3/30/23
 
SCRANTON, Pa. – The weather continues to baffle and frustrate the Lackawanna College softball squad, but the Falcons will look to get back to work with four straight days of doubleheaders this weekend.  
 
Everything starts on Thursday, March 30^th, when the Falcons are scheduled to host the SUNY Orange Colts for a doubleheader at Scranton HS at 3:00pm and 5:00pm ET. It'll be the home debut for the Falcons, and will have a video livestream available via the Lackawanna College Athletics Network at lackawannafalcons.com/LIVE.
 
Then, on Friday March 31^st, the Falcons travel to Lincroft, NJ to take on Region XIX DIII opponent Brookdale for a doubleheader starting at 3:00pm ET. It's the first of three straight road doubleheaders for the Falcons on the weekend.
 
About The Falcons
The Falcons (7-4) only got two games out of a scheduled six in last week, but they made the most of their opportunities, rallying for a late win over SUNY Onondaga 11-10 in game one on Friday, then scoring eleven runs in the first inning on their way to a 12-4 win over Hudson Valley in five innings of game two. The game with the Lazers was back-and-forth, with each team trading the lead until the very end, when the Falcons went ahead on a pinch-hit two-run homer from Krista Scoblick (Harvey's Lake, PA) in the top of the seventh. In game two, Scoblick struck again, this time with a grand slam that was at the heart of an eleven run first inning, as the Falcons conquered the Vikings from Hudson Valley CC in five innings. You can read the recap from both games HERE.
 
The Falcons are hitting .319 on the year, with a .912 OPS this season. Lackawanna College has 36 extra base hits, including 26 doubles and seven homeruns on the year. The Falcons are slugging at .493, and have drawn 47 walks on the year. They have scored 89 runs in eleven games, just over eight runs per game this year. In the circle, the Falcons have a 5.38 ERA, allowing 66 runs on 87 hits in 67.2 innings pitched so far this season, while striking out 39 batters and allowing 40 walks. Opponents are hitting .298 against Lackawanna College this year.  
 
Madison Maloney (Scranton, PA) leads the Falcons with 12 hits this season, and has a .353 batting average so far this year. Maloney has scored ten runs, tied for second on the team, and has a team-high 34 at-bats. She's drawn a team-high eight walks, and has a .463 on-base percentage. She also leads the team in steals with six swipes on the season. Maloney has three doubles and a triple, and eight RBI on the year. Madison has four multi-hit games, all coming in her last four appearances, and was a combined 4-for-7 with four runs scored, two doubles, a triple, and an RBI against Onondaga and Hudson Valley. Maloney has recorded a hit in her last six games.
 
 
Madison McVicar (Blakely, PA) leads the Falcons with a .379 batting average so far this season. McVicar, a second team All-Region XIX selection last year, has a 1.052 OPS, and is second on the team with eleven hits on the year. She is tied for the team lead with 12 runs scored, and leads the Falcons with five doubles this season. McVicar has a .500 OBP, and has driven in six runs on the year. McVicar has drawn six walks this season. She has three multi-hit games this year, with the most hits in a game coming against Delta College, where she was 3-for-4 with a double and a run scored. Last Friday, she was a combined 2-for-5 with three runs scored, two doubles, and four RBI in the wins over Onondaga and Hudson valley. She has driven in six RBI in her last three games, scoring five runs and hitting three doubles in that span.   
 
Gabby Wettig (Manheim, PA) has the third-most hits on the team this year, with ten base-knocks and a .500 batting average in eight games. Wettig has a 1.245 OPS on the season, with eight RBI and four doubles. She's also scored six runs on the season. Wettig has a .700 slugging percentage, and a pair of walks on the year. Wettig has three multi-hit games this season, with two in her last two games. Wettig was 5-for-6 with two doubles, five RBI, and three runs scored on Friday in two games against Onondaga and Hudson Valley CC.
 
Tess Ruschman (Easton, PA) has eight hits and holds a .250 batting average so far this season. Ruschman, a first-team All-Region XIX selection from a year ago, is second on the Falcons in RBI (10), and has three extra base hits, including a pair of homeruns this season. Tess is slugging at .500, and holds a .773 OPS on the year. She has two multi-hit games this year, and had a triple and a homerun in the 8-3 win over Bryant & Stratton two weeks ago, driving in five RBI in that game alone. Ruschman was 0-for-6 in the two games on Friday.  
 
