4/2/22
 
SCRANTON, Pa. – The Lackawanna College Softball team will put its three game winning streak on the line this weekend when they host Potomac State College of WVU in a weekend series, starting with a doubleheader on Saturday, April 2^nd, at Scranton High School's Softball Field. First pitch of game one is set for 3:00pm ET, and the second game is set to start at 5:00pm ET. Both games will be streamed live via the Lackawanna College Athletics YouTube Channel at www.lackawannafalcons.com/YouTube.
 
A third game is currently scheduled for Sunday, April 3^rd, at 12:00pm ET, at Penn State Scranton's softball field in Dunmore, PA. Lackawanna College will have a video livestream available via the Lackawanna College Athletics YouTube Channel at www.lackawannafalcons.com/YouTube.
 
About the Falcons
Lackawanna College (12-9) won a pair of games earlier this week, sweeping a doubleheader on the road against NJCAA Division I opponent Monroe College. The Falcons scored 26 runs on 32 hits, hitting 13 combined extra base hits, and contributions from virtually every player, including a stellar performance from Savannah Glover, who went 4-for-9 with three runs score, five RBIs, three doubles, and a homerun in both games, combined. Catarena Sommers went 5-for-8 with four runs, four RBIs, and a pair of doubles across both games against the Mustangs. Read the recap from both games HERE.
 
On the year, the Falcons are hitting .334 as a team, and have a combined .914 OPS. Lackawanna College has 73 total extra base hits already this year, 53 of which have been doubles. The Falcons are slugging .503 on the year, and have a .411 OBP, drawing 73 walks and 12 HBPs on the season. The Falcons have stolen 28 total bases on the year, and have driven in 134 of their 150 runs scored so far this year. Lackawanna is averaging just over seven runs per ballgame.  
 
In the circle, the Falcons have a team ERA of 4.32. Through 137.2 innings, Lackawanna has given up 189 hits and 123 runs, 85 earned, and have struck out 93 batters, while walking 58. Opponents are hitting .305 against the Falcons this year. Lackawanna has turned seven double plays defensively, but the Falcons have committed 51 errors in 21 games so far this season.
 
Emma McNally is the team-leader so far this year, hitting .452 on the season. McNally has a team-high OPS of 1.296, and leads the Falcons in hits (33), doubles (10), extra base hits (16), homeruns (4), RBIs (27), total bases (59), and slugging (.808). McNally is tied for the team lead in runs scored with 22, and is third on the team in OBP at .488. McNally is tied for third on the team with four steals this year, and has drawn seven walks, tied for fourth on the squad. McNally was a combined 3-for-8 in her two games on Wednesday, driving in three runs, scoring three, and hitting a two-run homerun in the first game against Monroe.  
 
Skylynn Gilligan is second on the team with a .438 batting average this year. Gilligan is second on the team with 28 hits, and has a a team-high .507 OBP. Gilligan is slugging at .594 this season, and her 38 total bases rank her third on the squad. After going 1-for-12 in her first four games, Gilligan has recorded a hit in her last 17 games, including seven multi-hit games. She's third on the team with 17 RBIs on the year, and is fourth on the squad with seven doubles. Gilligan went 3-for-6 this past Wednesday, scoring four runs, driving in another, and hitting a double in her two games against Monroe.  
 
Jennifer Wolak is third on the Falcons with a .389 batting average, and an OPS of 1.083, ranking her fourth on the squad. She has 14 hits in her 18 appearances, and has a .500 OBP, good for second on the team. She's scored seven runs, and hit five doubles to drive in eleven RBIs this year. Wolak was an impressive 4-for-5 with five RBIs, two runs scored, and a pair of doubles in the two games against Monroe. She went 3-for-3 in the second game, helping her own cause, as she was also the main pitcher against the Mustangs.
 
Catarena Sommers has five multi-hit games in her last six, raising her average from .233 to .386 on the year, good for fourth on the team. Sommers is third on the team with 27 total hits, and has a 1.043 OPS. Catarena has eleven extra base hits, tied for second on the team, along with 20 RBIs on the year, putting her second on the Falcons. Her 42 total bases also have her ranked second on the squad. Catarena was 5-for-8 with four runs scored, two doubles, and four RBIs in her two games on Wednesday against Monroe. In her last seven games, Sommers is hitting .556, with ten RBIs, nine runs, and six doubles.  
 
