3/25/22
 
SCRANTON, Pa. – The Lackawanna College Softball team will continue to be road warriors this year, with another weekend of contests away from home. This weekend, the Falcons will travel to Syracuse, NY to take on a pair of SUNY schools: Herkimer and the hosts, Onondaga.
 
It all starts on Friday, March 25^th, when the Falcons take on SUNY Herkimer at 1:00pm ET, and then SUNY Onondaga at 3:00pm ET, with more games scheduled for Saturday and Sunday, depending on the weather.
 
About the Falcons
Lackawanna College (9-8) went 3-3 last weekend, splitting a pair of games with Harford CC on Friday, losing two to Hagerstown CC and SUNY Corning on Saturday, and then sweeping Corning and Hagerstown on Sunday. The Sunday sweep saw the Falcons score 28 combined runs on 34 hits, pounding out 14-12 and 14-7 victories.
 
On the year, the Falcons are hitting .309 as a team, and have a combined .835 OPS. Lackawanna College has 45 total extra base hits already this year, 31 of which have been doubles. The Falcons are slugging .445 on the year, and have a .390 OBP on the year, drawing 58 walks and 11 HBPs on the season. The Falcons have stolen 23 total bases on the year, and have driven in 90 of their 103 runs scored so far this year.
 
In the circle, the Falcons have a team ERA of 4.25. Through 113.2 innings, Lackawanna has given up 162 hits and 100 runs, 69 earned, and have struck out 75 batters, while walking 46. Opponents are hitting .316 against the Falcons this year. Lackawanna has turned seven double plays defensively, but the Falcons have committed 40 errors in 17 games so far this season.
 
Emma McNally is the team-leader so far this year, hitting .441 on the season. McNally has a team-high OPS of 1.223, and leads the Falcons in hits (26), doubles (8), extra base hits (12), RBIs (19), total bases (44), and slugging (.746). She's second on the team in OBP (.477) and is third on the team in stolen bases at four on the year. McNally had a solid weekend last week, but it was really her Sunday that boosted her profile even further. McNally was a combined 7-for-10 with five runs scored, six RBIs, and a pair of doubles to help the Falcons to the sweep over Hagerstown and Corning.
 
Skylynn Gilligan is second on the team with a .396 batting average this year. Gilligan is second on the team with 21 hits, and has a .431 OBP, good for third on the Falcons. After going 1-for-12 in her first four games, Gilligan has recorded a hit in her last 13 games, including five multi-hit games. She's second on the team with 14 RBIs on the year, and is second on the squad with five doubles. Gilligan went 5-for-9 on Sunday against Corning and Hagerstown, scoring a run, knocking a pair of doubles, and bringing home a combined nine RBIs to help the Falcons to their two wins.
 
Madison McVicar is third on the team with a .354 batting average, and is second on the squad with a 1.047 OPS. McVicar leads the Falcons with a .484 OBP, and leads the Falcons with 16 runs scored on the year. She's fourth on the team with 17 hits so far this year, and leads the Falcons in walks with eleven. McVicar had a homerun and two RBIs in the loss to Hagerstown on Saturday, and was 1-for-2 with four runs scored and another homerun against Corning in the 14-12 win for the Falcons.  
 
Catarena Sommers is fourth on the team with a .327 batting average so far this year. Sommers is third on the team with 18 total hits, and has a .924 OPS. Catarena has seven extra base hits good for second on the team, and has 12 RBIs on the year, ranking her third on the Falcons. Her 29 total bases are tied for second with Gilligan. Sommers was 0-for-8 in her first three games last weekend, before finishing 8-for-12 in her last three games, scoring three runs, hitting two doubles, and driving in a pair of runs. She was a perfect 5-for-5 for two runs, a double, and an RBI against Hagerstown on Sunday.
 
Savannah Glover has seen her average climb to .316 on the year. Her 1.001 OPS is third on the team, and her .579 slugging percentage has her ranked second on the team. Glover is one of three Falcons with two homeruns on the year, and has four doubles so far this year. She's drawn six walks on the year. Glover was 3-for-8 in two games on Sunday, scoring five runs, driving in two, and hitting a homerun in the two wins for the Falcons.  
 
Meghan Fritz has a .288 batting average this year, and has collected 15 hits on the year, good for fifth on the team this year. Fritz has scored 12 runs this season, tied with Glover for third on the Falcons, and is second on the team with five stolen bases on the year, one behind team-leader Kira Ryan. Fritz has five multi-hit games this year, including a 3-for-5 performance against Hagerstown this past Sunday, scoring pair of runs, hitting a double, and driving in one run.
 
