PM East baseball can win big, but can they win close?

When Pocono Mountain East baseball wins, they do it with the authority.

The Cardinals are 6-2 after their most recent win over East Stroudsburg North, and they've dominated the competition. All six victories were by five runs or more for a total run differential of +49, and three of those wins ended with a mercy rule - a 12-1 opening day win over Stroudsburg, an 11-1 win over William Allen and an 11-1 win over North.

East returned most of last season's district championship roster, including Nate Meinweiser, Rocco DelGiudice, and Division I baseball commit Adam Horvath. But while the usual suspects have powered the offense, new players have emerged as well, like freshman Alexander Stirr.

"When we get one hit, we just keep going," Stirr said. Once the offense gets started, it becomes contagious. We get runners on, and we get them in."

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Stirr had two hits during East's game against North, and he's one of nine newcomers to the varsity squad this season, which is growing every day. It's hard to imagine a better start for the reigning district champs, but few may raise an eyebrow when you consider the two losses.

Both defeats—a 3-2 loss to Freedom and a 2-1 loss to Scranton—were only by a run, which could raise questions about how the team performs in the clutch. It's too early to call this 2-game sample size a problem or even a concern, but it is something head coach Matt DelGiudice is keenly aware of.

"Situational hitting for sure," DelGiudice said regarding the critical takeaway from those two losses. "We hit the ball really well at Scranton, but we left too many balls in the air. Against Freedom, we had a chance to win the game in the last inning; we just couldn't get a big hit.

"Situational hitting and our pitching staff continuing to throw strikes will be key for the season."

Pocono Mountain East will have its fair share of close games throughout the rest of April and into May. First, they will have a tough matchup on the road against Nazareth on April 26, a game against a solid East Stroudsburg South team on April 30, and another road test against Emmaus on May 3.

What could prove more challenging, however, is the batch of makeup games the Cardinals have to play due to rain in the early weeks of the season. Gone are the arms of Gavin Sopko and Evan Schmelz, which means new pitchers will be called upon to fill the gaps.

"As we starting moving through the season and games start bunching up, it's going to take more than two or three guys," DelGiudice said. "We're going to need to go 5-6 deep, and we're glad to get Camryn Sopko throwing strikes against North. He gave us four strong innings."

Baseball season is long, and some days, the offense won't be able to put up double-digit runs while the opposition finds the gaps and pushes runs across the plate. It will be in those games where the Cardinals prove they can win close, something they'll need to do once the postseason arrives.

This article originally appeared on Pocono Record: PM East baseball can win big, but can they win close?