4/23/23
 
SCRANTON, Pa. – After a strong start to their weekend with back-to-back doubleheader sweeps on Thursday and Friday, Lackawanna College softball crashed back down to earth at the hands of nationally-ranked Brookdale CC, as the Falcons fell 8-1 and 10-8 in a pair of games on Sophomore Day at Scranton HS on a chilly, overcast Sunday afternoon.
 
The Falcons (24-15) were sluggish out of the gate, managing just three hits in a dominant game one victory for the Jersey Blues (23-7). Brookdale, #3 in the latest NJCAA DIII polls, broke open a tight 3-1 ballgame with a killer five-run sixth, getting a trio of extra-base hits, including the second triple of the game from starting pitcher Gianna Praet, to extend the lead out to an unassailable 8-1 advantage. Lackawanna couldn't respond in its final two half innings at the plate, failing to get a runner home in the sixth, and going in order in the seventh. The only run from the Falcons on the day came off the bat of a Krista Scoblick (Harvey's Lake, PA) single to center in the third, cutting into the Brookdale lead at 2-1 at the time, but the Falcons made the third out when a runner got caught straying from second, ending the rally early. Scoblick was 1-for-3 with the RBI, while Catarena Sommers (Windham, OH) and Madison Maloney (Scranton, PA) provided the only other hits. Allyson Lemerise (Catonsville, MD) went six innings, giving up eight runs, five earned, on seven hits, taking the loss. Praet got the win for Brookdale, striking out eleven Falcons and allowing just three hits on the day.
 
Lemerise pitched around a leadoff walk and a single in the top of the first to keep the Jersey Blues from scoring, and the Falcons also wasted a runner in scoring position in the bottom frame, after a two-out double from Sommers.
 
Things picked up in the third, when Brookdale drew a leadoff walk. After strikeout, a triple from starting pitcher Praet scored the first run. A sac fly to the shallow parts of right field brought another run home, and gave Brookdale the 2-0 lead going into the bottom frame.
 
Lackawanna got some two-out magic going in the bottom half, when a two-out walk and an error put two on. Scoblick cashed in one runner with a single to center, but the Falcons were caught in a pickle between second and third after straying in the throw in, and committed the third out on the base paths.
 
Into the fifth inning, with Brookdale up 2-1, the Jersey Blues added another run, as an error on the infield with two outs pushed a third run across. That was the prelude to the sixth, as Brookdale added a few more runs. It started with a one-out walk, and an error put two on. A fly out to short made two outs, but a double scored the pair of runners to make it 5-1, Brookdale. A walk put a second runner on, and Praet delivered with another triple, pushing the Jersey Blues lead out to 7-1. A double followed to score Praet, and Brookdale had an 8-1 lead heading into the bottom of the sixth.
 
The Falcons got a baserunner thanks to an error and a stolen base with one out from Scoblick, but back-to-back strikeouts ended the potential rally. A lead-off single went nowhere for Brookdale in the seventh, and the Falcons couldn't get anything going in the bottom frame, going down in order to close out a game one loss.
 
Six Falcons sophomores were honored between games, and Lackawanna came out firing in game two, but Brookdale rallied with seven straight runs over the final four innings to take the 10-8 win. The Falcons took advantage of a few passed balls and an RBI single from Sommers to take a 4-0 lead after the top of the first, and then added to that lead with another Sommers RBI hit, this time a double in the third, that gave the Falcons an 8-3 advantage. But Brookdale came on, scoring two runs in the fourth, two runs in the fifth, tying the game in the sixth, and getting a go-ahead triple and an RBI single in the seventh to get the lead. The Falcons couldn't get off the mat, going in order 1-2-3 in the seventh to drop the doubleheader. Sommers was a perfect 3-for-3 with three RBI and a run scored, while Aria Reyes (Allentown, PA) was 2-for-4 with two runs scored and an RBI. Tess Ruschman (Easton, PA) got tagged with the loss, pitching 1.2 innings of relief and allowing two runs on three hits.
 
The Jersey Blues got things going in game two with a leadoff single, but back-to-back strikeouts for Alivia Graber (North Syracuse, NY) took the win out of Brookdale's sails, and a ground out ended the inning. That set up a big bottom half for the Falcons. An error let Reyes on board, and she got to second to immediately give the Falcons a runner in scoring position with one out. A Sommers RBI single to center got the Falcons the 1-0 lead. A Scoblick double, followed by a walk, loaded the bases, but a strikeout put two away. A passed ball scored another run, and a walk on a ball four that was a passed ball ended up plating another pair of runners, giving Lackawanna a 4-0 advantage after one.
 
Back-to-back walks put a pair on, and a passed ball had runners on second and third with nobody out in the top of the second. A strikeout put one away, but a single to center scored a run for Brookdale to make it 4-1. Graber got a fly out to McVicar and a ground out back to herself to strand the runners and get out of the inning with just one run scoring.
 
Lemerise was hit by a pitch to star the bottom frame, and an error on the pitcher on a ball hit by Maloney let Lemerise come all the way around to score, and put Maloney at third. A hard-hit ball by Reyes to short scored Maloney and made it 6-1, Falcons. Sommers drew a walk to put two on, and, after a strikeout, another walk loaded the bases with just one out. But back-to-back strikeouts stranded the bases loaded and kept the Falcons from blowing the game wide open.
 
Brookdale took advantage with a two-run homer in the top of the third to left-center field, cutting the Falcon lead down to 6-3, but the Falcons put two on the board with a two-out single from Reyes and a two-run double from Sommers to center that pushed the Lackawanna lead back out to 8-3 after three innings of play.
 
Brookdale struck back in the fourth, as an error at second with two outs kept the inning alive with two on, and an RBI double from game one's hero Praet scored a pair of runs to cut into the Falcons lead at 8-5. Brookdale added two more in the top of the fifth, when a two-out RBI single scored one, and an error on a throw to second allowed another run to score, shaving the Falcons lead down to 8-7 heading into the bottom of the fifth.
 
Savannah Glover (Susquehanna, PA) led the next inning off with a single to center, but the Falcons were retired in order to end the fifth. In the top half of the sixth, Brookdale got to Graber again, this time using a one-out double to score the game-tying run at 8-8. A walk put another baserunner on, and Graber was lifted for Ruschman. Ruschman got a strikeout to put two away, and a fielder's choice stranded the two runners and sent the game to the bottom of the sixth.
 
The Falcons started the bottom frame with a screaming double to center from Sommers to get the potential go-ahead run aboard, but three straight swinging strikeouts ended the threat in a hurry. Brookdale made Lackawanna pay in the top of the seventh, getting a one-out double to get a baserunner, and then a two-out triple to score that go-ahead run. An RBI single would immediately followed to push it to a 10-8 advantage for the Jersey Blues heading into the bottom frame, where the Falcons were retired in order without much fuss.  
 
Lackawanna College has a bit of a break before they are scheduled to get back to work on Saturday, April 29^th, when they travel o Keyser, WV to take on WVU Potomac State College in a three-game series.