3/30/22
 
SCRANTON, Pa. – The Lackawanna College Softball team will look to get a pair of weekday doubleheaders under its collective belt this week, when the Falcons take on a pair of tough opponents out of Region XV.
 
On Wednesday, March 30^th, the Falcons travel to NJCAA Division I opponent Monroe College, taking on the Mustangs in a doubleheader, with the first game at 2:30pm, and the second game scheduled to follow at 4:30pm ET. Both games will be streamed live on the Monroe College Athletics YouTube Channel HERE.
 
 Then, after 20+ games on the road, the Falcons will finally get their home opener on Thursday, March 31^st, when they host the SUNY Orange Colts at the Scranton HS Softball field for doubleheader action at 3:00pm and 5:00pm ET. Both games will be streamed live via the Lackawanna College Athletics YouTube Channel at www.lackawannafalcons.com/YouTube.
 
About the Falcons
Lackawanna College (10-9) split their last pair of games, a doubleheader against SUNY's Herkimer and Onondaga. The Falcons dropped an 8-4 decision to Herkimer in game one, and then followed that up with a dominant 17-3 win in five innings over Onondaga. The Falcons have now scored over ten runs on six different occasions, and the 17 runs against Onondaga is a season-high. Read the recap HERE.
 
On the year, the Falcons are hitting .317 as a team, and have a combined .871 OPS. Lackawanna College has 60 total extra base hits already this year, 43 of which have been doubles. The Falcons are slugging .472 on the year, and have a .399 OBP, drawing 67 walks and 12 HBPs on the season. The Falcons have stolen 26 total bases on the year, and have driven in 108 of their 124 runs scored so far this year.
 
In the circle, the Falcons have a team ERA of 4.07. Through 125.2 innings, Lackawanna has given up 173 hits and 111 runs, 73 earned, and have struck out 79 batters, while walking 55. Opponents are hitting .305 against the Falcons this year. Lackawanna has turned seven double plays defensively, but the Falcons have committed 50 errors in 19 games so far this season.
 
Emma McNally is the team-leader so far this year, hitting .465 on the season. McNally has a team-high OPS of 1.322, and leads the Falcons in hits (30), doubles (10), extra base hits (15), homeruns (3), RBIs (24), total bases (53), slugging (.815), and OBP (.507).  McNally is tied for third on the team with four steals this year, and has drawn seven walks, tied for third on the squad. McNally was a combined 4-for-6 in her two games this past Friday, hitting a three-run homer and driving in five runs total against Onondaga in the second game.  
 
Skylynn Gilligan is second on the team with a .431 batting average this year. Gilligan is second on the team with 25 hits, and has a .485 OBP, good for second on the Falcons. Gilligan is also second on the team with a .586 slugging percentage, and her 34 total bases are third on the squad. After going 1-for-12 in her first four games, Gilligan has recorded a hit in her last 15 games, including six multi-hit games. She's tied for second on the team with 16 RBIs on the year, and is also tied for second on the squad with six doubles. Gilligan went 4-for-6 on Friday against Herkimer and Onondaga, scoring a pair of runs, hitting a double, and driving in two RBIs.  
 
Catarena Sommers has four multi-hit games in her last five, raising her average from .233 to .355 on the year, good for third on the team. Sommers is third on the team with 22 total hits, and has a .988 OPS. Catarena has nine extra base hits, good for second on the team, and has 16 RBIs on the year, tied for second on the Falcons. Her 35 total bases have her ranked second on the Falcons. Catarena was 4-for-7 with two runs scored, two doubles, and four RBIs in her two games on Friday.
 
Madison McVicar is fourth on the team with a .345 batting average, and is third on the squad with a 1.035 OPS. McVicar is tied with McNally for the team lead in runs scored (19), and is third on the squad with a .471 OBP. She's fourth on the team with 19 hits so far this year, and leads the Falcons in walks with 12. She went 0-for-4 in the first game on Friday, but followed that up with a 2-for-3 showing against Onondaga, where she hit two doubles, scored three runs, and drove in another.  
 
