4/28/22
 
SB: Lackawanna College Shuts Out Orange In Doubleheader Sweep
 
SCRANTON, Pa. – Lackawanna College softball kept their winning streak alive with a pair of shutout victories on Thursday afternoon, scoring a combined 35 runs to knock off the SUNY Orange Colts at Scranton HS in doubleheader action.
 
The Falcons (27-15) scored eleven runs in the second inning of game one, helping them run away with a 21-0 victory in five innings, and then followed that up with seven runs in the fourth inning of game two to put things out of reach and end it early at 14-0 in five innings. With the wins, Lackawanna College runs its win streak to seven straight, and 14 of its last 17 games.
 
Game One Recap: Lackawanna College 21 – 0 SUNY Orange (5 Innings)
Lackawanna College scored eleven runs in the second inning, nine before recording an out, and coasted the rest of the way to a more-than-comfortable 21-0 shutout win in five innings over SUNY Orange in game one of the doubleheader at Scranton High on Thursday afternoon.
 
The Falcons (26-15), with the game locked at 0-0 in the bottom of the second, got a baserunner when Skylynn Gilligan doubled to center to lead the inning off. Then, Catarena Sommers followed with a double of her own to center, scoring Gilligan to put the Falcons on top. That was the first of nine runs the Falcons would score before the first out was recorded. In fact, Sommers would hit her second double of the inning to score the eighth and ninth runs of the inning, as the Falcons ended up with eleven in the second alone.
 
Lackawanna was led in the game by Sommers, who went a perfect 3-for-3 with five RBI and three runs scored. All three of her hits were doubles. Meanwhile, Savannah Glover had a nice game, going 3-for-4 with three RBI and two runs scored, and Gilligan was 2-for-3 with four runs scored and three RBI. Both of Gilligan's hits were doubles. Every Falcon that saw time at the plate reached base and scored in the game. Meghan Fritz picked up the win, her eighth of the season, shutting the Colts out over five innings, giving up five hits and striking out five batters.
 
A quiet first inning gave way to the second, where Orange (9-10) actually had something brewing in the top half. A lead-off single, followed by an error in the outfield, put runners on first and third with nobody out for the Colts. Fritz came back to get a pop out, followed by a swinging strikeout, but a walk loaded the bases. Fritz was able to recover and strand the bases with another swinging strikeout to keep the Colts off the board.
 
That set up the relentless bottom of the second from Lackawanna College, which started with back-to-back doubles from Gilligan and Sommers that made it 1-0, Falcons. After Wolak singled, and Ruschman walked, the bases were loaded for Glover with nobody out. A passed ball let Sommers score and advanced the runners to second and third, and Glover reached on a pop fly single on the infield, scoring Wolak to make it 3-0. With two on and still nobody out, Fritz added to the lead with a single to left that scored both Ruschman and Glover. Kira Ryan reached on a ground ball and error on the infield, and an error from short allowed Fritz to come around and score to make it 6-0. Later, with the score 6-0 and the bases loaded, still with nobody out, Gilligan came up and reached on an error at third base, allowing Ryan to score. Then, Sommers knocked in another pair of runs with her second double of the inning to make it 9-0, Falcons. A pair of back-to-back ground outs scored two more runs, making it 11-0 Falcons, when the inning mercifully ended.
 
Fritz pitched around a single in the top of the third, and the Falcons added more in the bottom half. A one-out double from Madison McVicar put a runner on, and Emma McNally reached with a ground ball error on the infield to put two aboard. Gilligan hit her second double, scoring McVicar, and a passed ball allowed McNally to make it 13-0. A Wolak ground ball forced another error on the infield, allowing Gilligan to score and make it 14-0, Falcons. The Colts recovered to end the inning on the next two batters, stranding the pair of runners on the bases.
 
Fritz pitched around a pair of baserunners in the top of the fourth, and the Falcons closed out their day at the plate with seven more in the bottom frame. An error, followed by a pair of singles, loaded the bases with nobody out for catcher Gwen Balavage, who blooped a single up the middle to score a run. Another run came home when Gilligan was hit by a pitch with the bases loaded, and then Sommers followed with her third double of the day, scoring another pair of runs to make it 18-0, Falcons. Later, with two on and two out, Glover hit a two-run single to left to score a pair and break the 20-run mark. She'd eventually come around to score on a one-run double from Stephanie Kibbe that made it 21-0, Falcons, before a ground out ended the fourth.
 