Fritz has six starts in seven appearances in the circle for the Falcons. She has a 3-3 record on the year, and has pitched a team-high 42.2 innings, giving up 54 hits and 34 runs, 21 earned, while striking out a team-high 34 batters. Opponents are hitting .289 against Fritz this year. Fritz has a team-high ERA of 3.45. She won her last start, giving up seven runs, just two earned, on seven hits and striking out five in the win over Hagerstown. She also pitched stellar in relief the day before against SUNY Corning, going 6.2 innings and only giving up two runs on four hits, while striking out eleven batters.  
 
MacKayla Quick has also made six starts in seven appearances so far this year. She's 2-4 on the year, with a 3.47 ERA. Quick, in 36.1 innings pitched, has given up 28 runs, 18 earned, on 45 hits, with 28 strikeouts and a team-high 19 walks. Opponents have hit four homeruns against Quick, and are hitting .298 on the year. Quick went 5.2 innings in her last outing, giving up 12 runs, eight earned, on eleven hits against SUNY Corning, while striking out nine and walking six. She didn't get a decision, as the Falcons rallied in the top of the seventh to re-take the lead and eventually win.
 
Tess Ruschman is 2-1 overall this year, and has a 5.25 ERA. Ruschman has made three starts in four appearances, and earned a save in the win over SUNY Corning on Sunday. Ruschman, in her 16 innings of work, has surrendered 13 runs, 12 earned, on 28 hits, while striking out four and walking three. Ruschman was tagged with the loss in her last start, going just three innings against Hagerstown on Saturday, giving up ten hits and seven runs. In her last appearance, she pitched a scoreless bottom of the seventh to secure a save and help the Falcons defeat SUNY Corning this past Sunday.   
 
Jeff Pittsman enters his eleventh season at the helm of the Falcons program. After some early growing pains when he took over in 2012, coach Pitt overhauled the Falcons program, turning it into a Region XIX contender year-in, and year-out. The Falcons had four straight seasons of 20+ wins, starting in 2016, and might have had another if not for the pandemic shuttering the 2020 season early. Pittsman is a two-time EPAC Coach of the Year, and has been a fixture in local softball circles for year. An NEPA native and Mid Valley HS graduate, Pittsman began his coaching career in football with the Mid Valley program, and other various schools around the area, before transitioning into coaching softball at the travel-team level. Eventually, his credentials helped him land the job with Lackawanna College, where he took over a team with barely enough players to safely compete, and steadily built the program into a winner.
 
About SUNY Herkimer
The Generals are 5-5, overall, heading into the weekend. Like the Falcons, Herkimer has yet to play a home game this year, and has been on the road. They beat Sussex County CC in a pair of games back on March 18^th, 11-9 and 12-0, but lost the last two games they played against Catawba Valley CC, 3-2 and 3-0. In the 3-2 loss, the Generals scored a run in the sixth inning to tie things at two, apiece, sending the game to extras. The Generals had a runner on second with nobody out in the top of the eighth, but they couldn't bring the run in. Catawba managed a pair of singles and a hit-by-pitch to load the bases with one out in the bottom frame, and won on a walk-off single.   
 
Hailey Hunter led the Generals, going 3-for-7 in the two games against Catawba. She scored one of the two runs the Generals had, coming in the top of the first inning on a Maiya Reinhart RBI single.  
 
Madison Puppolo, who also doubles as a pitcher, was 1-for-3 in the two games against Catawba. She got tagged with the loss against Catawba, but pitched fairly well, giving up nine hits and three runs in 7.1 innings pitched.
 
Kassandra Granobles was 1-for-5, but had two stolen bases in the two games against Catawba.
 
The head softball coach for Herkimer is PJ Anadio, now in his 12^th season at the helm for the Generals. Anadio, since taking over in 2010, has turned Herkimer into a national power at the DIII level, producing a national championship in 2013, along with several top ten finishes, including second in the nation on five separate occasions. The Generals went 48-8 in 2019, setting a school record for most wins in a year, and finished second in the country. Last season, Herkimer finished third in the DIII national tournament, going 25-6 overall. Anadio has won Mountain Valley Collegiate Conference COTY on eight separate occasions, and was Region III COTY three different times. Before taking over the Generals softball program, Anadio, a Herkimer graduate, was an assistant with the baseball program for three years, the same baseball program that he was a two-year captain for when he attended. Anadio is 409-86 in his time at Herkimer.
 