Savannah Glover has seen her average climb to .318 on the year. Her .568 slugging percentage has her ranked third on the team, and she's tied with McVicar for second on the team with two homeruns this year. Glover's 14 runs scored on the season has her ranked fourth on the team, and she's tied with McNally for third on the team with four steals this year. Glover was 2-for-6 with two runs scored, a double, and two runs driven in.  
 
Meghan Fritz has a .300 batting average, and has collected 18 hits on the year, good for fifth on the team this year. Fritz has scored 16 runs this season, good for third on the Falcons, and is tied with Kira Ryan for the team lead in stolen bases at six so far this season. Fritz has six multi-hit games this year, and was 3-for-8 with four runs scored, two doubles, a triple, and an RBI in her two games on Friday.  
 
Fritz has seven starts in eight appearances in the circle for the Falcons. She has a 3-4 record on the year, and has pitched a team-high 47.2 innings, giving up 60 hits and 42 runs, 24 earned, while striking out a team-high 36 batters. Opponents are hitting .283 against Fritz this year. Fritz has an ERA of 3.52, good for second on the team. She lost her last start, which game against Herkimer, where she gave up six hits and eight runs, three earned, in five innings of work. She had a stellar relief appearance last week 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 seven starts in eight appearances so far this year. She's 3-4 on the year, with a team-best 3.22 ERA. Quick, in 41.1 innings pitched, has given up 31 runs, 19 earned, on 49 hits, with 29 strikeouts and a team-high 24 walks. Opponents have hit four homeruns against Quick, and are hitting .283 on the year. Quick won her last start, against Onondaga, pitching five innings and giving up three runs on four hits, striking out a batter and walking five others.  
 
Tess Ruschman is 2-1 overall this year, and has a 4.67 ERA. Ruschman has made three starts in five appearances, and earned a save in the win over SUNY Corning last week. Ruschman, in her 18 innings of work, has surrendered 13 runs, 12 earned, on 29 hits, while striking out five and walking four. Ruschman was tagged with the loss in her last start, going just three innings against Hagerstown last weekend, giving up ten hits and seven runs. In her last appearance, she pitched two scoreless innings against Herkimer, giving up a hit and striking out a batter, while walking another.   
 
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 Monroe College
The Mustangs enter Wednesday's doubleheader with a 4-13 overall record, but have won three of their last four, including a doubleheader sweep in their last action on Sunday over the Community College of Rhode Island. Monroe pounded out 25 runs on 26 hits to pick up a pair of wins, winning game one 14-13, and taking game two by an 11-3 score in six innings.
 
As a team, the Mustangs are hitting .323 on the season, and have an OPS of .838 so far this year. Monroe is averaging around 6.1 runs per game, and have hit 37 combined extra base hits, including 20 doubles and 13 homeruns. They're slugging around .468 on the year, and have successfully stolen 35 bases on the season. The Mustangs have 91 strikeouts as a team, and have drawn 30 walks so far this season.
 
In the pitching circle, the Mustangs have a 7.59 ERA. In 106 innings pitched, Monroe has given up 161 runs on 200 hits, 115 earned runs, and struck out 42 batters, while walking 54. Opponents are averaging .380 against the Mustangs this year, and have hit 42 doubles. Monroe has turned five double plays on the year, and has committed 49 errors this season.    
 
Thanysha Gil leads the Mustangs with a .500 batting average this season. Gil leads the team in OPS (1.387), hits (22), doubles (6), extra base hits (9), RBIs (19), slugging (.818), walks (6), and OBP (.569). Gil is second on the team in total bases (36), fourth on the team with 13 runs scored this year, and has started in all 15 of her appearances this season. Gil was 5-for-8 with four runs scored, eight RBIs, a double, a triple, and a homer in the two games against CCRI.
 
