Erie Baseball Moves on to NJCAA Final Four.
The Erie Men's baseball team earned their spot in the NJCAA Region III DIII Baseball Final Four with a double header sweep of Cayuga Community College on Saturday.
The Kats defeated Cayuga 12-1 in the opening game. Erie put up seven runs in the seventh inning to seal the victory over the Spartans. Erie's big bats in the inning were led by singles by Cole Cote and Arlain Sesin, a triple by Isaiah Salas, and a home run by Greg Hare.
Erie acked up 15 hits in the game. Hare, Carter Arbuthnot, Sesin, Fryling, Cote, Salas, and AJ Karosas all managed multiple hits. Karosas, Salas, Cote, Fryling, Sesin, Arbuthnot, and Hare all had two hits to lead the offense.
Connor Desiderio was credited with the victory for the Kats. The hurler surrendered one run on six hits over seven innings, striking out seven and walking one.
Erie moves on to the next round after holding on to win the series two games to zero. The Kats snagged a late lead and defeated Cayuga 11-10 in game two. The game was tied at ten with Erie batting in the top of the seventh when Carter Arbuthnot's sac fly scored one run for the Kats.
Despite falling down by seven runs in the fifth inning, Cayuga tried to fight back. Cayuga took an early lead in the first inning. It was all Erie for the next four innings as they went ahead of the Spartans 10-3. Cayuga knotted the game up at ten in the bottom of the sixth inning.
Erie racked up 20 hits in the game. Adam Rankie, Cote, Karosas, Sesin and Arbuthnot each collected multiple hits. Cote and Rankie each managed four hits in the game.
Mike Hartman took the win for Erie. Hartman lasted two and two-thirds innings, allowing six hits and three runs while striking out three and walking zero. Isaiah Salas threw two innings in relief out of the bullpen. Salas recorded the last six outs to earn the save. Spencer Harford started the game for Erie. The pitcher lasted four and a third innings, allowing seven hits and seven runs while striking out six.
Erie will travel to Little Falls next weekend for the district championships.