Emilee Dickinson (Hillsboro, OR) is hitting .368 on the year, with seven hits in nine appearances for the Falcons this season. Dickinson has compiled a 1.087 OPS, thanks to a .632 slugging percentage. Dickinson has two doubles and a homerun for six RBI, and she has scored six runs on the year. Dickinson has drawn three walks this season, and is 1-for-1 on bases stolen. Emilee has one multi-hit game on the season, coming against Henry Ford College, where she went 2-for-4 with three runs scored, a double, and an RBI. She was a combined 2-for-3 with a run scored in two appearances against Onondaga and Hudson Valley.
 
Skylar Borthwick (Pittston, PA) has seven hits this season, and is hitting .292 at the plate. Borthwick has scored a team-high 12 runs this season, boosted by her team-leading eight walks. She has an OBP at .500, and an OPS of 1.000. Borthwick has a pair of doubles and a homer for seven RBI this season. She also has three stolen bases in her nine games played. Borthwick has two multi-hit games on the year, and was a combined 2-for-4 with three runs scored and an RBI in two games on Friday.
 
Krista Scoblick (Harvey's Lake, PA) has appeared in eight games, and has put up an impressive .467 batting average, with a 1.500 OPS this year. In 15 at-bats on the year, she has seven hits, and has driven in a team-high eleven RBI on the season, with a triple and two homeruns this season. Scoblick has drawn one walk this year, and has a slugging percentage at 1.000. Scoblick has one multi-hit game, a 3-for-3 showing against Frederick CC, and was a combined 2-for-4 with two runs scored, a pair of homers, and six RBI in two games last Friday.
 
Catarena Sommers (Windham, OH), a second team All-Region XIX selection from last year, is hitting .273 so far this year, with six hits and ten runs scored through nine appearances. Sommers is tied with Maloney for second on the team in runs scored this year, and has drawn seven walks, also tied with Maloney for second in that category. She has four doubles and three RBI this year, and holds a .903 OPS. Cat has one multi-hit game so far this season, a 2-for-4 showing against Bryant & Stratton of Ohio, and was a combined 1-for-3 with four runs scored, a double, and two RBI in two games on Friday.    
 
Alivia Graber (North Syracuse, NY) has been the pitcher with the most innings so far for the Falcons. Graber is 3-1 with a 4.96 ERA, allowing 24 runs, 17 earned, on 33 hits in 24 innings of work. Graber's opponents are hitting .314 against her this season. Her last start came against SUNY Onondaga, where she gave up nine runs, six earned, on seven hits, walking a season-high seven batters in four innings, but getting off the hook with the Falcons' late rally. Graber missed almost all of last season due to injury.
 
Allyson Lemerise (Catonsville, MD), who also doubles at third base when she's not pitching, has a 6.00 ERA in 16.1 innings with a 2-1 record this year. Lemerise has given up 16 runs, 14 earned, on 24 hits, striking out eleven and walking eleven. Lemerise got the win in her last appearance, giving up four runs, three earned, on eight hits in five innings of work in the win over Hudson Valley CC on Friday.
 
The aforementioned Tess Ruschman also doubles as a starting pitcher for the Falcons, going 1-1 with a 5.73 ERA in three appearances this year. In 14.2 innings of work, she's given up 16 runs, 12 earned, on 18 hits, striking out ten and walking six. Opponents are hitting .265 against Tess this year. Tess got the win against Bryant & Stratton (OH), going seven innings strong and scattering three runs on five hits while striking out five, but she dropped her last pitching appearance, giving up nine runs, five earned, on eleven hits in seven innings in a loss to William Peace JV.   
 