Miralba Sandez is second on the team with a .405 batting average so far this year. Sandez is second on the squad with a 1.099 OPS, and her .450 OBP is also good for second on the team. Sandez is third on the team in slugging (.649) and fourth on the team in total bases (24). She's hit three homers, good for second on the team. Sandez went 3-for-7 with three runs scored, a homerun, and three RBIs in the two wins over CCRI.
 
Nevaeh Gaynor is third on the Mustangs with a .396 batting average this season. She's second on the team with 21 hits, and third on the team with 14 runs scored so far this season. Gaynor has nine RBIs this season, good for fifth on the team, and is also fifth in OPS at .817 on the year. Gaynor is second on Monroe with five stolen bases this year. She went 6-for-8 with four runs scored and an RBI in the wins over CCRI.
 
Mya Jack is fourth on the team with a .327 batting average, and is tied for first on the team with 15 runs scored so far this season. Jack is the biggest base stealing threat, leading Monroe with 14 swipes on the year, and is third on the squad with 18 hits so far this year. Jack was 3-for-8 with two runs scored in the two games against CCRI.
 
Zoe Rivera, batting at .315 so far this year, leads the team with six homeruns so far this year, and is second on the squad with 15 RBIs. Rivera is fourth on the team with 17 hits, and is tied with Jack for the team-lead in runs scored. River's 1.041 OPS is third on the team, and her .685 slugging percentage is good for second on the mustangs. Rivera does lead the team in strikeouts, however, with 12 punch outs on the year. Rivera went 3-for-8 with five runs scored, along with two homeruns and three RBIs in her two games against CCRI.  
 
Angelina Perez leads the Mustangs with four starts in 13 appearances, going 2-1 so far this season. She's pitched in 35.2 innings, and has a 6.48 ERA on the year. Perez has given up 50 runs, 33 earned, on 60 hits. Perez leads the Mustangs with 18 strikeouts on the year, while walking 12 batters. Opponents are averaging .351 at the plate against Perez this year. Perez last appeared in a start against CCRI in game one of their doubleheader, where she went just three innings, giving up ten runs, six earned, on 12 hits, while striking out four batters. The Mustangs eventually won that game in the seventh inning, getting Perez off the hook.
 
Asia Gonzalez has made 12 appearances, five starts, and is 2-2 on the year for the Mustangs, with an 8.40 ERA. In her 23.1 innings pitched, Gonzalez has given up 31 runs, 28 earned, on 47 hits, while striking out 12 batters. Opponents are hitting .409 against Gonzalez so far this season. Gonzalez got the win in her last game, going six innings against CCRI, giving up three runs on eight hits, while striking out five to pick up the win.
 
Naidely Cabrera has appeared in seven games, starting four, and is 0-3 on the year with a 7.95 ERA. Cabrera has gone 22 innings so far this year, giving up 37 runs, 25 earned, on 39 hits, while striking out six batters and walking 12. Opponents are hitting .364 against Cabrera so far this season. She hasn't pitched since she went three innings against Mercer County CC, giving up five runs on four hits against the Vikings.
 
The head softball coach for Monroe is Samantha Santillo, now in her fourth season in charge of the Mustangs. Santillo came to Monroe after three seasons at Pittsburgh's North Catholic HS, advancing to the second round of the WPIAL playoffs in her final year in charge. She has spent time in travel organizations in Pennsylvania, coaching catchers at the AAU and youth levels. Santillo graduated from Robert Morris in 2015, where she played all four years for the Colonials, winning the Golden Glove on three separate occasions as the Northeast Conference Defensive POTY. She was an all-conference first team catcher, and a two-time POTW for the NEC. Santillo set school records in career putouts, career fielding percentage, and single-season fielding percentage. Santillo is 33-43 in her career at Monroe.
 
About SUNY Orange


The Lady Colts are still getting their feet underneath them in 2022, entering the game against Lackawanna with an 0-4 record so far this year. In their last game(s), Orange took on Sussex County CC on Tuesday afternoon.
 
