Phillipsburg, NJ — By Kyle Craig | For lehighvalleylive.com Getting the chance to play Phillipsburg was extremely important to the Easton Area High School baseball team. Beating the Stateliners made it that much sweeter. Easton, ranked No. 5 by lehighvalleylive.com, defeated its rival 6-2 on Friday evening at the Phillipsburg Athletic Complex. “Playing P’burg is always a great tradition. Because of COVID, we didn’t get to play our Easton-P’burg football game and we didn’t get to do a lot of traditions that have to do with that – the bonfire and all that,” Rovers senior catcher Drew Crossman said. “Being able to add this game to our schedule was a great honor.” “It’s tremendous to be able to come here and give these kids an opportunity to play Phillipsburg,” Easton coach Carm LaDuca said. “What a good baseball game – a hard-fought game from both sides. But it was just a great feeling to play Phillipsburg again.” Both starting pitchers – Easton’s Keegan Stem and Phillipsburg’s Matt Garatty – faced the minimum through two innings. Easton (13-6) broke onto the scoreboard with a three-run top of the third. Junior Ethan Reccek led off the frame with a double and later advanced to third base on an error. Crossman hit an infield single deep into the hole at shortstop to tally the opening run. Junior Justin Ramirez laced a double down the left field line to put runners on second and third. A passed ball scored courtesy runner Josh Braido, and Max Squarcia pushed the lead to 3-0 with a sacrifice fly. The Rovers tacked on two more runs in the next inning as Reccek registered a sac fly and Ramirez added an RBI single, making it 5-0. “A good approach at the plate helped us early on to get a lead. I think that was important, getting an early lead to give us some confidence,” LaDuca said. The Stateliners (1-9) got their first hit off of Stem in the top of the fourth, as Ryan Mottley and Michael Wambold led off with a pair of infield singles. Senior Matt Barna brought both home with a base hit to right field, cutting the deficit to 5-2. Stem got out of the inning, leaving the bases loaded. He then tight-roped through the fifth, stranding runners on second and third, with a critical strikeout. Phillipsburg had the bases loaded with no outs in the sixth, but Squarcia, who entered in relief, sandwiched two popups around a strikeout to escape danger. “We could have gotten in some trouble there,” LaDuca said. “(Stem and Squarcia) made some big pitches at big times. We hurt ourselves defensively at a couple of spots, but we were able to get through that.” Crossman was happy to see both Rovers pitchers battle. “Especially as a catcher, I always love it when I can rely on my pitchers to throw strikes. Keegan did it a few times with runners (in scoring position). He did a great job of not getting in his head, especially since we’re both chatty teams,” the senior said. “... Same thing with (Squarcia), he did an amazing job of shutting it down with the bases loaded. I’m proud of both of them.” The Stateliners had just four hits, but were a knock from changing the complexion of the game. “We were one hit away a couple different times,” Phillipsburg coach Dylan Sapir said. “... I know I’ve got good hitters. I see it every day. We just need to find a way to get that big one to break a game open.” Sapir was happy with how his team brushed itself off after suffering through a 16-1 setback at Ridge on Thursday. “We had a bad day yesterday. It was our worst day and probably my worst day that I’ve ever had on a baseball field, going back to when I started in tee ball,” the coach said. “We went down 5-0 (Friday) and my guys didn’t give up. They kept fighting; they showed the heart and the toughness that I know they have. I’m very proud of that effort.” 2021 has provided a rugged learning curve for the ‘Liners. “We just need to learn, situationally, how to play the game a little bit better. I think what you’re seeing – for all teams, not just us – is that lost year … You see more mistakes than we’re used to seeing at this level,” Sapir said. “I have two guys that have played regular varsity time before. Even the older guys are pretty inexperienced.” “Our guys are putting too much pressure on themselves. The younger guys want to prove that they belong; the older guys want to show their leadership; and I think everyone is trying to do a little too much, instead of just relaxing and having fun.”