The Falcons are coached by Jeff Pittsman, entering his 12th season at the helm for the Lackawanna softball. Coach Pitt was hired as the head coach in 2012, and was tasked with rebuilding the program from the ground up. Low in enthusiasm and overall numbers, coach Pitt got the Falcons through a tough first year to become immediately competitive in year two, improving by 13 wins in just one season. The next year, the Falcons finished .500, and by 2016, the Falcons won 20+ games for the first time in a while, and made the Region XIX playoffs, getting coach Pittsman the EPAC Coach of the Year. he won it again in 2017, when Lackawanna went 24-14 and won the Region XIX championship, their first since 2002. The Falcons won 29 games in 2018, making the Region XIX playoffs once again, and won 34 games in 2019, once again qualifying for the Region XIX tournament. In 2022, Pittsman got the Falcons to a 31-22 overall record and once again making the Region XIX tournament. Pittsman is 206-177 in his career at Lackawanna, with a Region XIX championship and two 30+ win seasons to his credit.
 
About SUNY Orange
The Colts (1-11) have struggled this year, dropping their last six games, including most recently a doubleheader at Sussex County CC on Tuesday. Against the Skylanders, the Colts fell behind 7-2 after four innings, but scored a pair of runs in the fifth and one more in the seventh, but couldn't get closer. In game two, the Skylanders left no doubt, scoring nine runs in the first four innings, then an extra two in the top of the sixth to push their lead to run-rule territory, coming away with the 11-3 win in six innings.
 
SUNY Orange has stats that are current as of just before the Sussex match-up. They are hitting .280 as a team this year, with a .702 OPS as a team. They have scored 53 runs in 12 games, 4.4 runs per game, while giving up over 11 runs per game this year. The Colts had eleven extra base hits in ten games, with three doubles and two homers as well for extra-base knocks. They also had five stolen bases heading into the doubleheader with Sussex.
 
In the pitching circle, the Colts had a 9.46 team ERA heading into the Sussex doubleheader, giving up 90 runs, 64 earned, on 109 hits in 47.1 innings pitched. They had surrendered 26 walks and struck out 12 batters in ten games to that point.
 
Jessica Stewart led Orange heading into the week with a team-high ten hits and a .357 batting average. Stewart had scored three runs and had driven in eight RBI so far this season. She had two doubles and a homerun to start the week, and an OPS of .923, boosted by a .536 slugging percentage. She's had three multi-hit games, including a 4-for-4 showing with three runs scored and two RBI in a 23-7 win over Southern Maryland on March 19^th, the only win this year for the Colts.
 
Chloe Jamieson is averaging .360 at the dish this year, putting up nine hits in ten games heading into the week. Jamieson has a 1.124 OPS, boosted by a .640 slugging percentage, with a team-high four doubles and a homerun for a team-best eleven RBI on the year. Jamieson has scored five runs on the year, and has drawn a team-best six walks on the year. She's got two multi-hit games so far this season, going a combined 4-for-6 with four runs scored and nine RBI in two games against Southern Maryland.
 
Erin Warner has the most-at bats on the team with 31 this year, and has nine hits for a .290 batting average this year. Warner has scored a team-best nine runs, and has a double with three RBI so far this season. She's drawn two walks, but has a team-high eleven strikeouts. Warner also has a .656 OPS this season. She's recorded three multi-hit games this season, but had been hitless in three straight games entering the week.
 
Amanda Miller has nine hits so far this season, good enough for a .310 batting average. Miller has scored seven runs, tied for second on the team, and has driven in four runs this year, while stealing a pair of bases. She has a .643 OPS, with a .333 on-base percentage. Miller has a pair of multi-hit games on the year, most recently going 2-for-4 with a run scored and two RBI in a 10-3 loss to Brookdale last Friday.
 
Aryssia Clune has eight hits this season, posting a .276 batting average in ten games before the games against Sussex. Clune has scored three runs this season, posting a pair of doubles and driving in five runs, third on the Colts. She's tied with Warner for the team-high in strikeouts with eleven this year. She had one multi-hit game heading into the week, a 2-for-5 performance against Southern Maryland on 3/19, scoring one run and driving in three on a pair of doubles.
 
Dawn Grover has seven hits so far this season, posting a .318 batting average and a .855 OPS in ten games. She has scored four runs, and has a double and a triple on the year, driving in an RBI. Grover has three walks and has struck out six times this season, but also has a pair of stolen bases. Heading into he week, Grover had two multi-hit games, both coming against Southern Maryland back on March 19^th.
 
