4/20/23
 
SYRACUSE, NY – Pitching proved to be the strong suit for Lackawanna College softball against Onondaga CC, as the Falcons held the Lazers to just three runs across two games in a doubleheader sweep, 7-1 and 10-2, on Thursday afternoon in Syracuse, NY in non-region action.
 
Lackawanna College (22-13) got another great outing from Allyson Lemerise (Catonsville, MD) in the pitcher's circle for game one, as Lemerise threw a complete game three-hitter, with the only run coming after an error let a runner on, who came around to score, unearned. Lemerise had four strikeouts to pick up her eighth win of the year. The Falcons drew eleven walks, and got a big hit to start the scoring in the top of the third when Gwen Balavage (Avoca, PA) doubled with the bases loaded to give the Falcons a 3-0 lead, one they'd never surrender. Krista Scoblick (Harvey's Lake, PA) had a pair of RBI singles on the day to help the Falcons' cause and ultimately secure the 7-1 win. Balavage went 2-for-3 with four RBI, while Scoblick was 2-for-4 with two runs scored and a pair of RBI. Catarena Sommers (Windham, OH) was 1-for-4 with two runs scored.
 
The Falcons got a leadoff single from Gabby Wettig (Manheim, PA) to start the game, and a double form Sommers put two on with just one out, but back-to-back strikeouts kept the Falcons off the board. In the bottom frame, Lemerise pitched around a leadoff walk to keep it scoreless after one.
 
Balavage led the second off with a double, and a Lemerise walk put two on, but, similar to the first, the Falcons were unable to capitalize, committing three straight outs to strand the runners and keep things at 0-0. Lemerise matched that with her own scoreless inning, keeping it 0-0 after two.
 
Another leadoff hit, this time a single from Skylar Borthwick (Pittston, PA), eventually led to some runs scored. Borthwick made it to third after back-to-back walks loaded the bases, but a fielder's choice got the lead runner out at the plate, keeping the bases loaded, but now with one out. In stepped Balavage, who smacked a bases-clearing double into the gap that made it 3-0, Falcons. Lemerise drew a walk, Balavage stole third, and Lemerise stole second to put Falcons in scoring position with one out, and a Kira Ryan (Alburtis, PA) walk with two outs loaded the bases, but a ground out stranded the runners. Lemerise pitched around a leadoff single in the bottom frame to keep things at 3-0, Falcons.
 
A Borthwick leadoff walk was eventually cashed in with a two-out RBI single to left from Scoblick, pushing the Falcons lead out to 4-0. Balavage drew a two-out walk, but a ground out stranded a pair. In the bottom of the fourth, a leadoff walk went nowhere, as the Falcons got a 6-4-3 double play to quickly put two away, and a Lemerise strikeout ended the inning.
 
The bottom of the fifth, with the Falcons still ahead 4-0, was where Onondaga finally got on the board. An error allowed the second batter to reach. A triple scored that run, getting Onondaga on the score sheet at 4-1. Lemerise got the two outs she needed with a pop out and a ground out to keep the Lazers from getting more in the inning.
 
In the top of the sixth, the Falcons had two baserunners with one out, and Scoblick dealt a single to center to score a run and make it 5-1, Falcons. A passed ball put runners in scoring position, and a ground out from Balavage scored another run at 6-1. Lemerise drew a walk, stole second, and an error scored Scoblick and let Lemerise get to third, making it 7-1, Falcons. Reyes drew a walk to keep the inning going, but a fly out to left ended the scoring rally.
 
In the top of the seventh, the Falcons were threatening again, getting on a runner on with an error and a walk, prompting a pitching change from the Lazers. A double play quickly put two down, and a ground out sent the game into the bottom of the seventh.
 
Lemerise made it anti-climactic, pitching around a one-out single to keep Onondaga from making it interesting, and giving the Falcons the 7-1 victory in game one.
 
In game two, it was Alivia Graber's (North Syracuse, NY) turn, as the hometown pitcher threw six innings, giving up two runs on four hits for one of her best outings of the season to keep the Lazers (11-13) in check. Once again, it was the third inning that made the difference, as Sommers and Scoblick hit back-to-back singles to start the scoring, and a Madison McVicar (Blakely, PA) RBI single prompted an error in the outfield that allowed another run to cross, giving the Falcons a 4-0 lead. Aria Reyes (Allentown, PA) added another single to hand Lackawanna the 5-0 advantage after the top of the third. Later, with a 5-1 lead in the top of the fifth, Scoblick smacked her team-high eighth homerun into left field, and the Falcons added runs in the fifth, sixth, and seventh to extend their margin. Sommers finished 2-for-4 with a run scored and two RBI, while Scoblick was 2-for-5 with two runs scored and two RBI. Emilee Dickinson (Hillsboro, OR) was 2-for-2 with a run scored and two RBI, while Sophia Mandarano (Dunmore, PA) went 2-for-4 with a run scored and an RBI.
 
The Falcons had the bases loaded with two outs in the first, but couldn't capitalize. Otherwise, things stayed quiet until the top of the third. A leadoff single, followed by a walk, put two on with nobody out. Wettig scored on a Sommers single to center, giving the Falcons a 1-0 lead. Scoblick followed with a one-run double to make it two, and a McVicar RBI single, plus an error that scored another run, made it 4-0, Falcons. Later, a two-out single from Reyes pushed the Falcons lead out to 5-0 after the top of the third.
 
Onondaga answered in the bottom frame, using a leadoff walk, followed by back-to-back singles, to load the bases with nobody out. A sac fly to left scored a run, but Graber bot another fly out and a ground out to strand a pair of runners and get out of trouble with just the one run scoring.
 
Flash forward to the top of the fifth, where Scoblick led the inning off with a homerun to left field that gave the Falcons a 6-1 lead. McVicar drew a walk, and got to second on a ground out to short. Mandarano singled her home with a hit to center, extending the Falcons advantage out to 7-1. A pair of strikeouts ended the potential scoring rally for Lackawanna.
 
Another run came home in the top of the sixth, after Dickinson doubled to lead the inning off, and a one-out double from Sommers scored Dickinson to make it 8-1, Falcons, after 5.5 innings.
 
In the bottom frame, Onondaga managed to scratch another across. A one-out single, followed by a stolen base, but the Lazers in scoring position. A ground out advanced the runner to third, and a wild pitch let the run home to make it 8-2. Graber battled back to get a ground out to strand a pair of runners and get to the seventh.
 
Back-to-back one-out singles from the Falcons opened the seventh, and a walk loaded the bases, forcing a pitching change from Onondaga. With one out and the bases loaded, Dickinson singled to center to score a pair, giving the Falcons a 10-2 lead. A Borthwick single loaded the bases again, but a fielder's choice forced an out at the plate, and a line out to the pitcher stranded the bases full.
 
Tess Ruschman (Easton, PA) came on to pitch for Graber, and gave up back-to-back one-out singles to left, but got a foul out and a strikeout to shut the door and give the Falcons a much-needed doubleheader sweep on the road to start the weekend.
 
The Falcons will try to keep their weekend rolling in the right direction on Friday, April 21^st, when they travel to take on Hagerstown CC in Maryland, with first pitch of the scheduled doubleheader slated for 3:30pm ET at Hagerstown's softball field on campus.