3/31/23
 
LINCROFT, NJ – Lackawanna softball scored eleven runs for the third straight game this season to take the first game and guarantee a split of their road doubleheader at Brookdale CC on Friday afternoon in Lincroft, NJ. The Falcons won game one 11-5, then dropped game two by a 13-4 score in five innings against the Jersey Blues.
 
The Falcons (10-5) scored the first run of the day, then managed to hold the lead throughout, withstanding a late rally from the Jersey Blues (7-3) to score four runs in the sixth inning to pull away for the win. Krista Scoblick (Harvey's Lake, PA) provided the punch, hitting a solo homerun and a pair of two-run doubles to finish 3-for-4 with five RBI and a run scored. Madison Maloney (Scranton, PA) was 3-for-5 with three runs scored at the top of the lineup, and Catarena Sommers (Windham, OH) provided some pop with a three-run homer in the fifth inning. Allyson Lemerise (Catonsville, MD) got the win, pitching seven innings and giving up five runs on eight hits, while striking out four.  
 
Back-to-back singles led the Falcons off to start game one, but two straight outs threatened to end things early. That's when Gwen Balavage (Avoca, PA) stepped in and delivered a two-out RBI single to left that put the Falcons up.
 
Lemerise pitched around a double in the bottom frame, then got hit by a pitch to start the second, but the Falcons couldn't get anything started. In fact, neither team would get much of anything going until the top of the fourth inning, when Scoblick cracked a solo shot to center to double the Falcons lead. The Jersey Blues responded in the bottom frame with a solo homer of their own, this one to left, to cut it to 2-1. A two-out walk put the tying run on, but Lemerise got a ground out to herself for the put out to end the threat.
 
The fourth seemed to wake the offenses up, as the Falcons came out firing in the fifth. Back-to-back one-out singles put two on, and Sommers answered the bell with a towering three-run bomb to left field to push the Falcons lead to 5-1. Lackawanna wasn't done, as a walk, followed by an error in the infield, left Lackawanna with runners in scoring position and still one out. Scoblick pushed both runs home, doubling to center to make it 7-1, Falcons. Brookdale eventually got out of trouble with back-to-back strikeouts, and then got its own turn at the plate.
 
A leadoff single, followed by a passed ball, immediately had the Jersey Blues in business with a runner in scoring position. A fly out put one away, but a single back to Lemerise put runners on the corners. An RBI single scored one run, then a two-run double to center cut the Falcon advantage to 7-4. Another double scored one more to make it 7-5, but Lemerise recovered to get two straight ground outs to end the inning and keep the Falcons in front.
 
The sixth was where the Falcons took flight once again. A one-out single, followed by a walk, put two on. A fly out put two away, but a single loaded the bases, and an error on the infield allowed Balavage to reach and two runs to come home, pushing the falcons lead back out to 9-5. Scoblick delivered one more time, doubling to center to score two more runs and give the Falcons the 11-5 advantage.
 
In the bottom frame, Lemerise retired the side in order, then, after the Falcons went down in order I nthe top of the seventh, she pitched around a leadoff single to once again retire the side and give the Falcons the game one win over the Jersey Blues.
 
In game two, Brookdale scored eight runs in the first two innings and rode Gianna Praet to victory, who gave up four runs on seven hits in five innings, striking out six Falcons in the win for the home team. Trailing 10-1 heading into the fifth, the Falcons rallied with three runs, but Brookdale rough through for three more runs to get the game into run-rule territory and end things early. Sommers was 2-for-3 with a run scored, while Aria Reyes (Allentown, PA) was 1-for-2 with two RBI coming on a double in the fifth inning. Madison McVicar (Blakely, PA) had an RBI single in the first inning to give the Falcons a brief 1-0 lead. Alivia Graber (North Syracuse, NY) got pegged with the loss for the Falcons, getting chased after just 1.1 innings pitched, giving up eight runs, four earned, on five hits.
 
Lackawanna College, much like they did in game one, got the scoring started early. Maloney led the game off with a single, but a pair of fielder's choices left them with a player in scoring position and two outs. McVicar cashed in with an RBI single to center that put the Falcons up immediately, 1-0. A fly out ended the inning before the Falcons could do more damage.
 
Graber got the first two outs with little fuss, but a two-out single, followed by a two-base error, had runners on second and third with two down. A walk loaded the bases, and a two-run single gave Brookdale its first lead of the day at 2-1. Another walk loaded the bases again, still with two outs, and another two-run single pushed the Jersey Blues advantage to 4-1, before Graber got a fielder's choice to end the inning.
 
Brookdale had more to put on the board in the bottom of the second, as an error put the leadoff on, and a walk, followed by a passed ball, had runners in scoring position with nobody out. Another error allowed a run to score, then a one-out double to center scored another run to make it 6-1, Brookdale. A passed ball pushed another run across, and then an RBI single to right made it 8-1, Jersey Blues. Lackawanna made a pitching change at that point, lifting Graber for Tess Ruschman (Easton, PA). Ruschman got a fly out, and pitched around her own error to get a fielder's choice to short to get the Falcons out of the inning.
 
Lackawanna got a pair of baserunners in the top of the third, thanks to an error and a two-out single, but Praet got the ground out she needed to retire the side. The Falcons got multiple baserunners again in the fourth, with back-to-back one-out walks. A line out to center put two away but put the runners in scoring position, but Ruschman couldn't help herself out, grounding to third to end the threat and strand the runners.
 
Back-to-back one-out singles had runners on the corners for Brookdale in the bottom of the fourth, and a sac fly to right pushed one run across. A single put two on again, and an RBI single made it 10-1, Jersey Blues, before a fly out ended the inning.
 
Needing to get within eight to keep the game going, the Falcons had two on, but two out, when Scoblick singled to center to load the bases. That opened the door for Reyes to deliver with a two-run double to left, cutting the lead down to 10-3. A walk loaded the bases again, and a passed ball scored another for the Falcons. Lackawanna eventually had runners in scoring position and two gone, but a strikeout ended the threat before Lackawanna could really get themselves going.
 
In the bottom frame, Brookdale got back-to-back-to-back singles to load the bases with nobody out. A passed ball moved the runners and scored a run, then a two-run double to center walked things off for the Jersey Blues for the run-rule victory, and guaranteeing the split.
 
The Falcons were originally scheduled to play Raritan Valley CC on Saturday, April 1^st, in a doubleheader at Raritan Valley, but that doubleheader has been moved to Thursday, April 6^th. The Falcons are scheduled next to play on Sunday, April 2^nd, on the road at NJCAA Division I opponent Monroe College for a doubleheader starting at 1:00pm ET in New Rochelle, NY.