Madison McVicar is fifth on the team with a .344 batting average, and has a 1.003 OPS so far this season. McVicar is tied with McNally for the team lead in runs scored (22), and has a .456 OBP on the year. She's fourth on the team with 22 hits so far this year, and leads the Falcons in walks with 12. McVicar went 3-for-9 with three runs scored, a double, and an RBI in the two games against Monroe on Wednesday.  
 
Savannah Glover has seen her average climb to .340 on the year. Her .660 slugging percentage has her ranked second on the team, and she's second on the Falcons with three homeruns this year. Glover's 17 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 4-for-9 with five RBIs, three runs scored, and four extra base hits, including three doubles and a homerun against Monroe on Wednesday. Glover is six for her last eleven, hitting .545 while driving in seven runs, scoring five of her own, and hitting five extra base knocks.   
 
Meghan Fritz has a .313 batting average, and has collected 21 hits on the year, good for fifth on the team this year. Fritz has scored 19 runs this season, good for third on the Falcons, and is second on the team in stolen bases at six so far this season. Fritz has eight extra base hits on the year, including six doubles, fifth on the team. Fritz has seven multi-hit games this year, and was 3-for-7 with three runs scored, a double, a homerun, and three RBIs in her two games on Wednesday against Monroe.  
 
Fritz is also the main starter in the pitcher's circle for Lackawanna, with seven starts in eight appearances 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 36 batters, good for second on the squad. 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 came against Herkimer, where she gave up six hits and eight runs, three earned, in five innings of work. She had a stellar relief appearance against SUNY Corning, going 6.2 innings and only giving up two runs on four hits, while striking out eleven batters.  
 
MacKayla Quick has made eight starts in nine appearances so far this year. She's 4-4 on the year, with a team-best 3.47 ERA. Quick, in 46.1 innings pitched, has given up 35 runs, 23 earned, on 56 hits, with a team-best 38 strikeouts and a team-high 24 walks. Opponents have hit six homeruns against Quick, and are hitting .287 on the year. Quick has won her last two starts, including her latest against Monroe College, where she went five innings, giving up four runs on seven hits, with a season-best nine strikeouts in a 13-4 victory for the Falcons.   
 
Tess Ruschman has appeared in six games, with four starts, and is 2-1 overall this year, with a 6.65 ERA. Ruschman has also earned a save this year, in the win over SUNY Corning earlier this year. Ruschman, in her 20 innings of work, has surrendered 20 runs, 19 earned, on 37 hits, while striking out six and walking five. In her last start, Tess was chased after two innings of work against Monroe, giving up seven runs and eight hits in a game the Falcons would rally to win, 13-8.    
 
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 Potomac State College of WVU
The Catamounts of Potomac State are 18-2 on the year, and enter on a 12-game winning streak. In the latest NJCAA Division II polls, the Catamounts are just outside the rankings, receiving votes. Potomac was last in action this past Wednesday, when they hosted the Anne Arundel CC Riverhawks in doubleheader action, winning the pair of match-ups 13-0 and 6-1. The Catamounts hit five homeruns in the two games, and were dominant in the pitching circle, holding the Riverhawks to a combined ten hits and one run, with 16 strikeouts over the course of the two games. Josie Deneen was 4-for-5 with five RBIs, a homerun, and a run scored in both games.  
 
As a team, the Catamounts are hitting .392 on the season, and have an OPS of 1.124 so far this year. Potomac is averaging 10.4 runs per game, and have hit 76 combined extra base hits, including 36 doubles and a whopping 30 homeruns. They're slugging around .655 on the year, and have successfully stolen 59 bases on the season. The Catamounts have 98 strikeouts as a team, and have drawn 68 walks so far this season.
 
Potomac has been stellar in the pitcher's circle, with a stellar 2.23 ERA. In 116 innings pitched, the Catamounts have only given up 53 runs on 97 hits, 37 earned runs, and struck out 153 batters, while walking 33. Opponents are averaging just .219 against the Catamounts this year. Potomac pitchers have 14 games where they've allowed three or less runs, and five shutouts on the year. Potomac has turned two double plays on the year, and has committed 29 errors this season.    
 
