5/13/22
 
GEORGETOWN, De. – The Lackawanna College Softball team played with pride, and twice had chances to overcome late deficits, but the Falcons ran out of steam, dropping both of their Region XIX Softball Tournament match-ups on Friday afternoon in Delaware. The second-seeded Falcons fell in the opening round game against third-seeded Mercer County, 11-8, and then dropped their elimination contest against top-seeded Delaware Tech, 6-4 to end their tournament appearance, and their 2022 season.
 
The Falcons (31-22) held an 8-4 lead heading into the top of the sixth inning in game one against Mercer County, only to see the Vikings (30-10) scored seven runs in the sixth to flip the game on its head, putting the Falcons in a three-run hole that they wouldn't recover from. In game two, Delaware Tech (29-3) held a 5-0 lead after three innings, but the Falcons closed the gap to 5-3, and then trailed 6-4 with no outs and the tying run at the plate in the top of the seventh, before a fly out and a season-ending double play shut the door on the comeback bid.
 
Game One Recap: Mercer County CC 11 – 8 Lackawanna College
Lackawanna College held an 8-4 advantage after five innings of work, but a killer seven-run inning from Mercer County flipped the script, sending the Vikings to an 11-8 victory in the opening round of the Region XIX Softball Tournament on Friday afternoon in Delaware.
 
The Falcons scored four runs in the fourth and fifth innings against Mercer, erasing a 4-0 deficit to take an 8-4 advantage. But the Vikings chased starter MacKayla Quick in the sixth inning, scoring seven runs on their way to taking an 11-8 lead, then holding on to defeat Lackawanna. The Falcons had just seven hits as a team, and Emma McNally provided three of them, going 3-for-4 with two runs scored. Skylynn Gilligan went 2-for-4 with three RBI and two runs, while Catarena Sommers was 1-for-4 with a three-run homerun in the fourth inning. Jennifer Wolak provided the other hit, going 1-for-3 with a walk on the afternoon. Madison McVicar was 0-for-1 with two runs scored and three walks drawn. MacKayla Quick was tagged with the loss on the bump, going 5.1 innings, giving up nine runs on seven hits, striking out five, but walking a season-high seven batters.
 
The Vikings got things underway with the bases loaded and just one out in the top of the first, thanks to a hit batter and two walks. Quick managed to strike out a batter to put two away, but walked her third batter of the inning to force home a run and put Mercer up 1-0 after the top of the first. In the bottom half, McVicar drew a two-out walk, and a McNally single put two on, before a pop out ended the inning, stranding the pair of runners.
 
In the top of the second, Mercer got a leadoff single, and followed that up with an RBI double from Mia Land to make it 2-0, Vikings. Another pair of walks loaded the bases with two away, and an RBI single scored a pair of runs to put Mercer up 4-0 heading into the bottom of the second inning.   
 
Both teams traded three-and-out innings all the way to the bottom of the fourth, where the Falcons were able to strike back. Trailing 4-0, McVicar drew a leadoff walk, which was followed by back-to-back singles from McNally and Gilligan, the second of which scored McVicar to make it 4-1. Cat Sommers came to the plate and launched a line drive to left field that cleared the fence for a big three-run homerun, tying the game at four, apiece. The Vikings switched pitchers, and, after a fly out, the Falcons still managed to put a pair of runners on after a single and a hit batter, but another fly out, followed by a line out, ended the Falcon scoring threat in the bottom of the fourth.
 
Quick pitched around a walk and a stolen base, striking out the leadoff batter and getting a pair of fly outs to end the top of the fifth, giving the Falcons the opportunity to strike again in the bottom frame. McVicar drew a leadoff walk, and McNally singled to center to put two on. A Skylynn Gilligan single to center scored both runners, putting the Falcons in front for the first time at 6-4. Later, after a hit batter and a walk loaded the bases with two outs, Meghan Fritz was hit by a pitch to send one run home, and Kira Ryan drew a bases loaded walk to make it 8-4, Falcons. McVicar flew out to strand the bases loaded and end the fifth.
 
The top of the sixth inning started well for Lackawanna, with a strikeout from Quick to put one away immediately, but four straight singles scored a run and loaded the bases. After a walk brought another run home to cut the lead to 8-6, the Falcons were forced to make a pitching change, putting Fritz in the circle with the bases loaded and one away. Another walk cut the lead to 8-7, but a three-run double cleared the bases and blew the flood gates open, putting Mercer up 10-8. After a ground out, another hit, this time an RBI single, made it 11-8. Another single put two on with two out, but Gwen Balavage combined with Wolak to end the inning, throwing out a baserunner trying to steal third.  
 
The Falcons went in order in the bottom of the sixth inning, and Fritz pitched around a hit batter in the top of the seventh to get the Falcons their last at-bats in the bottom frame, still trailing 11-8. Quick struck out for the first out, Wolak grounded out to second to put two away, and Savannah Glover struck out swinging, sending Mercer to the semi-final round and pushing the Falcons into the elimination game.  
 