Fritz pitched around a pair of singles and a walk to keep the shutout and get the win for the Falcons via the sportsmanship rule. It's the second time this season that Lackawanna scored 20+ runs on SUNY Orange.  
 
Game Two Recap: Lackawanna College 14 – 0 SUNY Orange (5 Innings)


Lackawanna College scored seven runs in the first two innings, then another seven in the fourth inning alone to help the Falcons to a 14-0 victory in five innings against SUNY Orange in game two of the doubleheader at Scranton HS on Thursday afternoon.
 
The Falcons (27-15) scored four runs in the first inning to take the lead, then scored another three in the second to secure it, before dropping seven spot in the bottom of the fourth to activate the sportsmanship rule in the fifth inning. It supplemented a masterful outing from Stephanie Kibbe and Tess Ruschman, who combined to pitch five innings, allowing just two hits. Kibbe got the win, her fourth on the year, going four innings and giving up just a hit, while striking out two.
 
Skylynn Gilligan was 3-for-4 with five RBI and two runs scored, with two of her hits coming on doubles, while Catarena Sommers was 3-for-4 with a run scored and an RBI, and Madison McVicar was 2-for-4 with three runs scored and an RBI.
 
Kibbe struck out the first batter in the top of the first, but SUNY Orange (9-11) got two straight baserunners due to a pair of errors on the infield. Kibbe recovered to get an out when she combined with Wolak to catch the lead runner stealing, and then got a ground out to end the scoring threat and get the Falcons into the bottom frame.
 
Meghan Fritz started the Falcon half by reaching base after getting hit by a pitch. After a strikeout, Fritz stole second to put herself in scoring position, and then stole third to get even closer. A McVicar pop fly on the infield dropped because of an error, allowing Fritz to score and make it 1-0, Falcons. The error also allowed McVicar to get to second. A walk put two on with one out, and Gilligan delivered with a double to center to score McVicar. Sommers followed with a single to left to score another run and make it 3-0. A Kibbe single scored Gilligan, putting the Falcons in front 4-0. Jennifer Wolak reached on a single, still with one out, but the Colts got a fielder's choice with a play at the plate, and then a strikeout to end the inning.
 
Kibbe allowed a lead-off single in the top frame, then got three straight outs, setting up the Falcons to score a few more in the bottom of the second. A one-out single from McVicar gave Lackawanna a baserunner, and a McNally walk put two on. Gilligan came through with a two-run double to right to make it 6-0. Later, with two outs, Kibbe reached on a pop fly error on the infield, scoring Gilligan to put the Falcons up 7-0 heading into the third.  
 
Things were quiet through all of the third and the top of the fourth innings, with Kibbe retiring the side in order twice. In the bottom of the fourth, Sommers led the inning off with a double to left to immediately put the pressure on the Colts. A one-out walk from MacKayla Quick put two on, and Savannah Glover brought Sommers home with a double to make it 8-0. Fritz walked to load the bases, and Kira Ryan singled home Quick. Then, McVicar singled to bring Glover home and make it 10-0, Falcons. A McNally double scored a pair, and a Gilligan two-run single made it 14-0, Lackawanna. Sommers reached with a single to center, but a nifty double play ended the inning, when Ruschman hit a soft pop-up to the pitcher, who caught it and flipped to first to pick off Sommers diving back in to first base.  
 
Ruschman came in to pitch for Kibbe in the fifth, and the Colts managed to load the bases with just one out, threatening to score their first runs of the day. Ruschman was able to settle in, getting a pop out to third for the second out, and then another pop out on the infield that dropped, but the batter was ruled out due to interference, ending the game and preserving the shutout victory for the Falcons.  
 
With the win, Lackawanna secures its seventh straight victory, and fourth straight shutout win. In fact, the Falcons have not allowed an opponent to score in 24 innings of play. The last team to score against Lackawanna College was Raritan Valley in the third inning of the second game in their doubleheader this past Saturday.
 
The next action for the Falcons will be the away doubleheader at Chesapeake College, which is set for a 2:00pm ET start on Friday, April 29^th, with game two going at 4:00pm ET. There will be a video livestream available, courtesy of the Chesapeake College Athletics Department. You can access that by clicking HERE.
 
The Falcons get back to work with another doubleheader at home on Saturday, April 30^th, when the County College of Morris Titans come to town to take on the Falcons. The doubleheader will start at 1:00pm ET at the Scranton High softball field.