4/8/22
 
SCRANTON, Pa. – The Lackawanna College Softball team will hope to dodge the raindrops and even more potential weather delays this upcoming Sunday, when they host the nationally ranked Brookdale Community College Jersey Blues in a Region XIX crossover match-up. The doubleheader, scheduled for Scranton High's Softball Field on Sunday, April 10^th, will start with game one at 12:00pm ET, and game two will follow shortly thereafter at 2:00pm ET. Both games will be streaming live on the Lackawanna College Athletics YouTube Channel at www.lackawannafalcons.com/YouTube.  
 
The Falcons were originally scheduled to host Mercer County CC on Saturday, but the recent rainy weather, and the expected rain on Saturday, has postponed that match-up until next weekend.
 
About the Falcons
Lackawanna College (12-11) were last in action this past Saturday, when they hosted Potomac State College of WVU in their home opener. The Catamounts, who are just outside the top 20 in the latest NJCAA DII polls, held the Falcons scoreless with a pair of shutout victories, winning 9-0 in five innings in game one, and winning 5-0 in game two, behind a five-run sixth that broke open an otherwise tight contest. Read the recap from both games HERE.
 
On the year, the Falcons are hitting .325 as a team, and have a combined .883 OPS. Lackawanna College has 74 total extra base hits already this year, 54 of which have been doubles. The Falcons are slugging .484 on the year, and have a .399 OBP, drawing 73 walks and 13 HBPs on the season. The Falcons have stolen 29 total bases on the year, and have driven in 134 of their 150 runs scored so far this year. Lackawanna is averaging just over six runs per ballgame.  
 
In the circle, the Falcons have a team ERA of 4.44. Through 149.2 innings, Lackawanna has given up 211 hits and 137 runs, 95 earned, and have struck out 106 batters, while walking 65. Opponents are hitting .312 against the Falcons this year. Lackawanna has turned eight double plays defensively, but the Falcons have committed 54 errors in 23 games so far this season.
 
Emma McNally is the team-leader so far this year, hitting .449 on the season. McNally has a team-high OPS of 1.265, and leads the Falcons in hits (35), doubles (10), extra base hits (16), homeruns (4), RBIs (27), total bases (61), and slugging (.782). McNally is tied for the team lead in runs scored with 22, and is second on the team in OBP at .483. McNally has four stealen bases this year, and has drawn seven walks, tied for fourth on the squad. McNally was a combined 2-for-5, both singles, in the games against Potomac.   
 
Skylynn Gilligan is second on the team with a .435 batting average this year. Gilligan is second on the team with 30 hits, and has a team-high .500 OBP. Gilligan is slugging at .580 this season, and her 40 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 19 games, including seven multi-hit games. She's third on the team with 17 RBIs on the year, and is tied for fourth on the squad with seven doubles. Gilligan went 2-for-5 in her two games against Potomac State.  
 
Catarena Sommers came into the Potomac games with six multi-hit games in her last seven, averaging .556 at the plate, but was held hitless against the Catamounts. Sommers is hitting .360 on the year, good for third on the squad. Sommers is third on the team with 27 total hits, and has a .977 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. Sommers went 0-for-5 against the Catamounts in her two games.  
 
Jennifer Wolak is fourth on the Falcons with a .359 batting average, and an OPS of 1.006, ranking her fourth on the squad. She has 14 hits in her 19 appearances, and has a .468 OBP, good for third 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. Wolak played third base for the Falcons in game two against Potomac, going 0-for-3.
 
Madison McVicar is fifth on the team with a .348 batting average, and has a .988 OPS so far this season. McVicar is tied with McNally for the team lead in runs scored (22), and has a .452 OBP on the year. She's fourth on the team with 24 hits so far this year, and leads the Falcons in walks with 12. McVicar went 2-for-5, with both her hits coming in the second game, against Potomac State this past weekend.  
 
Savannah Glover has seen her average climb to .345 on the year. Her .638 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 third on the team with five steals this year. Glover went 2-for-5 with a stolen base in the two games against Potomac State. Glover is 8-for-her-last-16, hitting .500 while driving in seven runs, scoring five of her own, and hitting five extra base knocks.   
 