Heading into the week, Miranda Faber and Molly Martin each had the most innings pitched, with both throwing 13 innings of work on the year. Faber had an 8.08 ERA in five appearances, going 0-2. She had allowed 22 runs, 15 earned, on 30 hits, while striking out three and walking four. Faber pitched an inning of relief in her last appearance, last week against Brookdale, where she gave up three runs on four hits while walking a batter in the 8-2 loss to the Jersey Blues.
 
Martin also has an 8.08 ERA, and has made ten appearances, going 0-1. She has given up 18 runs, 15 earned, on 33 hits, while striking out three and walking five. Martin pitched 0.1 innings of relief in her last outing, giving up two runs, both earned, on three hits in the 10-3 loss to Brookdale last week.
 
Jessica Stewart is also a pitcher for the Colts, going 0-3 in four appearances, with a 12.12 ERA. She has given up 19 runs, 15 earned, on 19 hits in 8.2 innings so far this season, striking out a pair of batters and walking four. She has three starts on the year, getting tagged with the loss in all three. In her last start entering the week, she gave up four runs, two earned, on six hits in three innings of work against Brookdale last week in an 8-2 loss.
 
Coach John Rywalt is in his second season as the head coach for the SUNY Orange Colts. He's been an assistant with the program way back in 2008-2009, under coach Stacey Morris, and has been a veteran of the Orange County softball scene for nearly 30 years. Rywalt has been coaching youth and travel league softball for nearly 20 years, and is a certified high school and collegiate umpire. Rywalt is 10-28 in his brief time with the program.
 
About Brookdale CC
The Jersey Blues of Brookdale (4-2) are the preseason #3 team in all of NJCAA Division III, and come into the weekend on a four-game win streak after sweeping past Morris and SUNY Orange last week. Brookdale will come into their home doubleheader against Lackawanna after taking on RCSJ-Cumberland in a Region XIX DIII match-up the day before.
 
Brookdale is hitting at .376 as a team so far this season, with a combined OPS of around .933 this season. The Jersey Blues are averaging just under seven runs per game, and have 17 combined extra base hits in six games on the year, including 13 doubles and three triples. As a team, Brookdale is slugging at .497, and has an OBP of .436, with eight stolen bases this season. The Jersey Blues have 31 strikeouts as a team, and have drawn 20 walks.
 
In the pitching circle, as usual, Brookdale has been great, with a combined ERA of 3.44 on the year, giving up an average of 4.2 runs per game on the year. In 38.2 combined innings, Brookdale has given up 25 runs, 19 earned, on 44 hits, striking out 43 batters and walking just 11 so far this season. They average just under eight strikeouts per game.
 
Freshman Sydney Rawlings leads the team with eleven hits this season, and is hitting .500 at the dish in her first six games. Rawlings has an impressive 1.067 OPS, with a .545 slugging percentage, scoring four runs and driving in six, tied for the team lead this year. She's got one double this year, and has drawn one walk on the season. Rawlings has had multiple hits in five of her six games this year, with a 3-for-3 showing in a 12-4 win over Morris to her credit, where she scored two runs, drove in three, and hit a double. Rawlings was a combined 4-for-8 with two runs scored and an RBI in two games against SUNY Orange last week.
 
Nicolette Pavlik has a .455 batting average so far this season, and has ten total hits, second on the team. Pavlik has a double and a homer this season, and is tied with Rawlings for the team lead at six RBI on the year. She has a solid 1.071 OPS, and has scored three runs so far this year. Pavlik has three multi-hit games this year, and was a combined 2-for-7 with a double, an RBI, and a run scored in the doubleheader sweep over Orange last week.  
 
Alyssa Sigler is one of three Jersey Blues players with eight hits on the year, and is hitting .381 on the season. Sigler has a .887 OPS this season, with a .458 on-base percentage. She's drawn three walks, tied with four other players for second on the team, and has a double and four RBI on the year. Sigler is second on Brookdale in runs scored, with six so far this season. She is second the team in strikeouts with six, and leads the Jersey Blues with three steals this year. Sigler has two multi-hit games, both coming against SUNY Orange last week. She was a combined 5-for-7 with two runs scored, three RBI, and a double in the sweep over the Colts.   
 
