STROUDSBURG – After another change of plans this weekend, the Mansfield University baseball team was able to salvage their second doubleheader with East Stroudsburg on Monday.  Rather than hosting the final two games at Shaute Field following the first two at Stroudsburg on Saturday, the Mounties traveled back to ESU but served as the home team on the Warriors' turf field. The teams split the doubleheader, and both games featured superb pitcher duels. The first game was decided 2-1 in extra innings, but the Mounties were able to take the second game 3-1 and head home on a high note.
 
ESU had taken two games on Saturday, but both of Mansfield's starting pitchers on Monday were determined to turn the tides. Juniors Tyler Guidos and Bryce Zaparzynski were looked to, and each of the right-handed pitchers delivered seven dominant innings of one-run ball from the bump.
 
Guidos was dealing strikeout after strikeout in a seemingly effortless fashion.  In his third official start of the season, the righty diced up 10 Warriors on the day but earned no decision in the extra-innings affair.
 
A solo home run in the second inning from Christian Rishel proved to be the only offensive output from East Stroudsburg in regulation.  The Mounties battled back in the bottom of the fifth to tie the game. Dom Lopez singled on the sixth pitch of his leadoff at-bat to begin the rally. Mengel followed with a 2-0 single of his own before Camren Ney moved both runners up 90 feet with a sacrifice bunt, setting the stage for pinch-hitter Tony Brown. On the third pitch he saw, Brown brought Lopez home to make it a 1-1 ballgame.
 
With Guidos still maneuvering smoothly through the Warriors lineup, the score remained through the seventh inning and on into the eighth.  In the final two innings of his outing, East Stroudsburg threatened with runners in scoring position and less than two out, but Guidos recorded key strikeouts and MU's defense behind him stayed solid.
 
In the top of the eighth, a high-fly ball fell in left-center field to put the go-ahead run on base for the Warriors. PJ Van Orman provided an RBI double down the right field line to bring home the eventual game-winning run. Coming out for his third inning of work, Connor Johnson closed the door on the Mounties, sending them down in order and earning the win in ESU's 2-1 victory.
 
Brady Mengel provided two of MU's four hits in the game in a 2-for-3 performance, but was left out to dry on the bases each time.  In addition to Lopez's base knock, Glen Addicott came up clutch with a pinch-hit single to round out the offensive output.
 
ESU had eight hits coming from seven different players in Game 1. Catcher Mike Sulcoski was 2-for-3.
 
GAME 2
 
Although the second game of the day also proved to be a pitcher's duel, the outcome turned in Mansfield's favor.
 
Following a leadoff triple, Joey Paolini scored when a pitch got to the backstop to give East Stroudsburg a 1-0 advantage. That would be the extent of the damage however, as Bryce Zaparzynski shut the Warriors down with goose eggs in the columns from there on out.
 
In the fifth inning, the Mounties made their move. Dom Lopez was hit by a pitch and Eric Senior singled to put runners on first and second. Camren Ney continued his offensive surge of late, providing a momentum-swinging double to plate Lopez and tie the game. Koty Fitzgerald brought home Senior, the go-ahead run, with a sacrifice bunt. Freshman counterpart Brittain Shander tacked on an RBI single to get Ney home and add insurance to the MU lead.
 
Although East Stroudsburg started the seventh with a single, the Mounties were able to clean up the basepaths with a double play to help ease the pressure.  The three-run outburst in the fifth carried over, giving MU the confidence and momentum to close out the Warriors and end the day returning to Mansfield with their fifth win of the season.
 
Win number five of 2019 marks the 891^st of Coach Harry Hillson's career.
 
On Wednesday, the Mounties serve as host to the Le Moyne Dolphins for a doubleheader at Shaute Field, starting at 1 p.m. Live coverage including live stats and a video broadcast, made possible by Visit Potter-Tioga, and featuring the Voice of Mountie Baseball Bob Michaels and Drew Patrick, will be available at GoMounties.com and through the official @MUMounties social media platforms.