Madison Anderson is the team leader for the Catamounts, hitting .525 so far this season. Anderson leads the team in OPS (1.485), runs (35), hits (32), RBIs (26), total bases (54), stolen bases (17), and OBP (.600). Anderson is tied for the team lead in homeruns (5), and is also tied for second in extra base hits (10) this year. She's third on the team in slugging .885. Anderson has played in all 20 games for the Catamounts this season. She's recorded a hit in 19 of 20 games this year, and has eleven multi-hit games on the year. Anderson was 3-for-7 with four runs scored, a homerun, and an RBI in her two games against Anne Arundel on Wednesday.  
 
Alexis Bailey has a .457 batting average, and leads the Catamounts with a .978 slugging percentage. She leads the squad with 12 extra base hits, and is tied with Anderson and another player for the team lead in homers (5). Bailey is also second on the team in total bases (45), and is tied for second in total hits at 21. Bailey has scored 17 runs on the year, and is tied for third on the Catamounts with 17 RBIs this season. Her 1.478 OPS is second behind Anderson. Bailey has seven multi-hit games on the year, and was 2-for-3 with a double and two RBIs in the first game against Anne Arundel on Wednesday. She did not play in game two.
 
Simone Blanks has a .488 batting average, good for second on the team, and is tied with Bailey for second on the team in hits with 21 so far this season. Blanks also has five homeruns, and is second on the team in RBIs at 18. Her 1.467 OPS has her third on the Catamounts, and her .907 slugging is second on the team. She's scored 24 runs this year, good for second on the team, and she's also second on Potomac in stolen bases with ten swipes this year. She also has 39 total bases, good for third on the team. Blanks has five multi-hit games this season, and was 1-for-5 with a homer, three RBIs, and two runs scored in the two games against Anne Arundel.
 
Brianne Stocks is hitting .373 so far this season, and is fourth on the team with 19 total hits this year. She's tied with Bailey for the team lead in doubles (5), and is tied with Bailey for fourth on the team with 17 RBIs this year. Stocks has 30 total bases on the year, good for third, and she's scored 16 runs for the Catamounts this year. Stocks has four multi-hit games, and went 2-for-5 with three runs, a double, and two RBIs in the two games against Anne Arundel.
 
Skylar Ross has a .486 batting average, ranking third on the team, and has a .526 OBP, also good for third on the squad. Ross has 17 total hits this year, and has three doubles with six RBIs on the season. Ross has four multi-hit games this season, and was 1-for-2 with a run scored in game one against Anne Arundel. She didn't play in game two.  
 
Brianne Stocks has made ten starts and eleven appearances so far this season, going 8-0 with five complete games, and a 1.97 ERA on the year. Stocks, in 49.2 innings, has allowed 20 runs, 14 earned, on 43 hits, while striking out a team-high 77 batters, and only walking three for the year. Stocks won her last appearance, coming against Anne Arundel in game one, where she pitched five innings of shutout ball, only giving up five hits and striking out a season-high eleven batters. Stocks has not given up a run in her last four appearances, striking out 35 batters in 16 innings of work.
 
Taylor Townsend has also made 11 appearances, starting in nine games for the Catamounts, going 9-1 with a 2.66 ERA, and with one save on the year. In 47.1 innings, she's allowed 22 runs, 18 earned, on 42 hits, while striking out 54 batters and walking 20 on the year. Townsend has gotten the win in nine of her last ten appearances, getting a save in the other, after losing her first start of the season. In her last game, Townsend pitched a complete game for the win over Anne Arundel, giving up one run on five hits in seven innings, striking out five batters. She had a season-high 12 strikeouts against SUNY Corning earlier this season.   
 
The head softball coach for Potomac State is Craig Rotruck. Rotruck won a Region XX championship with the Catamounts last year, and is probably most well-known for winning an NJCAA National Championship in 1995 as the head coach for the Potomac State baseball team. Rotruck is a Frostburg State graduate, and was elected to the Frostburg State Hall of Fame in 2011.  
 
Game Information
Saturday's home doubleheader against Potomac State College of WVU 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.
 
A third game is currently scheduled for Sunday, April 3^rd, at 12:00pm ET, at Penn State Scranton's softball field in Dunmore, PA. Lackawanna College will have a video livestream available via the Lackawanna College Athletics YouTube Channel at www.lackawannafalcons.com/YouTube.
 
The Falcons will next be at home on Saturday, April 9^th, when they host Mercer County CC in their Region XIX opener. The doubleheader is scheduled for 12:00pm and 2:00pm ET at the Scranton High School softball field.