As a team, Orange is hitting .262 on the year, with a .740 OPS. The Lady Colts are averaging around 4.8 runs per game, and have eight combined extra base hits in their four games this year, on four doubles and four triples. They have 14 walks vs. 16 strikeouts so far this year.
 
In the circle, the Lady Colts have a team ERA of 8.27. In 22 innings combined, opponents have 33 runs, 26 earned, on 37 hits, with 15 strikeouts and eight walks. Opponents are hitting around .370 against Orange so far this season. The Lady Colts have ten errors in four games, and have yet to turn a double play.
 
Kayla McNamara and Erin Warner are tied for the team-lead in batting average, each hitting .364 so far this season. McNamara has a higher OPS (.917 vs. .738), and has a double, but Warner has more RBIs (2 vs. 1), and has scored two runs so far this year. McNamara's best game was 2-for-3 against Middlesex in a 5-4 loss. Warner's best game so far this year was a 2-for-4 performance where she batted a run in and scored a run as well.  
 
Kayla Consolo is second on the team with a .357 batting average, and third on the team with a .900 OPS. She's third on the team in slugging (.500), and leads the Lady Colts with five hits and two doubles on the year. Her three RBIs in four games are tied for the team lead with Julianna Garvey. Consolo has two multi-hit games in her first four, with her best game coming against Middlesex, where she went 2-for-4 with a run scored, two doubles, and an RBI.
 
The aforementioned Garvey is hitting an even .300 so far this season, tied for the team-lead with Consolo with three RBIs. Garvey has a .462 OBP, tied for the team lead with McNamara, and has drawn a pair of walks so far this season. Garvey had a 1-for-3 game against Monroe College Bronx where she drove in a pair of runs and drew a walk against the Express.
 
Erin Feeney has appeared in two games, both starts, and is 0-2 with a 6.36 ERA on the year for the Lady Colts. Feeney has pitched eleven innings, giving up eleven runs, ten earned, on 15 hits, while striking out nine batters. Feeney's last start came against Middlesex, where she went six innings, giving up five runs, four earned, on eight hits and striking out six in a loss.
 
Jessica Stewart also has two appearances, both starts, and is 0-2 on the year with an 11.45 ERA. Stewart, in her 7.1 innings of work so far this year, has allowed 18 runs, 12 earned, on 18 hits, walking four and striking out three batters. Stewart got tagged with the loss against Middlesex in her last appearance, going four innings and giving up ten runs, four earned, on 12 hits in a 10-2 loss.
 
The head coach for SUNY Orange is Amber Butenhoff, now entering her second season at the helm for the Lady Colts. Butenhoff, a standout SUNY Orange alum, was an assistant during the 2018-2019 season before taking over full-time. Butenhoff played for the Lady Colts during the 2012 and 2013 seasons, twice winning Region XV Player of the Year, and helping Orange to a Region championship in 2013, when she hit .557. She moved on to NYIT, where she led the East Coast Conference with a .448 batting average and ten homeruns. Butenhoff is 5-15 at the helm of the Lady Colts, after going 5-11 last year in the shortened 2020 spring campaign.
 
Game Information
Wednesday's doubleheader at Monroe's Flowers Park Softball Field is set for a 2:30pm ET start for game one, and a 4:30pm ET start for the second contest. Both games will be streamed live on the Monroe College Athletics YouTube Channel HERE.
 
For Thursday's home doubleheader against SUNY Orange, both games will be at the Scranton HS Softball field, with the first game starting at 3:00pm and the second game at 5:00pm ET. Both games will be streamed live via the Lackawanna College Athletics YouTube Channel at www.lackawannafalcons.com/YouTube.
 
The Falcons remain home on the weekend for their next contests, hosting Potomac State College of WVU, first for a doubleheader on Saturday, April 2^nd, at Scranton HS, and a single game on Sunday, April 3^rd, at 12:00pm ET at Penn State Scranton's softball field.