Meghan Fritz has a .301 batting average, and has collected 22 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 this year, with six swipes. Fritz has nine extra base hits on the year, including seven doubles, tied for fourth on the team. Fritz has seven multi-hit games this year, but was just 1-for-6 in the two combined games against Potomac State. Fritz had the lone extra base hit for the Falcons, a double in game two.   
 
Fritz is also the main starter in the pitcher's circle for Lackawanna, with eight starts in nine appearances for the Falcons. She has a 3-5 record on the year, and has pitched in 51.2 innings, giving up 72 hits and 51 runs, 29 earned, while striking out 39 batters, good for second on the squad. Opponents are hitting .305 against Fritz this year. Fritz has an ERA of 3.93, good for second on the team. 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. Fritz got the loss in her last appearance, going four innings against Potomac State, allowing nine runs on 12 hits, five earned, and striking out three batters.
 
MacKayla Quick has made nine starts in ten appearances so far this year. She's 4-5 on the year, with a team-best 3.75 ERA. Quick, in 52.1 innings pitched, has given up 40 runs, 28 earned, on 64 hits, with a team-best 46 strikeouts and a team-high 29 walks. Opponents have hit six homeruns against Quick, and are hitting .290 on the year. MacKayla, despite getting the loss, had a strong outing in her last game, going six innings against Potomac, giving up five runs on eight hits, while striking out eight batters. Quick had gone five innings without allowing
 
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 Brookdale CC
The Jersey Blues of Brookdale are currently 11-3 overall on the year, and are ranked #7 in the latest NJCAA DIII Softball polls. Brookdale has won eight in a row, and are coming into the weekend after a sweep over County College of Morris by scores of 4-0 and 12-3. They held the Titans to just two hits, and managed to scratch across runs on three separate sacrifice flies to help get the game one victory, and then bombed away in game two with three homers to power to the game two win. The Jersey Blues have scored double-digit runs in six of their last eight games.
 
Brookdale is hitting at .433 as a team so far this season, with a combined OPS of around 1.130. The Jersey Blues are averaging around 9.6 runs per game, and have 57 combined extra base hits on the year, including 38 doubles and 15 homeruns. As a team, Brookdale is slugging at .650, and have an OBP of .433, but have stolen just one base all year. The Jersey Blues have 49 strikeouts as a team, and have drawn 38 walks.
 
In the pitching circle, the Jersey Blues have been great, with a combined ERA of 2.98 on the year, pitching four shutouts and holding teams to three runs or less on nine separate occasions. In 80 combined innings, Brookdale has given up 46 runs, 34 earned, on 76 hits, striking out 81 batters and walking 21 so far this season. The Jersey Blues have turned three double plays, and have 17 errors on the year.
 
Charlotte Piper leads the team in batting average, hitting .511 so far this season. Her .549 OBP is also first on the squad, and she's got a healthy 1.230 OPS on the year. Piper is third on the team with 24 total hits, has a team-high eight doubles, and has driven in 13 RBIs, tied for third on the team. Her 14 runs scored has her ranked third on the team so far this season. She has eight multi-hit games so far this year, and was a combined 4-for9 with two runs scored and an RBI in the two wins over Morris.
 
Alyssa Sigler is second on the team with a .510 batting average, but leads the Jersey Blues in several categories, including a stellar 1.576 OPS and a 1.039 slugging percentage. Sigler also leads Brookdale in total hits (26), runs scored (22), extra base hits (14), triples (3), homeruns (5), and RBIs (21). She's also the team-leader in strikeouts (14) on the season. Sigler has nine multi-hit games, but had been hitless in nine straight at-bats before going 3-for-3 in game two against Morris. Sigler was a combined 3-for-5 in the two games, scoring four runs, driving in two, and hitting both a double and a homerun.
 
Nicolette Pavlik has a .481 batting average so far this season, and is second on the team with 25 hits so far this year. Pavlik has five doubles and a second-best on the team four homeruns, along with 18 RBIs, also good for second on the squad. She has a solid 1.308 OPS, buoyed by her .808 slugging percentage, second on the team. Pavlik has eight multi-hit games this year, and was 2-for-8 with a run scored, two RBIs, a double, and a homerun in the two games against Morris.
 
