4/11/23
 
SCRANTON, Pa. – After another weekend where Lackawanna College softball was 4-2 with a pair of doubleheader splits against solid competition, the Falcons get back to work with a non-region doubleheader on Tuesday, April 11^th, at Penn State Hazleton.
 
The first game of the doubleheader is scheduled for a 2:00pm ET start between the Falcons and the Nittany Lions in Drums, PA at the softball field at the Butler Township Community Center. There will be no video livestream for this doubleheader.
 
About The Falcons
The Falcons (15-8) went 4-2 last week, sweeping past Raritan Valley CC in their Region XIX opener and earning splits against Harford and Mercer County CC. Lackawanna College battled throughout their doubleheader at Mercer, but could only get the split. The Falcons lost game one, 4-2, and took game two, 10-9, after a ten-run fifth inning staked them to a lead they'd barely hold on to. You can read the recap HERE.
 
The Falcons are hitting .344 on the year, with a .973 OPS this season. Lackawanna College has 91 extra base hits, including 64 doubles and 18 homeruns on the year. The Falcons are slugging at .548, and have drawn 81 walks on the year. They have scored 198 runs in 23 games, at 8.6 runs per game this year. Lackawanna has a .425 on-base percentage this season, and is 36-for-39 on the base paths this season. In the circle, the Falcons have a 5.42 ERA, allowing 138 runs on 183 hits in 140.2 innings pitched so far this season, while striking out 95 batters and allowing 69 walks. Opponents are hitting .299 against Lackawanna College this year.  
 
Madison McVicar (Blakely, PA) leads the Falcons with 26 total hits this season, and has a .382 batting average so far this season. McVicar, a second team All-Region XIX selection last year, has a 1.144 OPS, and is tied for second on the team with 20 runs scored this season. McVicar is tied for first on the team with ten doubles this year, and leads the Falcons with 14 extra base hits in total this season. She's got a .468 OBP, drawing ten walks, tied for the team-high. She has driven in 18 RBI, second on the team this season, and has a .676 slugging percentage. She's also got six steals, second on the Falcons. McVicar has seven multi-hit games this year, but was held to a combined 1-for-7 in two games against Mercer on Saturday. Her one hit was a two-run double in game one against the Vikings.
 
Madison Maloney (Scranton, PA) is tied for second on the squad with 24 total hits this season, and has a .348 batting average so far this year. Maloney has scored 18 runs, fourth on the team, and has a team-high 69 at-bats. She's drawn nine walks, tied for third on the squad, and has a .858 OPS. She also leads the team in steals with seven swipes on the season. Maloney has four doubles and a triple, and 13 RBI on the year. Madison has seven multi-hit games, and was a combined 3-for-8 with a run scored and an RBI in two games against Mercer on Saturday.
 
Catarena Sommers (Windham, OH), a second team All-Region XIX selection from last year, is hitting .407 so far this year, with 24 hits (tied with Maloney for second on the team) and 25 runs scored (1^st on the team) through 20 appearances. Sommers has drawn seven walks this season, and has a 1.190 OPS. She's got 16 RBI, tied for fourth on the team, and is tied with McVicar for first on the team with ten doubles, and has 13 extra base hits on the season. Cat has six multi-hit game so far this season, but was a combined 1-for-7 in two games against Mercer on Saturday, with a run scored and a double.
 
Gabby Wettig (Manheim, PA) has the fourth-most hits on the team this year, with 23 base-knocks and a team-high .434 batting average in 19 games. Wettig has a 1.068 OPS on the season, with 13 RBI and eight doubles this year. Wettig has a .483 on-base percentage, drawing five walks this season, and has 15 run scored this year. Wettig has eight multi-hit games this season, and was a combined 4-for-7 with two runs scored and a pair of doubles in two games against Mercer on Saturday.  
 
Krista Scoblick (Harvey's Lake, PA) has appeared in 19 games, and has put up an impressive .386 batting average, with a 1.277 OPS this year. She's got 17 hits, fourth on the team, and has driven in a team-high 23 RBI on the season, with ten extra base hits this season, including a team-high five homeruns. Scoblick has drawn two walks this year, and has a slugging percentage at .864, best on the team. Scoblick has 15 runs scored this season, and is 1-for-2 on steals this season. She has two multi-hit games, and was a combined 1-for-5 in two games against Mercer County on Saturday, hitting a two-run homerun in game two's victory.
 