Game Two Recap: Delaware Tech CC 6 – 4 Lackawanna College


Trailing 5-0 after three innings, the Lackawanna College softball team did their best to rally, scoring three runs in the middle innings, and bringing the tying run to the plate in the top of the seventh, before ultimately falling to the top-seeded Delaware Tech CC Terry Hawks, 6-4, in the Region XIX Tournament elimination game on Friday evening in Delaware.  
 
Delaware Tech had hit the Falcons hard in four games this season, and held a 5-0 lead after three innings, but the Falcons got an RBI single and a sac fly to score a pair in the fourth, then a fielder's choice in the fifth to get themselves within two. Then, trailing 6-3 in the top of the seventh, Emma McNally hit a solo homerun to right field to get the Falcons within two. Lackawanna College had a runner on first and the tying run at the plate with no outs, but they couldn't convert, allowing the Terry Hawks to secure the win and advance to the championship round against Mercer, who had upset the top-seed earlier in the afternoon in the semi-finals.
 
McNally led the Falcons, going 2-for-4 with two runs scored and her solo homer, while Jennifer Wolak, Skylynn Gilligan, Kira Ryan, and Catarena Sommers each had a hit. Wolak went 2.1 innings, giving up five runs on six hits, and got saddled with the loss. MacKayla Quick pitched 3.2 innings of relief, allowing one run on three hits with five strikeouts.
 
The Falcons got a leadoff walk to start the game, but three straight fly outs ended the top of the first without a fuss. With Wolak in the circle in the bottom frame, a pair of one-out singles put two on for Delaware Tech. A sac fly brought one of the runs home, putting the Terry Hawks up 1-0 after one.
 
Delaware Tech pitched around a Sommers single in the top of the second to keep the Falcons quiet, and Wolak pitched around an error on the infield to strand a baserunner in the bottom of the second.
 
The Falcons made some noise on the base paths in the top of the third, drawing three walks in their first four plate appearances, loading the bases with one away. Lackawanna was unable to convert, however, with a pair of fly outs ending the inning and stranding the runners. Delaware Tech would make them pay in the bottom half. A pair of singles, followed by an error, allowed a runner home to make it 2-0. A strikeout, put one away, but a walk put two on, and a double to center scored both runners to push the Terry Hawks' lead to 4-0. Another RBI double made it 5-0, chasing Wolak from the contest. With Quick in the circle, the Falcons recovered, thanks to back-to-back strikeouts to stop the bleeding after three.    
 
The Falcons got a leadoff walk to start the top of the fourth, chasing the starting pitcher from Delaware Tech. After the pitching change, another walk put two on, and Wolak doubled to center to get the Falcons a run. A sac fly from Savannah Glover scored another run, and the Falcons trailed 5-2. With Wolak on second and one away, Lackawanna couldn't capitalize, striking out twice in a row to end their half of the fourth. Quick pitched around a two-out single in the bottom frame to give the Falcons a little more momentum heading into the fifth.   
 
McVicar led the top of the fifth off with a walk, and McNally followed with a single to put two on. Gilligan reached on an error to load the bases with nobody out, with Sommers coming to bat. She'd ground into a force out on a bang-bang play at home, keeping the bases loaded without a run scoring, but another fielder's choice, this time getting the force out at third, scored McNally to cut the lead to 5-3. A ground out ended the top of the fifth with two on. Quick came out and fired up a zero for the Falcons in the bottom frame, pitching around a leadoff single to keep the Terry Hawks of the board.
 
The Falcons were quiet in the top of the sixth, unable to do anything with a two-out single from Ryan, but Delaware Tech would get something going with two outs in the bottom frame. A walk, followed by a steal and a wild pitch, put a runner on third. The Terry Hawks then got an RBI triple to extend the lead out to 6-3, Delaware Tech. Quick induced a ground out to end the frame, but the Falcons now had three runs to make up in the final inning.
 
They'd get one back almost immediately, thanks to a laser of a homerun to right field from Emma McNally, cutting the Delaware Tech lead to 6-4. A Gilligan single put a runner on, and the tying run came to the plate with nobody out. A fly out was the first out, bringing MacKayla Quick to the plate. She grounded to second base, where the second baseman flipped to short for the first out, who fired over to first to just beat a hustling Quick down the line on another bang-bang play, ending the Falcons' comeback attempt and bringing to a close their 2022 campaign.
 
Delaware Tech now advances to the Region XIX championship round against Mercer County CC. Mercer needs only to win once to become Region XIX champions, while the Terry Hawks must win two games to claim the crown. Lackawanna College ends the season with a 31-22 overall record, the second most wins the Falcons have recorded under head coach Jeff Pittsman, and the second time since 2019 that the Falcons have crossed the 30-win plateau. Lackawanna College ends the season with 136 doubles on the year, second-most in all of NJCAA DII.