Box Score 1 | Box Score 2 3/6/23

MYRTLE BEACH, SC -- Lackawanna College softball split another doubleheader in Myrtle Beach, when the Falcons beat Bryant & Stratton (OH) by an 8-3 margin, then lost the second game to Delta College, 4-3, on Monday morning.
 
The Falcons (2-2) scored four runs in the first inning of game one, then relied on Tess Ruschman (Easton, PA) to provide the offense and the defense from there, as Ruschman recovered from giving up three runs in the first inning and held the Bobcats off the scoreboard the rest of the way for the 8-3 win.
 
Ruschman allowed three runs, all in the first, on five hits in seven innings of work, striking out five for her first win of the year in the circle. She also made sure to help herself at the plate, driving in five runs on a 2-for-4 performance, with an inside the park homerun and an RBI triple. Catarena Sommers (Windham, OH) went 3-for-4 with three runs scored, knocking a pair of doubles for the Falcons.
 
Things got going right away in the top of the first for the Falcons, as Madison Maloney (Scranton, PA) got aboard with a leadoff walk, and eventually came around to score on an RBI single from Sommers that made it 1-0. After a walk put two on and one out, Ruschman smashed a liner to right field that got beyond the outfielders and rolled to the track, allowing Ruschman and the two runners to come home on the three-run inside-the-park homer to make it 4-0, Falcons.
 
After a leadoff single in the bottom frame, Ruschman got a pair of outs, but the Bobcats forced a two-out walk, then scored three runs on back-to-back doubles to get within a run at 4-3.
 
The Falcons added a pair of runs in the top of the third, after a hit-by-pitch, followed by a Sommers double, put two on and nobody out. A wild pitch let one run come home, and ground-out to third from Ruschman scored the other runner to make it 6-3, Lackawanna.
 
Ruschman held steady in the pitching circle, and the Falcons added another run in the top of the sixth, when Kira Ryan (Alburtis, PA) stole third, then stole home to make it 7-3. They'd add another in the top of the seventh when, after a Sommers double, Ruschman ripped a two-out triple to center that scored Sommers and made it 8-3, Falcons.
 
A single from Bryant & Stratton in the bottom of the seventh with two outs snapped a streak of 12 straight batters that Ruschman had retired, but she induced a groundout on the next pitch to secure the win for herself and the Falcons in game one.
 
Game two was a different story for Lackawanna College, as Delta College jumped out to a 4-0 lead, and that proved to be just enough, as the Falcons couldn't quite get over the line in a 4-3 loss to the Pioneers on Monday morning.
 
Lackawanna outfielder Madison McVicar (Blakely, PA) was 3-for-4 with two runs scored and a double, while Gabby Wettig (Manheim, PA) was 1-for-2 with an RBI double and a walk, and Ruschman was 1-for-3 with an RBI.
 
Alivia Graber (North Syracuse, NY) recovered after a tough first inning where, after back-to-back singles, an error on the infield allowed another runner to reach and the Pioneers to hit the front at 1-0. Back-to-back groundouts allowed Delta to tack on two more runs and take a 3-0 lead after the top half. They'd add a fourth on a two-out single in the second. Graber finished with four innings pitched, allowing four runs, just one earned, on six hits. She got tagged with the loss, while Allyson Lemerise (Catonsville, MD) came on in relief and pitched well, giving up two hits over three innings of work, striking out four batters.
 
Trailing 4-0 in the bottom of the second, the Falcons got a boost when McVicar doubled to left to lead off the inning. A strikeout, followed by a groundout to short, threatened to end the inning without a run, but Wettig hit a two-out double to center that scored McVicar and got the Falcons on the board.
 
The Falcons had another chance in the bottom of the fourth, down 4-1, when McVicar and Ruschman hit back-to-back one-out singles to put two on. Lemerise grounded out to the right side, advancing McVicar and Ruschman into scoring position, but a strikeout stranded the runners and ended the inning.
 
Still down 4-1 in the bottom of the sixth, Lackawanna finally had something cooking. Back-to-back walks, followed by a single, loaded the bases with nobody out. Ruschman drove in one run with a fielder's choice to third, putting runners at first and second with one away. A groundout to first put the runners in scoring position, and back-to-back walks loaded and then scored a run to make it 4-3. Sophia Mandarano (Dunmore, PA) came up in a big spot, but couldn't get underneath the pitch and grounded out to strand the runners and keep Delta in the lead.
 
Lemerise danced around two singles in the top of the seventh to keep it a one-run margin, and the Falcons had the game-tying run aboard with two away in the bottom frame, but a groundout ended things and preserved the win for Delta.
 
The Falcons are back in action tomorrow (Tuesday, March 7^th) with a pair of games in Myrtle Beach, SC, starting at 5:00pm ET when they take on Olney Central College. In game two, the Falcons will play against Patrick & Henry CC at 7:00pm ET.