SLIPPERY ROCK, Pa. – East Stroudsburg rallied in the rain, exploding for five runs in the bottom of the ninth inning, handing IUP baseball a gut-wrenching 6-5 setback on Thursday in the 2024 Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) Tournament.
East Stroudsburg (40-10) leveled the score at five with a double before winning the game on a wild pitch. The weather took a dreary turn as a steady rain intensified during the ninth, and the Warriors took advantage in challenging pitching conditions.
IUP (32-14) had a stellar starting effort on the mound from
Nathan Mankoski, building a 3-1 lead through six innings.
Ricardo Aponte delivered some insurance with a two-run single in the ninth, lifting IUP to a 6-1 advantage before the Warriors' final chance at the plate.
The 18th-ranked Warriors previously erased a five-run deficit early in a win yesterday against host Slippery Rock.
The Hawks got two quick outs in the ninth with
Jimmy Tooley on the mound. Down to their final strike, Jeremy Piatkiewicz kept the Warriors hopes alive with a run-scoring double as IUP led 5-2. ESU eventually tied and won the game four batters later.
The Warriors remain in the winner's bracket portion of the tournament, while the Crimson Hawks await the loser of West Chester and Shippensburg in an elimination game later today.
Aponte posted three hits, three RBI and added a stellar leaping catch at the wall in the seventh.
Harrison Pontoli and
Au'sean Owens recorded two knocks apiece for the Hawks, with
Davin Landers scoring twice.
Mankoski surrendered just one run on six hits, adding three punchouts over seven innings. On the flip side, ESU hurler Ryan Dewees kept the Warriors within striking distance with seven innings of work on the mound. Dewees allowed three runs (two earned) and nine hits in a strong outing.
Pitching and defense dominated the early stages for both sides.
David Kessler made a sliding stop up the middle, throwing on to first to end the opening inning. In the second, the Crimson Hawks turned a timely double play off a slick play from
Brady Yard.
IUP broke through in the top of the third, loading the bases with nobody out. Aponte drove in the first run of the game with an infield single before Yard doubled the IUP advantage with a sacrifice fly.
Ahead 2-0, the Crimson Hawks got some more strong defense with
Robert Carfagno drifting back for an over the shoulder catch at the track in the third inning. IUP widened its margin to 3-0 after Owens slashed a run-scoring single in the fourth inning.
Mankoski shut the door on the mound for the Hawks, firing six consecutive five consecutive scoreless innings. He was helped out with some great defense in the field, highlighted by a leaping grab at the wall from Aponte at the end of the seventh. Aponte snared the potential game-tying home run, setting the table for Tooley in the eighth.
Aponte brought home a pair of key insurance runs in the ninth with two away, smacking a single just past the outstretched glove of Walker Zampella. The knock scored two with Pontoli and
David Kessler scoring for a 5-1 advantage in the ninth.
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