March5

ESU Baseball at Bowie State

BOWIE, Md. - Freshman Anthony Piazza drove in the winning run in the seventh inning as East Stroudsburg University fought off a pesky Bowie State squad by scoring two runs in the final inning to complete a 6-4 victory Sunday afternoon.

Brett Reynolds and Ryan Hatfield each went 2 for 3 in the ballgame, with Hatfield slamming ESU's first homerun of the year, a two-run shot in the fourth inning off Marty Matthews.

ESU (2-1) jumped to an early lead, scoring one run in each of the first two innings. Reynolds scored on an error in the first, and catcher Matt James singled home Hatfield in the second. In the fourth, Hatfield followed a Piazza walk, with his two-run blast to stake the Warriors to a 4-0 lead.

Bowie State (0-7) touched up junior Jeffrey Wagner for four runs in the fifth to tie the score at four. Mike Zimorowicz relieved Wagner with a scoreless sixth inning, setting the stage for the dramatic seventh inning.

Tadgh LaBar led off the seventh with a walk and advanced to second on Reynolds' subsequent single. Both runners moved up a base on a fielder's choice. Matt Harmic was intentionally walked to load the bases.

Piazza knocked in the game-winner with a single to the outfield. After another intentional walk to Hatfield, Steve Harris drew a free pass to provide an insurance run.

"I was really proud of the guys today," ESU coach Roger Barren said. "They showed a lot of character in coming back the way they did. That's something I'm glad to see growing in this program."

Zimorowicz pitched a scoreless seventh to give ESU its second victory over Bowie State in two days. The win marked the 300th in Barren's coaching career. He has earned 121 of those victories at ESU.

ESU 110 200 2 6-9-2

Bowie State 000 040 0 4-4-2

Wagner, Zimorowicz (6) and James, Neidermyer (7);

Matthews, Johnson (5) and Alvarez, Beal (7) and Matthews

WP - Zimorowicz, LP - Beal

2B - Bowie State; Shelton

HR - ESU; Hatfield