READING, Pa. - A pair of early home runs, combined with another excellent outing from sophomore Brennan Moloughney on the bump, lifted Eastern Baseball to a big 6-2 win over Albright in the series opener on Friday afternoon at Kelchner Field. Brian Lang and JJ Matos provided the offense, while Moloughney, together with Ethan Gwara, shut down the Albright offense over the final seven innings of play. 

After Albright (9-11, 0-7) struck first with an RBI in the opening frame, the Eagles (8-14, 2-5) wasted no time flipping the script. JJ Matos and Justin DiCesare led off the second inning with back-to-back singles, setting the stage for Lang's big moment. The senior crushed a three-run homer over the left field fence, his sixth of the season, launching Eastern to a 3-1 lead. The blast moved Lang into a tie for fourth on the program's single-season home run list, just one shy of second place.

The fireworks continued in the third when Matos, Eastern's first-year catcher from Boquerón, Puerto Rico, crushed his first collegiate home run. With one out, Leyton Bamesberger singled, and Matos followed with a two-run shot, extending the Eagles' lead to 5-2.

On the mound, Moloughney (2-1) delivered another masterful performance. The Neptune, N.J. native held Albright to just six hits and two early runs across seven innings, striking out five on 98 pitches. He locked in after the second, allowing only two baserunners over the next four frames—one reaching on an error. In the seventh, he ran into a jam, loading the bases with two outs, but escaped unscathed with a clutch strikeout to end his outing.

With the lead secure, the Eagles tacked on an insurance run in the eighth when Thomas Kozlusky ripped an RBI single to left field. Gwara then slammed the door, tossing two scoreless innings with a pair of strikeouts to seal Eastern's second conference win.

Eastern finished with 12 hits in the contest. Along with Matos and Lang, Luke Meehan had a strong day at the dish, going 4-for-5 with a pair of doubles. Matos finished with three hits, while DiCesare added two. 

Eastern wraps up the series against Albright on Saturday in Reading, where the Eagles will serve as the home team. First pitch for the doubleheader is set for noon.