NCAA Atlantic Regional: Warriors Stay Alive in Atlantic Regional

Millersville

Courtesy ESU Sports Information

Box Score

Lancaster, Pa. – Redshirt junior 3B Jake Griesemer, sophomore 1B Brian Ernst and freshman DH Eric Forth each had three hits to lead a 20-hit attack as East Stroudsburg University advanced in the NCAA Atlantic Regional with a 17-3 win over Concord on Sunday afternoon at Clipper Magazine Stadium.

The Warriors (27-19) will face Mercyhurst at 7:15 p.m. in an elimination game for both teams and the right to face Millersville in the regional championship on Monday. Sunday night’s tilt is a rematch of Mercyhurst’s 4-1 win on Saturday. Millersville defeated Mercyhurst, 8-5, in the Sunday’s first game and is the only undefeated team in the tournament at 3-0.

ESU jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the first inning and poured on the offense with five runs in the third and seven more in the fourth to take a commanding 14-0 advantage. Concord (27-26), which won four straight games to win the WVIAC championship last week, finishes its season with a 1-2 record in the Atlantic Regional.

Sophomore Mike Glassic was solid on the mound for ESU, going 7.0 innings and allowing three runs on five hits with six strikeouts and three walks to earn his first win of the season. Sophomore Mike Muglia threw 2.0 scoreless innings of relief with three strikeouts to finish the game.

Every starter had at least one hit and the first four batters in the Warriors’ lineup were 10-for-17 with seven RBI and nine runs. Junior SS Evan Gallagher was 2-for-5 with two RBI and two runs in the leadoff spot, Griesemer was 3-for-3 with two RBI and three runs, sophomore OF Eric Boyer went 2-for-5 with an RBI and a run and Ernst was 3-for-4 with two RBI and three runs. Freshman CF Chris Knott drove in a team-high four runs in the No. 5 spot and Forth was 3-for-4 with an RBI and two runs in the No. 6 hole.

The Warriors sent 31 batters to the plate and had 11 hits, seven walks and a hit batter in the first four innings. Gallagher and Grisemer got things going to start the first and third and Ernst had an RBI single in the first, Ernst had an RBI single in the first, Knott, Forth and junior 2B Ryan Guarino had run-scoring singles in the third and Ernst, sophomore LF Evan Cain, Griesemer and Boyer all collected RBI’s in the fourth.

ESU added another run in the seventh on a leadoff triple by Ernst and a sacrifice fly by Boyer, and finished their scoring with two runs in the ninth on a two RBI single by Gallagher.

Concord scored its three runs in the fourth inning on an RBI double by Josh Wenger, an infield single by Ian Humphrey and a sacrifice fly by Zach Cloxton. Humphrey had two of the Mountain Lions’ six hits.

Concord sent four pitchers to the mound in starter Brandon Proctor (2.1 IP, 5 runs, 3 hits), Dustin Nuckels (0.2 IP, 4 runs, 3 hits), Kyle Webb (3.1 IP, 6 runs, 9 hits) and Wenger (2.2 IP, 2 runs, 5 hits).