4/14/23
 
SCRANTON, Pa. – A three-run fifth gave the Falcons the lead for good in game one, and a solid start from Allyson Lemerise made it stand up, helping the Falcons earn a doubleheader split on Friday afternoon at home against Chesapeake College at Scranton HS. The Falcons won game one, 6-4, while Chesapeake rallied for a 7-6 win in game two.
 
The Falcons (18-11) watched the Skipjacks (11-9) take a 3-2 lead into the bottom of the fifth, but back-to-back one-out singles from Catarena Sommers (Windham, OH) and Madison McVicar (Blakely, PA) gave the Falcons some life, and Krista Scoblick (Harvey's Lake, PA) doubled home a run to tie the game. Gwen Balavage (Avoca, PA) then singled home another run to give the Falcons a 4-3 advantage, and a sac fly followed to make it 5-3. The Skipjacks, trailing 6-3 in the seventh, got a run back on a two-out RBI single, and got the tying run on-base with another two-out base knock, but a ground out to third ended the rally and gave the Falcons a much-needed boost. Sommers finished 2-for-4 with an RBI and a run scored, while Balavage was 2-for-3 with an RBI, and Madison Maloney (Scranton, PA) went 1-for-3 with two runs scored and a walk. Allyson Lemerise (Catonsville, MD) earned her fifth win of the year, allowing four runs on nine hits in seven innings of work, while striking out five.
 
Chesapeake had two on with two out in the top of the first of game one, and a wild pitch put the runners in scoring position, but a fielder's choice got the Falcons out of the inning. Madison Maloney (Scranton, PA) led bottom of the first off with a triple, and immediately came home to score on a Skylar Borthwick (Pittston, PA) RBI single, putting the Falcons up 1-0. The Falcons later had two on with just one out, but a fielder's choice eliminated a runner at second, and a ground out to short stranded the base runners.
 
Lemerise pitched around a leadoff single with back-to-back strikeouts and a fly out in the top of the second, and the Falcons scored another in the bottom frame, thanks to a one-out walk from Lemerise, followed by an RBI double from Tess Ruschman (Easton, PA) to make it 2-0 after two.
 
Chesapeake got one back in the top of the third, using a single, followed by a successful sac bunt, to put a runner on third with just one away. The Falcons got a fly out to put two away, but a wild pitch brought the run home and got the Skipjacks on the board at 2-1.
 
In the top of the fourth, still trailing 2-1, the Skipjacks added a pair of runs. A leadoff single, followed by a hit by pitch, put two on with nobody out. A strikeout, followed by another sac bunt, put runners on second and third with two gone. Chesapeake managed not to waste their runners, as a two-run double scored the pair and made it 3-2, Skipjacks. The Falcons managed to get the third out, however, when the batter was caught trying to stretch it into a triple.
 
The Falcons tried to answer in the bottom frame, after back-to-back hits got runners on second and third with nobody out. A strikeout put one away, and a fielder's choice put out a runner at the plate to make it two outs. The Falcons couldn't get anything, though, as a strikeout stranded the baserunners and kept Chesapeake in front at 3-2.
 
Lemerise got a big boost from her defense, when, after a hit batter reached to lead the inning off, the defense turned a 6-4-3 double play, when Maloney flipped to Ruschman, who fired a frozen rope to Emilee Dickinson (Hillsboro, OR) at first for the second out. Lemerise gave up a walk, but got a pop out to herself to end the inning and get the Falcons into the bottom of the fifth.
 
Sommers got a one-out single to get the Falcons a baserunner, and she was followed by McVicar, who reached on a single to put two on with one out. Scoblick cashed in Sommers with a double to left-center to tie the game, and Balavage poked through a single to third that scored McVicar and made it 4-3, Falcons. Dickinson flied out to left for a sac fly that scored Scoblick and the Falcons took a 5-3 lead into the sixth.
 
Lackawanna gave Lemerise another double-play in the sixth, when a leadoff single was erased by a liner to short, where Maloney caught and fired back to first to double-off the runner. Lemerise got another pop up to end the top of the sixth and get the Falcons to the bottom half.
 