Madison Parrish is hitting an even .500 on the year, with a strong 1.112 OPS. Parrish has 20 hits, tied for fourth on the team, and has four doubles and nine RBIs. Her 13 runs scored has her in a four-way tie for fourth on the team. Parrish has seven multi-hit games this year, but was held hitless against Morris, going a combined 0-for-3 with an RBI on a sac fly in game one.
 
Zoey Hagan is hitting .408 so far this season, and has 20 hits, tied with Parrish for fourth on the team. Hagan has four doubles and two homeruns, driving in 13 runs, good for third in RBIs on the team. Hagan has a .612 slugging percentage, and is the only Jersey Blue to record a stolen base this season. Hagan has six games with two or more hits, and went a combined 3-for-7 with a run scored, an RBI on a solo homer, and a walk against Morris.
 
Julia Canal is hitting at .395, and, like Hagan, also has four doubles and two homeruns on the year. Canal has scored 13 runs on the year, and has driven in eleven RBIs this year. She's slugging at .628, and has an OPS of 1.041. Canal has five multi-hit games on the year, including in her last game against Morris, going 2-for-3 with two runs scored, a double, and an RBI. Canal was 0-for-2 in the first game against the Titans.
 
Gianna Praet is hitting .375 this season, but is third on the team with a .519 OBP. Praet leads the Jersey Blues in walks (11), and is second on the team with 17 runs scored this season. She has three doubles and a homerun, driving in nine RBIs this year. Praet has four multi-hit games, and was 2-for-6 with a double, an RBI, two runs scored, and a walk in the two games against Morris.
 
Praet is also the main pitcher for the Jersey Blues, appearing in seven games, all starts, and going 6-1 so far this season with a 1.37 ERA. Praet, in 41 innings, has allowed just eleven runs, eight earned, on 22 hits, while striking out a team-best 59 batters, and walking just 15. She has won her last four appearances, all starts, allowing just five runs in 24 innings. In her last start, Praet fired a two-hit shutout in the win over Morris, going seven strong and striking out ten, the third time this year she's hit double-digits in strikeouts.
 
Adriana Noterile may also see action on the mound for the Jersey Blues, having appeared in six games, all starts, and going 4-2 with a 5.19 ERA this year. Noterile has pitched 31 innings so far this year, giving up 32 runs, 23 earned, on 43 hits, while striking out 18 batters. She's won her last three starts, giving up eight runs, three earned, and striking out a combined 12 batters. She was victorious in her last appearance, pitching five innings of a 12-3 win over Morris, giving up three runs on five hits and striking out three batters.
 
The head coach for Brookdale is the legendary Thomas "Bo" Scannapieco, now in his 36^th season in charge of the Jersey Blues. Coach Bo has had one of the more decorated careers in junior college history, earning 16 Region XIX championships, along with three national titles. Scannapieco has a career record of 1160-346-4 entering the weekend, making him, by far, the winningest coach in NJCAA DIII softball. Scannapieco was inducted in to the NJCAA Hall of Fame back in 2007. Scannapieco graduated from Brookdale in 1976, where he played baseball for the Jersey Blues, including recording the first hit at Brookdale's McLaughlin Field. He'd go on to Trenton State and graduate in 1977, before coming back to Brookdale to serve as the intramural coordinator. He would serve various roles in the athletic administration, and as an assistant baseball coach, before his fateful switch to softball in 1986. Since then, coach Bo has helped his team blaze a trail of success, both on and off the field.
 
Game Information
The home doubleheader against Brookdale is set for Sunday, April 10^th. Game one is scheduled for a 12:00pm ET first pitch at Scranton High's Softball Field, and the second game will follow around 2:00pm ET. Both games will be streaming live on the Lackawanna College Athletics YouTube Channel at www.lackawannafalcons.com/YouTube. 
 
The Falcons will next be in action on Wednesday, April 13^th, when they are scheduled to travel to Penn State Hazleton for a doubleheader. The first game is set for a 2:00pm ET start, with game two scheduled to follow at 4:00pm ET. It'll be the first of four straight days of games for the Falcons.