FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Mansfield's Comeback Falls Short in Doubleheader vs #12 East Stroudsburg

MANSFIELD – Scott Rockwell knocked in three runs on four hits but the Mounties fell twice to East Stroudsburg, the nation's 12th-ranked team, by scores of 14-1 and 7-4 on Senior Day.

Seniors Zephan Kash, Matt Kurelja, and Matt Zielen were honored prior to the start of the doubleheader for contributions made during their Mountaineer careers. 

East Stroudsburg (34-11, 17-7 PSAC East) jumped out to an early lead after a two-run homer down the left field line by Conner Crookham. The Warriors added a third run on a sacrifice fly and never relinquished the lead.

Three more runs were added by the Warriors in the second inning to push the score to 6-0 and the score would remain the same until an RBI-single by Steven Zimmerman in the fifth.

After a trio of homers by East Stroudsburg in the seventh, the score reached 14-0. Zephan Kash slugged his team-leading eighth home run over the fence in right center to put the Mounties' first and only run of the game on the board. 

Chase Pepper took the loss dropping his record to 4-5 on the season. He improved his team-leading strikeout total to 65 before Evan McAndrew and Tanner Klein, who moved onto the mound after starting at third, finished out the game.

The Warriors took the early lead again in game two after scoring a pair of runs in both the second and third innings to jump ahead 4-0. 

In the bottom of the fourth, Rockwell knocked in Jerry Chavarria to score the first Mountie run of the game.

East Stroudsburg forced Brandon Garrett out of the game in the sixth and extended its lead to 7-1.

The Mountaineers made an exciting rally in the bottom of the seventh but ultimately fell just short. Rockwell sent a single to right scoring both Kash and Chavarria. After a Taylor Hillson walk with the bases loaded, Ryan Paige trotted home to score the fourth Mountie run. Down to its final out with the bases still loaded, Mansfield brought the winning run to the plate. A very close swing-and-a-miss ended the game despite the Mounties' impressive comeback effort. 

Garrett (2-4) started game two for the Mountaineers and pitched five strong innings against East Stroudsburg, one of the nation's top offenses ranking fourth in the country in batting average. Matt Zielen finished the game in relief with 1.2 innings of perfect baseball including a pair of strikeouts.

The losses drop Mansfield's record to 18-24 overall and 6-18 within the PSAC East. The Mounties travel to Clarion on Tuesday before hosting the final home doubleheader of the season on Friday against Lock Haven.