3/8/22
 
MYRTLE BEACH, SC – The Lackawanna College Softball team split their pair of games against Rochester CTC on Tuesday afternoon, losing the first game 3-1 and winning the second game 11-6 over the Yellowjackets in Myrtle Beach.  
 
The Falcons struggled to get their offense going in the first game, scoring just one run on one hit over seven innings, but they had no such trouble in game two, pounding out eleven hits to go with their eleven runs on their way to victory.
 
Game One Recap: Rochester CTC 3 – 1 Lackawanna College
MacKayla Quick gave the Falcons an overall stellar performance in the circle, but Lackawanna College could only muster one hit and one run against the Yellowjackets' Isabelle Hahn, as Rochester CTC scored three runs, all unearned, in the fourth and fifth innings to take the win, 3-1.
 
Skylynn Gilligan was the only Falcon with a hit, coming in the bottom of the fourth. Despite the lack of success at the plate, Lackawanna College had their chances, including twice having the bases loaded, but couldn't come away with runs on either occasion.
 
Quick took the loss, despite pitching seven strong innings of four-hit ball, but an error and a wild pitch in the top of the fourth allowed two runs to come across, and another error allowed a run to score fifth, adding to the cushion for the Yellowjackets.
 
After an inning-and-a-half of nothing doing, the Falcons got to work in the bottom of the second. Catarena Sommers hit a groundball to second base, but managed to get aboard thanks to an error. Gwen Balavage then reached on catcher's interference, and another error on the infield allowed Gilligan to reach, loading the bases with nobody out. After an out, Sommers came home to score the only Falcon run on a wild pitch, while Gilligan and Balavage advanced to second and third, respectively, still with just one away. After Jennifer Wolak was hit by a pitch, the bases were loaded again, but the Falcons couldn't capitalize, as a pair of groundouts ending the scoring threat.  
 
Rochester went down in order in the top of the third, and the Falcons (2-3) looked to have something cooking again, when Kira Ryan reached on an error and stole second with nobody out, and Lackawanna ahead 1-0. Unfortunately for the Falcons, Emma McNally's liner went right to shortstop, allowing the Yellowjackets to double up the Falcons, quashing the scoring threat.
 
The top of the fourth was where the Yellowjackets (3-6) struck back. After a groundout, a pair of singles put two runners on with just one out. A sac bunt allowed the batter to reach on an error at third base, loading the bases with just one out. A groundout brought the first run home, and a wild pitch brought the go-ahead runner across, before Quick could get out of the inning.
 
The Falcons got their first and only hit in the bottom of the fourth when Gilligan reached on a ground ball up the middle, but she was picked off on the base paths trying to steal second, ending another possible scoring threat for the Falcons. Rochester would manufacture another run in the fifth, when a lead-off walk and a sac bunt put a runner on second with no one out, and an error on a fly ball to center field brought the run home. Quick was able to work out of the jam before more damage could be done, but the Falcons found themselves in a 3-1 hole heading into the bottom frame.
 
This would be the Falcons best chance to rally. Wolak immediately got on base after being hit by a pitch, but the Falcons struck out and popped out to make it two outs. Kira Ryan hit a ground ball to second, but the second baseman couldn't handle it, allowing the Falcons to put runners on first and second with two out. After McNally walked, the bases were loaded for Catarena Sommers, but her shot to center didn't have enough power, dropping into the center fielder's glove for the out, ending the threat.
 
After Quick worked out of a jam in the top of the seventh, the Falcons couldn't get anything going in the bottom half, going down in order to end the inning and the game.
 
Game Two Recap: Lackawanna College 11 – 6 Rochester CTC



What the offense lacked in game number one, it found quickly in game number two, as the Falcons scored seven runs in the first two innings, building a lead that, while not unassailable, proved to be enough, as they scored a big 11-6 win over Rochester CTC.
 
A four-run first inning, highlighted by an RBI triple from Catarena Sommers, staked the Falcons to the lead, but the Yellowjackets responded with four runs of their own to tie things up after one. That's when Emma McNally cleared the bases with a three-run double in the second, giving the Falcons a lead they wouldn't surrender.
 
McNally went 3-for-4 with two runs scored and six RBIs, while Sommers went 1-for-3 with two RBIs and a run scored. Meghan Fritz went 2-for-5 with two runs scored, and Kira Ryan went 1-for-4 with a walk and two runs scored. The Falcons, despite 11 runs, still left 16 runners on base. Stephanie Kibbe earned the win, going six innings and giving up nine hits and six runs, three earned.
 
The Falcons (3-3) got right to work in the first, when Fritz hopped aboard thanks to an error on the infield. After back-to-back singles from Ryan and Madison McVicar, the Falcons had the bases loaded with nobody out. McNally came to the plate and grounded into a fielder's choice. Fritz scored, and it was 1-0, Falcons. Lackawanna didn't want to waste a runner on third, so the Falcons got aggressive, and Kira Ryan successfully stole home, making it 2-0, Lackawanna. Catarena Sommers then obliged with a triple to bring McNally home, and a Kibbe groundout scored Sommers, making it 4-0 Falcons. 
 
It looked like Rochester (3-7) was going to be able to match the Falcons, as the Yellowjackets scored four runs in their half of the first. A one-out walk and a single put two runners on, and an RBI single from Kelsey Grunewald put Rochester CTC on the board. After a fielder's choice made it 4-2 with two outs, a pair of runs scored on an error on a groundball in the infield, making it 4-all, before Kibbe could get a strikeout to end the inning.
 
The Falcons recaptured the lead in the second, thanks to Emma McNally, who doubled to deep center, clearing the previously loaded bases to make it 7-4, Lackawanna back in front.
 
Rochester would manufacture runs in the second and third innings, using some sacrifices and solid base running to make it a 7-6 Falcon lead, and the Yellowjackets forced a quick 1-2-3 inning in the top of the fourth, so momentum was certainly on the side of Rochester heading into the bottom frame. But Stephanie Kibbe came out and had her best inning of the afternoon. After a lead-off single, Kibbe got a pair of pop-outs and a strikeout to end the inning.
 
Emma McNally would give Kibbe and the Falcons some insurance in the top of the fifth, as the tripled home another RBI to make it 8-6. Catarena Sommers followed with a sac fly to bring in McNally, and the Falcon lead grew to 9-6.
 
After another effective bottom frame from Kibbe, the Falcons added a few more runs for good measure. Fritz led the inning off with a single, stole second, and got to third on a passed ball, all with no one out. After a Kira Ryan walk put runners on the corners, Madison McVicar hit a sac fly to bring Fritz home. McNally came up to the plate, and she struck again, this time singling to left field to bring home her sixth RBI, making it 11-6, Falcons.
 
Kibbe worked around a single, a walk, and an error that had the bases loaded with two outs in the bottom of the sixth, getting a lineout to first base to strand the runners and get out of the inning. The Falcons loaded the bases in the top of the seventh, but couldn't convert, and Jennifer Wolak came on to close out the seventh inning, sending the Falcons to their third victory on the year.
 
The Falcons get right back to work on Wednesday, March 9^th, when they take on Rochester CTC once again in doubleheader action. The games are set for a 1:00pm ET and 3:00pm ET start.
 
There will be a video livestream available for all four games via Playsight. It is a subscription-based service, and there is a monetary cost to access live and on-demand video streams. You can find that site, along with info on how to join and watch, via this link HERE.
 
The Falcons will have one more doubleheader in South Carolina on Thursday, March 10^th, when they take on the Henry Ford CC Hawks, scheduled for an 11:00am ET start to game one.