Game One Box / Game Two Box

WILKES-BARRE – The Colonels combined with FDU-Florham for 64 runs on 66 hits as the Devils swept Wilkes University 24-15 and 14-11 in Freedom Conference baseball action on Saturday afternoon at Artillery Park.

Of the 66 total hits, 26 went for extra bases, including 14 that went over the fence. The two teams combined for nine homeruns in game one alone, with FDU getting six. Three players went long at least twice, including FDU's Brandon Adams, tallied three.

Al Clocker (Swoyersville/Wyoming Valley West) got the nod for the start in game one, and gave up one hit through the first three innings. Meanwhile, the Colonel offense was in full swing, as Angus Neary (Old Forge/Riverside) led off the second inning with a homerun to left field. That was followed up by another blast over the fence by Tay Sidler (Pottsville, PA/Pottsville Area), and five batters later Carmen Lopresto (Pittston, PA/Pittston Area) made it three homeruns in one inning with a three-run jack.

The action continued in the third inning, as Tyler Marino (Wilkes-Barre, PA/Meyers), A.J. Mihaly (Berwick, PA/Berwick Area) and Rich Cosgrove (Wilkes-Barre/Meyers) each picked up RBI's to give the Colonels an 8-0 lead. The Devils scored two runs in the fourth, but Wilkes kept hitting, driving in two more runs in the bottom of the frame.

The rest of the game was an offensive outburst by the Devils who scored four runs in the fifth, five in the sixth, and two in the seventh to force extra innings. In the top of the ninth FDU-Florham hit a solo homerun to give it a one run lead, and in the bottom of the frame, after tying the game once again, Wilkes had a chance to take the victory with the bases loaded but couldn't follow through, forcing a tenth inning.

In the tenth Wilkes surrendered 10 runs on seven hits, all but securing the win for the Devils. Wilkes scored one run in the bottom of the inning to make the final score, 24-15.

Lopresto, Neary, and Sidler each homered in the contest, while Lopresto finished with four RBI's and Neary knocked in three. Marino had the hottest bat at the plate, going 5-for-6 with two RBI's. Corey Martin (Central Islip, NY/St. Anthony's) ended up picking up the loss for the Colonels, as Wilkes relief pitching surrendered 15 hits and 16 earned runs in the game.

The Devils opened game two with a huge first inning, grabbing seven runs on five hits as Wilkes helped out with two errors. The big hit in the inning came off the bat of John Pieper, who doubled in three runs with FDU already up 3-0.

Wilkes struck back in the bottom half, as Neary two-run homer put the Colonels on the board.

After Tay Sidler (Pottsville, PA/Pottsville Area) was hit by a pitch and Tyler Marino (Wilkes-Barre, PA/Meyers) walked, Joel Watson (Honesdale, PA/Honesdale) blasted a three-run shot over the fence in left field to make it a 7-5 ballgame after the first.

Both teams would score in the third and fourth innings, as the game would head into the fifth tied at 10-apiece.

The Colonels tallied four runs in the fourth, with three coming courtesy of Sidler, who doubled home Neary, Lopresto and Eric Bidwell (Binghamton, NY/Chenango Valley).

The Devils picked up four runs of their own in the seventh, giving up just one run in the bottom half to go on for the victory.

All told, 17 different players pitched on Saturday, giving up 55 earned runs walking 24 and striking out 24. 20 total players collected at least one hit, with 16 getting at least two and seven posting at least four hits. There were also 12 total errors in the doubleheader which started at 1:00 p.m. and took well over six hours to complete.

These two teams will meet again on Sunday, as the Colonels (10-10, 5-6) travel to Madison, New Jersey for a makeup of their Friday postponed game with the Devils. First pitch is set for 3:00 p.m.