Baseball

Fairmont State Knocks Off Host West Chester, Stays Alive in Baseball Regional

WEST CHESTER, Pa. — Fairmont State’s baseball program made history again Thursday afternoon.

The Falcons split a pair of games to survive the first day of the NCAA Division II Atlantic Regional, the second of which was the school’s first regional victory in the sport. Quintin Reep collected four hits and drove in seven runs to lead No. 6 Fairmont State to an 11-4 win against No. 2 seed and host West Chester in the second game of the day at Serpico Stadium.

East Stroudsburg, seeded No. 3 in the Atlantic Region, defeated the Falcons, 11-2, to open play early Thursday. East Stroudsburg and West Chester are now set to play Friday’s only game at noon. Fairmont State will play Saturday at 11 a.m.

In the second game, Reep drove in at least a run with all four hits: a 2-run single in the third inning; a 2-run single in the fifth inning; a solo homer in the seventh inning; and another 2-run single in the eighth inning. Leadoff hitter Cameron Moore was the main beneficiary, as he walked three times and collected a hit — scoring all four times. Ryan Goff scored twice, while Quintin Smith drove in a run and Noah Canterbury knocked in a pair.

The Falcons opened the top of the first with a double by Moore, who scored on a single up the middle by Canterbury. Fairmont State pushed two across in the top of the third when Moore was hit by a pitch, Goff singled, Canterbury walked, and then Reep singled to left to drive in Moore and Goff.

In the fifth, the top of the lineup jump-started a big inning again when Moore and Goff walked and then advanced on a fielder’s choice. Reep delivered the same result, driving in Moore and Goff with a single to right.

Reep’s homer in the seventh came with two outs, and then the Falcons pulled away with a five-run eighth. Smith collected his RBI when he was hit by a pitch with the bases loaded, Canterbury added an RBI groundout, Reep drove in a pair, and then Maddox Johnston finished the scoring with an RBI single to center.

Dylan Gongola opened with three scoreless innings, and Mac Schnur tossed two scoreless to close out the win.

The Falcons started the day with an 11-2 loss to East Stroudsburg. The Warriors scored one run in each of the second, third, and fourth innings before breaking out with a four-run bottom of the sixth. Fairmont State finished with seven hits, including a pair by Goff.