning on the mound.
- Cade Davis finished the series out, pitching the final two innings against the Golden Bears. He struck out four batters and gave up one hit.
BATTING NOTABLES
- Cole Serfass left his mark in game one, leading the way with four RBI. Going 3-4 on the day, he had five total bases.
- Troy Davis and Ryan Manning each went yard to provide insurance for the Warriors in both games. Both outfielders hit their third home runs of the season to the deepest part of center field, as Davis scored two with his late in game one, and Manning's was a solo shot in the early in game two.
- Braydon Hubbard had a good day out of the leadoff spot in the lineup, getting on base four times with three hits, driving in three RBI. Hubbard also scored three of ESU's 16 runs himself.
GAME ONE
- ESU had two chances to score in both of the first two innings, but had a ground-rule double in each of the frames that held up the lead scorer at third base, stranding four total runners. That wouldn't be the case, though, in the third, as the Warriors broke through to open the scoring. Davis reached with a leadoff single, moving up to second in the next at-bat. Serfass swung at the first pitch he saw, sending a line drive right back up the middle to score Davis from second base.
- After not scoring until the seventh inning of the second game yesterday, Kutztown generated offense much earlier today. Jared Ferguson started the inning with a walk and advanced to scoring position in the following at-bat. Joel Bonner singled into left field, tying the game, and ended up on second base on a wild pitch. After that, Dalton Furst singled back up through the middle to put Kutztown in the lead, 2-1.
- The Warriors responded in the bottom of the fourth, tying the game, then retaking the lead. With two outs, Gabe Gillespie was hit by a pitch and got to second base during Braydon Hubbard's at-bat. Hubbard hit a line drive over the middle of the infield in front of the center fielder, as Gillespie beat the throw home to even the game. After back-to-back singles from Davis and Walker Zampella, Serfass came up with the bases loaded. Serfass sent a drive into the right-center field gap, keeping this one in the field and allowing all three runners to score for a bases-clearing double, making the score 5-2.
- With Hughes done after three innings, Leonard didn't let a ball leave the infield in the next two innings. He got the Golden Bears to ground out four times and struck out two more in the fifth and sixth innings.
- ESU added two more runs for good measure in its last time up, as Davis connected for his third long ball of the year. In a 0-2 count off three foul balls, Davis sent a fly ball that carried all the way over the center field wall, making it 7-2, which would hold for the final score.
GAME TWO
- Game two of today's doubleheader was surprisingly low scoring until the Warriors broke things open late in the game. ESU found themselves on their heels quickly, as Kutztown had runners on first and second with no outs in the top of the first. Brannock got comfortable and got three straight outs to get out of the inning with no runs allowed.
- East Stroudsburg left the bases loaded in the first, but managed to score one in the second. After two straight walks, Reilly advanced to third from second base on a pop fly to right field by Easton Albert. Hubbard would follow the leader, hitting another pop fly to right field, this one counting as a sacrifice RBI fly as it would get Reilly across the plate.
- The Warriors stretched their lead in the third inning, with Zampella starting things off with a hard-hit single to left center. After a passed ball and an Aidan Butz flyout would get Zampella to third, Parker Frey would drive in his sole RBI of the day, hitting a sacrifice fly to center field. Three pitches later, Manning would smash a two-out home run to deep center field, extending the lead to three runs.
- Brannock was shining through three innings, not allowing a run and only giving up three hits. In the bottom of the fourth, he would give up his first and only run of the game, after a bloop double into right would put a runner on third base. A Kutztown ground ball to shortstop would score the runner from third, but Brannock would get out of the inning, only allowing one run.
- ESU had a similar game one and two, where they kept things close until a breakout inning later in the game. This would come for the Warriors in the bottom of the fifth, where they put together six runs on five hits. Butz would start and end the innings, getting on first with a walk. Frey and Reilly smacked back-to-back doubles, making the score 5-1. After a Christian Maccarrone walk, Hubbard hit his third RBI of the day, driving in Reilly and getting Maccarrone to third. Davis continued the inning with a single up the middle in a full count, scoring Maccarrone. With runners on the corners, Walker Zampella drove a ball into left field, easily scoring Hubbard as Davis raced all the way home, making it 9-1.
- ESU only had to use two pitchers in each game, as Brannock took over on the mound for the final two innings. Kutztown would get two runs back in the seventh inning, but never threatened the Warriors' lead.
GAME NOTES
- Tied with West Chester with a 21-7 conference record, ESU has earned at least a share of the PSAC East title for the second time in three seasons.
UP NEXT
As the No. 2 seed in the PSAC East, the Warriors will take on the No. 3 seed Gannon Golden Knights. They'll play in the first game of the PSAC Quarterfinals, kicking off day two of the tournament at 9:30 a.m. on Friday, May 7, in Slippery Rock, Pa.