Gwen Balavage (Avoca, PA) has 16 total hits in 16 games, hitting .421 on the season. Balavage has scored nine runs and driven in eleven RBI this year. Gwen has two doubles, a triple, and a homerun for the Falcons. Balavage has a 1.057 OPS, with a .605 slugging percentage, with three drawn walks and a pair of stolen bases this season. Balavage has three multi-hit games on the year, and went a combined 4-for-7 with a run scored and two RBI in the doubleheader against Mercer County on Saturday.
 
Skylar Borthwick (Pittston, PA) has 14 total hits and is hitting .341 this season. Borthwick has a 1.159 OPS, and has scored 20 runs, tied with McVicar for second on the team this year. Borthwick has 17 RBI this year, third on the team, and has two doubles and three homeruns, second on the team. Borthwick has drawn ten walks, tied with McVicar for first on the team, and has a .500 on-base percentage. She also has three stolen bases on the season. Borthwick has five multi-hit games this season, and was a combined 2-for-7 with two runs scored and two RBI in two games against Mercer this past weekend.
 
Aria Reyes (Allentown, PA) has 15 total hits on the year and it hitting .385 in 19 games this year. Reyes has a .953 OPS, and has scored nine runs this year. She's got six doubles and eleven RBI, and is slugging at .538 this season. Reyes has three multi-hit games on the year, and was a combined 2-for-4 with two runs scored and an RBI in the two games against Mercer this weekend.
 
Alivia Graber (North Syracuse, NY) has been the pitcher with the most innings so far for the Falcons. Graber is 6-2 with a 6.54 ERA, allowing 65 runs, 47 earned, on 76 hits in 50.1 innings of work. She's got a team-best 38 strikeouts, but has walked 28 batters this season, and thrown six wild pitches. Graber's opponents are hitting .326 against her this season. Her last start came against Mercer, allowing nine runs, six earned, on eleven hits, while striking out five in seven innings. Seven of those nine runs came in the last three innings of the 10-9 win. Graber has won her last two starts, despite allowing a combined 16 runs.  
 
Allyson Lemerise (Catonsville, MD), who also doubles at third base when she's not pitching, has a 5.03 ERA in 40.1 innings with a 3-4 record this year. Lemerise has given up 34 runs, 29 earned, on 53 hits, striking out 25 and walking 20. Lemerise has lost her last two starts, despite pitching well in both games. She dropped her last, a seven inning outing against Mercer, where she gave up four runs on seven hits and struck out six in a 4-2 loss to the Vikings in game one on Saturday.  
 
Tess Ruschman (Easton, PA), normally at second base for the Falcons, also doubles as a starting pitcher, going 3-1 with a 4.97 ERA in six appearances this year. In 25.1 innings of work, she's given up 23 runs, 18 earned, on 32 hits, striking out 17 and walking seven. Opponents are hitting .278 against Tess this year. Tess won her last start, going three innings and giving up two runs on four hits, striking out six in what became a 24-2 win for the Falcons over Raritan Valley last week.   
 
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 214-181 in his career at Lackawanna, with a Region XIX championship and two 30+ win seasons to his credit.
 
About PSU Hazleton
The Nittany Lions (8-14) had a rough start to the year, going just 2-10 through their first 12 games, but have since recovered to go 6-4 through their last ten. Hazleton has dropped its last three, including a pair of games against PSU New Kensington this past Saturday. The Nits were held to just two hits and a run scored in a 4-1 loss in game one, and held an early 4-2 lead after 2.5 innings in game two, only to allow seven runs in the bottom of the third and end up falling 10-6 to fall in the doubleheader.
 
This season, Penn State is hitting .272 as a team, and has a .684 OPS. The Nittany Lions have scored 88 runs in 20 games, averaging 4.4 runs per game this season, while giving up almost eight runs per contest. PSU Hazleton has 33 extra base hits, with 23 doubles and seven homeruns, driving in 62 runs this year. The Nittany Lions have 75 strikeouts and 35 walks, and have stolen 16 bases this season. The pitching staff has a collective 7.13 ERA, giving up 154 runs, 127 earned, on 215 hits in 124.2 innings pitched this season. The Lions have struck out 49 batters, while walking 60, and have surrendered three homeruns on the year.
 