About SUNY Onondaga
The Lazers from SUNY Onondaga head into the weekend with a 1-6 overall record so far this year, having lost their last four games. In their last series, the Lazers fell to the William Peace Pacers in Raleigh, NC, by scores of 11-3 and 13-4. Their lone win on the year came against CCBC Catonsville, 18-8, back on March 19^th. The Falcons will be the second Region XIX opponent for Onondaga so far this year, as the Lazers played Delaware Tech in a series to open the year, dropping a pair of games to the Terry Hawks.
 
As a team, Onondaga is hitting around .297 so far this season. The Lazers are averaging around 5.5 runs per game, and have eleven extra base hits on the season. Onondaga has a combined slugging percentage at .378, and have stolen 14 combined bases.
 
Pitching-wise, the Lazers are giving up around 10.7 runs per game this year, with a team ERA over eleven so far this year. Onondaga has given up 75 runs in 33 innings pitched, 52 earned, on 60 hits, with 22 strikeouts vs. 33 walks. They've turned one double play on the year, and have 25 errors so far this year.
 
Madison Henry leads the team with a .478 batting average. Henry has the team-lead in OPS (1.239), total hits (11), extra base hits (5), doubles (4), RBIs (8), total bases (17), slugging (.739) and OBP (.500). Henry is tied for third on the team with five runs scored this year. She has recorded a hit in every game she's played this year, including four multi-hit games. She was a combined 2-for-6 with a run scored and a double in the losses to William Peace.
 
Sophia D'Arcangelis is second on the squad with a .381 batting average so far this season. Sophia leads the team with eight runs scored on the season, and is second on the team with eight hits so far this season. Her .458 OBP is second on the Lazers squad, and her .934 OPS is also second. D'Arcangelis also leads the Lazers with five stolen bases on the season. She was 3-for-4 with four runs scored and a pair of doubles in the win over Catonsville. D'Arcangelis was a combined 1-for-5 with a run scored against William Peace.
 
Gabriella Magie has a .375 batting average on the year, and is third on the team with a .912 OPS. Magie is tied for second on the team with five RBIs, and is fourth on the team with six hits in her seven games so far this year. She was 2-for-4 with a triple in the win over Catonsville. Magie was a combined 1-for-3 with two RBIs in the two games vs. William Peace.
 
Jenna Mills has a .350 batting average so far this season, and is third on the team with seven total hits so far this season. She's tied with Magie for third on the team with eight total bases so far this year, and is third on the team by herself with six runs scored this year. Mills was 3-for-4 with four runs scored and an RBI against Catonsville this year. She was a combined 2-for-5 with a run scored against William Peace.
 
Trista DeLong started four games in seven appearances for the Lazers, going 0-3 with an 11.42 ERA. DeLong, in 19 innings pitched, had allowed 43 runs, 31 earned, on 33 hits, striking out 13 batters while walking 17. DeLong lost her last start, going four innings against William Peace, allowing ten runs, four earned, on seven hits.
 
Alexa Sicina is the other main pitcher for Onondaga, starting three games in seven appearances this year. Sicinia is 1-3 on the year, and has pitched 14 innings for the Lazers. She has given up 32 runs, 21 earned, on 27 hits, while striking out nine batters and walking 14. Sicina pitched four innings of relief for the Lazers, allowing four runs on three hits and striking out five to pick up the win. She lost her last start, going four innings and giving up nine runs, five earned, on eight hits against William Peace. In her last appearance, also against William Peace, she gave up three runs on a hit without recording an out.
 
The head coach for SUNY Onondaga is Robert Bates, now entering his sixth season at the helm for the Lazers. The Lazers are playing their first softball competition in nearly two years this season, after only getting two games in back in 2020 before the COVID-19 pandemic shut the college sports world down. The Lazers did not play last season. Bates has guided the Lazers to a pair of Region III championships, and, subsequently, a pair of appearances in the NJCAA DIII National Tournament. Before taking the head coaching position, Bates was an assistant for the 2016 season with the Lazers. He came to Onondaga with extensive experience in travel and AAU softball, along with assisting at Waterloo Central HS and Cayuga CC. Bates has an 88-54 overall record at Onondaga.   
 
Game Information
The first game of Friday's doubleheader will start at 1:00pm ET against Herkimer, while the second game, against Onondaga, will start at 3:00pm ET.
 
At the moment, there is no video livestream available for either contest.
 
More games are scheduled for Saturday and Sunday, but are dependent on weather. When times are confirmed and announced, lackawannafalcons.com will have the updates.