Mallory Shevlin has eight hits this season, and is a .421 hitter on the season, with a 1.026 OPS, which includes a .500 on-base percentage and a .526 slugging percentage. Shevlin has scored four runs and hit a pair of doubles, driving in three runs this year. She's drawn three walks, and has two steals on the season. Shevlin has three multi-hit games this year, two of which came against Orange last week. She was a combined 4-for-7 with two runs scored, two RBI, and a double in the sweep last week.
 
Brittany Campbell has eight hits this season, and has a .444 batting average in five games. Campbell has a 1.055 OPS, with a .611 slugging percentage and a .444 on-base percentage. Campbell has scored two runs, and leads the team with three doubles this year, driving in four runs. Campbell has three multi-hit games this season, and was a combined 3-for-8 with four RBI and a double in the sweep over Orange last week.
 
Zoey Hagan is hitting .300 so far this season, and has six hits in six games. Hagan has a team-best four extra base hits, with three triples and a double, driving in five runs, third on the team. Hagan has a .650 slugging percentage, first on the team, and has scored a team-best eight runs so far this year. Hagan has a 1.041 OPS so far this season, and has two games with two or more hits, going a combined 3-for-7 with two triples, a double, three runs scored and two RBI against SUNY Orange. She's gone 5-for-her-last-9 entering this week.  
 
Ana Marziano is hitting .462 in her six games this season, with six total hits in her 13 at-bats. Marziano has drawn a team-high five walks, and hasa double with two RBI, while scoring four runs. Marziano has a 1.149 OPS, boosted by her .611 OBP this year. She has also struck out four times this year, and has one stolen base. Marziano has one multi-hit game this season, coming in the first game against SUNY Orange last week. In two games, she was a combined 3-for-5 with three runs scored and an RBI against SUNY Orange.
 
Gianna Praet is one of the two main pitchers for the Jersey Blues. She's thrown 18 innings this year, and is 2-1 in her three appearances, with a 3.50 ERA. She's given up 13 runs, nine earned, on 19 hits, while striking out 17 and walking eight so far this season. Praet has won her last two starts, including game two against SUNY Orange, where she tossed a complete game, giving up three runs on six hits with seven strikeouts. She's gone for seven strikeouts twice this season.
 
Shevlin is the other main hurler. She's 2-1 in three appearances with a 3.39 ERA. In 20.2 innings, Shevlin has struck out 26 batters and given up 12 runs on 25 hits, surrendering only three walks so far this season. She has twice thrown for ten strikeouts, and has also won her last two starts. In her latest start, she went seven innings, giving up two runs on five hits and striking out ten against SUNY Orange.
 
The head coach for Brookdale is the legendary Thomas "Bo" Scannapieco, now in his 37^th season in charge of the Jersey Blues. Coach Bo has had one of the more decorated careers in junior college history, earning 17 Region XIX championships, along with three national titles. Scannapieco has a career record of 1184-357-4 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. Last year's squad captured the Region XIX North Atlantic A District Championship and went 33-12, making it to the NJCAA DIII semi-final round before falling to Corning.  
 
Game Details
Everything starts on Thursday, March 30^th, when the Falcons are scheduled to host the SUNY Orange Colts for a doubleheader at Scranton HS at 3:00pm and 5:00pm ET. It'll be the home debut for the Falcons, and will have a video livestream available via the Lackawanna College Athletics Network at lackawannafalcons.com/LIVE.
 
Then, on Friday March 31^st, the Falcons travel to Lincroft, NJ to take on Region XIX DIII opponent Brookdale for a doubleheader starting at 3:00pm ET. It's the first of three straight road doubleheaders for the Falcons on the weekend.
 
The Falcons are scheduled to open Region XIX DII play on Saturday, April 1^st, when Lackawanna College is set to travel to Raritan Valley CC for a doubleheader in Branchburg, NJ. Then, on Sunday, April 2^nd, the Falcons have another non-region doubleheader, this time at NJCAA Division I squad Monroe College in New Rochelle, NY.