Tori Rabuck leads PSU with 23 total hits and has a .359 batting average this season. Rabuck has 12 runs scored, tied for second on the team, and has driven in 14 RBI, second on the squad. Rabuck has a team-high nine extra base hits, with a team-best six doubles. She's also got three homers, second on the team, and has a .963 OPS this season. Rabuck has six multi-hit games on the campaign, and was a combined 1-for-6 with a run scored and two RBI in the pair of losses to PSU New Kensington over the weekend.
 
Linsey Fisk has 21 total hits and is hitting .328 so far this season. She has scored eleven runs, tied for fourth on the team, and she leas the squad with 16 RBI this season, posting a team-high four homeruns and seven total extra base hits this season. Fisk has two walks this season and has a .911 OPS. Fisk has seven multi-hit games on the year, and was a combined 3-for-7 with a run scored and a double in two games against New Kensington on Saturday.
 
Hattie Flood has 18 total hits this season, and is hitting .277 on the year. Flood has a .652 OPS and has scored 12 runs this season, tied with Rabuck for second on the team. Flood has three doubles and four RBI this year, and has drawn a pair of walks and stolen three bases. She's got four multi-hit games on the season, but was a combined 0-for-4 in two games against New Kensington on Saturday.
 
Erin Field has 16 total hits and is a hitting .246 on the year this season. She has a team-high 17 runs scored, and has stolen a team-best six bases on the year. Field has a double and four RBI on the year, and has three walks on the year. She has four multi-hit games on the year, including her last game against New Kensington, where Field was a perfect 3-for-3 with two runs scored and a walk in the 10-6 loss.
 
Ashley Wilson has 15 hits and is hitting .268 on the season, with eleven runs scored, tied with Fisk for fourth on the team this year. Wilson has two doubles and a triple, with five RBI and a team-high eight walks. Wilson has two stolen bases, and a .698 OPS this season. She has two multi-hit games on the year, and was 2-for-7 in two games against New Kensington on Saturday, driving in a pair of runs and scoring two of her own.
 
Taylor D'Attilio also has 15 hits, and is hitting .273 this season. D'Attilio has five runs scored and has also driven in five RBI, while hitting a pair of doubles and a triple this season. She has three walks, and a team-worst eleven strikeouts on the year. She has five multi-hit games, four coming in her last eight games. She was a combined 0-for-4 in the two games against New Kensington on Saturday.
 
Flood has pitched the most innings on the year for PSU Hazleton, posting a 7.77 ERA with a 1-5 record in ten appearances this year. Flood has allowed 66 runs, 54 earned, on 89 hits in 48.2 innings. Flood has struck out 14 batters and walked 23 so far this season. Flood dropped her last start, giving up seven runs on seven hits in just 1.2 innings of work in what became a 12-1 loss to Penn State Fayette on April 7^th.
 
Paige Parisi has thrown 38.1 innings so far this season, and has a 5.30 ERA this year in her eight appearances. Parisi has surrendered 33 runs, 29 earned, on 58 hits, while striking out 14 and walking 16 so far this season. Parisi lost her last start, the first game of the doubleheader with New Kensington, giving up four runs on 12 hits in six innings of work in the 4-1 loss. She also pitched 3.2 innings of relief in game two, giving up one run on three hits.
 
Tiffany Brogan has pitched 34 innings this season, giving up 44 runs, 33 earned, on 62 hits, while striking out a team-high 20 batters and walking 12. She has a 6.79 ERA in ten appearances. Brogan dropped her last game, the start in game two against New Kensington, giving up nine runs, six earned, on seven hits in 2.1 innings pitched.
 
Dan Caruso steps in as the first-year head coach for the PSU Hazleton squad this season. Caruso arrives to Penn State after spending time as the junior varsity head softball coach at Pope John Paul II in Royersford, PA for the last six seasons, where he helped as the varsity assistant. He also served as head coach for the 18U Gold Showcase travel team for Krush Fastpitch, focusing on the speed, strength, and agility training for young softball players. Caruso, a multi-sport athlete in his time, started his coaching career at St. Francis Academy in Bally, PA, where he served as an assistant varsity basketball coach and served as the head softball coach. Caruso is taking over a program that, last year, made the USCAA Small College World Series.
 
Game Details
The first game of the doubleheader between the Falcons and the Nittany Lions is scheduled for a 2:00pm ET start between the Falcons and the Nittany Lions in Drums, PA at the softball field at the Butler Township Community Center. There will be no video livestream for this doubleheader.
 
Lackawanna College returns to action on Friday, April 14^th, when the Falcons are scheduled to host Chesapeake College for a doubleheader at home.