Back-to-back one-out walks, followed by a passed ball, had runners on second and third with just the one out, and Sommers delivered an RBI single to short, scoring Maloney from third and giving the Falcons a 6-3 lead. Lackawanna wanted more, but a fielder's choice eliminated the lead runner at third, and a pop up stranded the runners.
 
A one-out double and a passed ball put a runner on third for Chesapeake in the top of the seventh, but a strikeout put the Skipjacks down to their final out. An RBI single scored that runner on third, and another single had the tying run aboard, still with two down. Lemerise managed to get the final out with a grounder to Borthwick at third, who threw across the diamond to Dickinson for the final out, giving the Falcons a much-needed victory.
 
In game two, the runs came in spurts for both teams, with the Falcons putting up six in the first three innings, but ultimately falling flat as Chesapeake used a three-run fifth to rally for the lead and managed to hang on for the 7-6 win in game two on Friday.
 
Lackawanna jumped out to a three-run lead in the first inning, using a Sommers RBI single and a two-run homer from Scoblick to take charge. The Skipjacks scored four runs in the third, with a three-run triple as the highlight. Lackawanna retook the lead in the bottom of the third, thanks to another RBI hit from Scoblick and an error that plated a pair of runs, which pushed the Falcons in front at 6-4. Chesapeake rallied again, using another RBI triple to tie the game, then hitting the front with a one-run single. Lackawanna couldn't rally, managing just one hit over the final three innings. Scoblick was 3-for-3 with two runs scored and three RBI, while Maloney was 2-for-4 with two runs scored, and Sommers went 1-for-3 with two runs scored and an RBI. Alivia Graber (North Syracuse, NY) got hit with the loss, giving up seven runs on eight hits, while striking out three.
 
Game two got off to a solid start for the Falcons, as Graber got a pair of strikeouts and a ground out to short to retire the opposition in order to start the game. In the bottom of the first, Maloney led the game off with a double, and advanced to third on a ground out. Sommers cashed her in with a single to center, and got to second on an error in the outfield. McVicar struck out to put two down, but Scoblick gave the Falcons an extra pair of runs with a two-run homer to left-center field, giving the Falcons a 3-0 advantage after one inning of play.
 
Chesapeake couldn't do anything with a pair of baserunners in the top of the second, and the Falcons were retired in order in the bottom frame, so it was the top of the third where Chesapeake finally struck back. A leadoff walk, followed by back-to-back singles, put the Skipjacks on the board at 3-1. Another single loaded the bases, with nobody out, but a pop out to second and a foul out to third put Graber one out away from escaping. The Skipjacks wouldn't be denied, however, lacing a triple to right field that cleared the loaded bases and put Chesapeake up 4-3. Lackawanna got another foul out to third to get to the bottom of the third.
 
Maloney led the bottom frame off with a single, and the Falcons later had runners at the corners with two away, when Scoblick delivered again, singling to left field to score Maloney and tie the game at four. The Falcons had a little more two-out magic, taking advantage of an error to load the bases, and then another error when a pop up on the infield to the pitcher was dropped, allowing two runs to score and make it 6-4 after three.
 
The Skipjacks wasted a leadoff walk that eventually got to third in the top of the fourth, and Lackawanna also wasted a leadoff walk in the bottom of the fourth.
 
Chesapeake wouldn't waste their leadoff walk in the fifth, quickly adding a single and a sac bunt to put runners in scoring position with one out. Another triple cleared the pair of runners, tying the game at 6-all. Graber was lifted for Ruschman, but still responsible for the runner on third, and an RBI single brought that runner home to make it 7-6, Skipjacks. A pair of fly outs finally ended the inning and got the Falcons into the bottom frame.
 
Scoblick got a one-out single, and stole second with two outs, but a pop out ended any chance of the Falcons rallying.
 
Back-to-back one-out singles from the Skipjacks in the top of the sixth gave them a chance at some insurance runs, but a sac bunt and a fly out kept the score at 7-6. But, that would be it for any fireworks, as The Falcons were retired in order in the sixth, the Skipjacks in the seventh, and the Falcons in the bottom of the seventh to finish the game and give Chesapeake the hard-earned split.
 
The Falcons are back to action on Saturday, April 15^th, with another non-region doubleheader scheduled at home. Lackawanna is set to host the Monroe College Mustangs starting at 1:00pm ET at Scranton HS softball field, weather permitting.