4/2/23
 
NEW ROCHELLE, NY -- After a quiet and lackluster game one, Lackawanna College softball put together a strong game two showing on the road, getting some late-game clutch hitting from a pair of veteran hitters to escape with a 10-9 win in game two against Monroe College to earn a road doubleheader split in New Rochelle, NY on Sunday afternoon. The Falcons fell in game one, 7-1, but rallied from a late 9-8 deficit to win game two.
 
The Falcons (11-6), trailing 9-8 into the sixth inning of game two, took advantage of a Gwen Balavage (Avoca, PA) pinch-hit triple, getting some two-out magic from Kira Ryan (Albertus, PA) with an RBI single to right that tied things up. Then, to start the seventh inning, Madison McVicar (Blakely, PA) smashed a shot to left field that caromed off the wall, allowing McVicar to scoot around the bases and give the Falcons an improbable inside-the-park homerun, and a 10-9 advantage. Alivia Graber (North Syracuse, NY) made it stand up, retiring the Monroe Mustangs (11-18) in order to secure the split and the victory for the Falcons. Sophia Mandarno (Dunmore, PA) was 2-for-3 with two RBI and a pair of doubles, while McVicar was 2-for-4 with her solo homer. Krista Scoblick (Harvey's Lake, PA) was 1-for-4 with a pair of runs scored. Graber got the win, her fourth on the season.
 
The day didn't start at all how the Falcons had hoped, mustering only three hits and just one run as Monroe's Sarah Wall threw seven strong, striking the Falcons out ten times in the 7-1 Monroe win. An RBI single in the first and an RBI ground out with the bases loaded in the second were the only two Mustang runs to start, but a three-run fourth, followed by a two-run fifth, put things well out of reach. McVicar was 2-for-3, while Scoblick was 1-for-2 with a run scored. The Falcons had only three hits, but managed seven walks, stranding ten runners in game one. Allyson Lemerise (Catonsville, MD) went four innings in the losing effort, allowing five runs, just two earned, on nine hits.
 
The Falcons, thanks to a Gabby Wettig (Maheim, PA) walk and a McVicar single, had runners at second and third with two away, but a fly out stranded the runners and kept the Falcons off the board. A leadoff single got the Mustangs started, which they eventually pushed across with a one-out RBI single to the right. Later, the Mustangs had runners on the corners with two away, but Lemerise got a ground out back to her to end the inning.
 
Scoblick singled to lead off the second, and stole second to get into scoring position. A one-out walk put two on, but a strikeout threatened to end the inning early. That's when Madison Maloney (Scranton, PA) reached on an error at short, pushing a run across to tie things up after 1.5 innings.
 
In the bottom of the second, a pair of one-out singles had Monroe in business. A walk loaded the bases, and a ground out to second scored a run to make it 2-1, Mustangs. Lemerise got a line out to second to end the inning.
 
The Falcons had another opportunity in the top of the third, when a McVicar double, followed by a Balavage walk, put two on with one out. Balavage and McVicar stole second and third with two away, and an Emilee Dickinson (Hillsboro, OR) walk loaded the bases. The Falcons came up empty, however, when a strikeout ended the threat and stranded the bases loaded.
 
The Falcons wasted another baserunner in the fourth, still trailing 2-1, when a two-out walk from Wettig, who got to second on a wild pitch, went nowhere after a strikeout ended the inning. Monroe made the Falcons pay in the bottom of the fourth.
 
A leadoff triple, with a throwing error tacked on, gave Monroe a 3-1 advantage. Lemerise recovered to get to straight outs, but a two-out single put a runner on, and two straight RBI singles plated two more runs. A walk put three on, but a fielder's choice to third ended the inning with Monroe ahead at 5-1.
 
A one-out error, followed by a walk, gave the Falcons two baserunners with one out in the fifth, but a strikeout and a ground out ended the threat again. Aria Reyes (Allentown, PA) came in to pitch the bottom of the fifth, and Monroe tacked on two more, hitting an inside-the-parker to lead the inning off, then taking advantage of a one-out triple to bring the run home on a ground out that made it 7-1, Mustangs.
 
In the bottom of the sixth, Reyes pitched around a pair of one-out singles, and a two-out walk that loaded the bases, to get a fielder's choice to strand the runners and give the Falcons one last look, but Lackawanna couldn't take advantage of a one-out walk, hitting into a game-ending double-play, 4-3 on the base paths, giving Monroe the win in game one.
 
Game two didn't get off to quite the hot start for the Falcons, as Monroe plated three in the bottom frame. A one-out single, got Monroe a baserunner, and a two-out RBI single pushed a run across. A walk put two on, and a two-run triple made it 3-0, Mustangs. Graber managed to recover with a strikeout to get the Falcons out of the inning.
 
The top of the second saw the Falcons get a pair of runs back, starting with Scoblick reaching on a throwing error from third, advancing to second base on the error. A line out put two away, but another error on the Mustangs' infield let Scoblick score and cut into the Monroe lead. Mandarano followed with a double down the left field line, scoring another run and making it a 3-2 game heading into the bottom of the second.
 
Monroe answered back with a solo homer to lead off the bottom frame, an inside the park shot to left center, and a one-out single eventually led to another run, after an error on the Falcons' infield let a batter reach and a run cross. The Falcons managed to get the second out on the play with an out at second base, and a fly out got Lackawanna out of the inning, trailing 5-2.
 
It wasn't until the top of the fourth where the Lackawanna offense really got going. With one on and one out, Reyes doubled to put runners on second and third. Savannah Glover (Susquehanna, PA) delivered with a two-run double to make it 5-4, Mustangs. A pitching change followed, but no matter, Mandarano doubled to left to score Glover and make it 5-5. Mandarano stole third, then came home on a throwing error that allowed Graber to reach, putting the Falcons in front. Maloney reached on a single, and advanced to second on an error in the outfield, putting runners on second and third, still with just one out. A hit-by-pitch loaded the bases, and a big RBI single from Wettig plated two more runs, putting the Falcons up 8-5. The rally would end there, though, as a fly out put two away, and the Falcons were picked off trying to advance to third on the fly.
 
Monroe came right back in the bottom of the fourth, using back-to-back singles to open up the inning to immediately put pressure on the Falcons' defense. A ground out to first put one away, but advanced the runners, and the Mustangs made it work with a two-run double that cut the Falcon lead to 8-7. An RBI single followed that, tying things at 8-8. Graber recovered to get a pair of groundouts back to herself and get out of the inning.
 
Monroe retook the lead in the bottom of the fifth, using a one-out single to get a runner aboard, advancing to second on an error, stealing third, and scoring on a throwing error to make it 9-8, Mustangs.
 
The Falcons were down, but not out, and it started in the top of the sixth, when Balavage pinch hit for Graber with one out, tripling to get the Falcons the game-tying run aboard. A Maloney fly out put two away, but Kira Ryan singled to right to score Balavage and tie things, once again.
 
Graber got a 1-2-3 inning in the bottom of the sixth, and that brought up the Falcons for the decisive seventh. After a pitching change, McVicar got a hold of a pitch to left field, circling the bases and scoring an inside-the-park homer to put Lackawanna back in front at 10-9 to start the inning. That would be all the Falcons needed, as Graber came out in the bottom of the seventh and retired the side 1-2-3 for the second straight inning, giving the Falcons the win and a much-needed split against a Division I opponent.
 
Lackawanna College is in action again on Thursday, April 6^th, when the Falcons travel to Branchburg, NJ for a Region XIX DII doubleheader against Raritan Valley CC, with first pitch at 3:30pm ET.