4/6/23
 
BRANCHBURG, NJ – Lackawanna College had 35 combined hits, including 18 for extra bases, as the Falcons plated a combined 37 runs in a doubleheader sweep over the Lions from Raritan Valley CC on Thursday afternoon in the Region XIX DII opener for Lackawanna College on the road in Branchburg, NJ.
 
The Falcons (13-6, 2-0) won game one by a 24-2 margin in five innings, then followed that up with a 13-2 triumph in five innings over Raritan Valley (0-6, 0-6). The Falcons scored 20 runs in the first three innings, including ten in the third alone, to leave no doubt in game one, while piling up 20 hits in the contest. Catarena Sommers (Windham, OH) hit for the cycle, hitting a two-run triple in the first, a leadoff single in the second, an RBI double in the third, and a two-run homer later in the third. She was 4-for-4 with five RBI and four runs scored. Aria Reyes (Allentown, PA) was 3-for-5 with three runs scored and a pair of doubles, while Skylar Borthwick (Pittston, PA) was 2-for-2 with three RBI and four runs scored, and Tess Ruschman (Easton, PA) went 3-for-5 with four RBI and two runs. Ruschman got the win, pitching three innings and giving up two runs on four hits, while striking out six for her third win of the year.
 
Things immediately got going for the Falcons in the top of the first inning in game one, when back-to-back walks, plus a passed ball, had runners on second and third with nobody out. Sommers stepped in and ripped a two-run triple to right field, then came home to score on a wild pitch to immediately give the Falcons a 3-0 advantage. Madison McVicar (Blakely, PA) reached on a walk, stole second, and advanced to third on an error. Reyes brought her home with an RBI double, and, later, with the bases loaded and nobody out, a wild pitch pushed Reyes across to make it 5-0. A ground out made the first out of the game, and a second one scored the sixth run of the inning, before a fly out retired the side.
 
Ruschman took the circle in the bottom half, and Raritan answered by when an error let the leadoff reach and get to second, and an RBI double to right made it 6-1. A single put runners on the corners, and a ground out to third made it second and third with one out. An RBI single scored another run, but Ruschman settled back in, striking out the next two batters to get out of the inning.
 
Back-to-back singles led off the second, and a walk loaded the bases with nobody out. The bases were still loaded, now with one out, when Emilee Dickinson (Hillsboro, OR) smacked a single to left to score a pair. A fielder's choice put two away and had runners at the corners, when another walk loaded the bases. A passed ball scored one run, and an RBI double to center from Ruschman made it 10-2, Falcons, before a ground out stranded the runners.
 
The top of the third was where the Falcons really put the hammer down. The leadoff reached on a hit-by-pitch, and Sommers doubled her home. McVicar followed that up with an RBI single to score Sommers and make it 12-2. Later, with the bases loaded and one out, Riley Ernst (Youngsville, NY) drew a walk to score one run, and Ruschman hit a two-run single to center to push the Falcon advantage to 15-2. Another single loaded the bases, still with one out, and Borthwick cleared them with a three-run triple to make it 18-2. Sommers stepped in and slammed a two-run shot to left field, giving the Falcons a 20-2 lead and forcing a pitching change for the Lions. That change did the trick, as the Falcons struck out for the next two outs to mercifully bring the third to a close.
 
Ruschman got a pair of strikeouts in the bottom third, and the Falcons added another few runs in the top of the fourth, when Allyson Lemerise (Catonsville, MD) cranked a one-out solo homerun to center. Later in the inning, Gwen Balavage (Avoca, PA) hit a pinch-hit, two-out single to load the bases, and Gabby Wettig (Manheim, PA) pinch hit for a two-run double to center, giving the Falcons a 23-2 advantage heading into the bottom of the fourth.
 
Ernst took over in the circle, and worked around a leadoff walk to keep the Lions off the board. In the top of the fifth, she gave herself some extra run support, hitting a two-out RBI single to left to make it 24-2, Falcons, heading into the bottom of the fifth. Ernst shut the door in that inning, retiring the side in order and getting the Falcons their first Region XIX DII win of the year.
 
Game two was more of the same, as the Falcons scored eleven runs in the first three innings and compiled 15 hits, nine for extra bases, in the 13-2 win in five innings. Borthwick led the game two charge, going 2-for-3 with four RBI, coming on a pair of two-run homers, while Krista Scoblick (Harvey's Lake, PA) was 1-for-3 with a three-run homer to her credit on the day. Savannah Glover (Susquehanna, PA) was 3-for-3 with two runs scored, and Gabby Wettig (Manheim, PA) was 2-for-3 with two more runs scored. Reyes got the game two in, pitching three innings and giving up two runs on three hits while striking out five batters.
 
The Falcons got it going early in game two, when Scoblick reached on an error to start the game, advancing to second on the same error. Borthwick made it count, launching a two-run blast to center field to immediately give the Falcons a 2-0 lead. Wettig reached on a single, but a hard liner to short was caught and flipped to first for a lightning-fast double play. The Falcons got another runner with a two-out double from Reyes, but a fly out ended the first.
 
Much like game one, Raritan got some scoring in the bottom half of the first inning. A pair of two-out doubles cut the Falcon lead to 2-1, and the Lions had the tying run at third, but struck out to end the inning. That gave Lackawanna enough space to stretch the lead in the top of the second, getting an RBI single from Alivia Graber (North Syracuse, NY) to make it 3-1. Scoblick then came up to bat and got in on the party, blasting a three-run homer to center that blew the proceedings open at 6-1, Falcons. Lackawanna added another run later in the inning, when a two-out error on the infield allowed another run to come home, pushing the Falcon advantage out to 7-1 after the top of the second.
 
More runs came in the top of the third, as Graber grounded to short with runners on the corners to score a run. Later, Borthwick came up with a runner at second and two down, and she stepped up with her second homer of the contest to center field, staking the Falcons to a 10-1 lead. An error put the next runner on, and Balavage doubled to center to score the run and make it an 11-1 advantage going into the bottom frame.
 
A one-out walk, followed by a successful steal with two down, had the Lions in business in the bottom of the third, and they cashed in with an RBI double to center that made it 11-2. Reyes recovered to get out three on a swinging strikeout.
 
Lackawanna couldn't do anything with a one-out double from Glover in the top of the fourth, and Dickinson, who came on to pitch for Reyes, made sure there wasn't anything in the bottom frame, pitching around a two-out walk to keep things clean heading into the fifth.
 
Sommers hit a one-out double to left to get the Falcons a baserunner, and she advanced to third on a ground out. So, with two down and a runner at third, Dickinson doubled to left to score Sommers, and then came home on an RBI double from Lemerise, on a ball that hit the outfield fence just below the top. A pop up ended the threat and sent the game to the bottom of the fifth, with the Falcons ahead 13-2.
 
Dickinson didn't waste any time, retiring the side in order 1-2-3 to get the Falcons the run-rule victory, the doubleheader sweep, and the Region XIX DII win.
 
The Falcons have now won three straight games, and will look to continue their streak with a doubleheader against NJCAA DI opponent Harford CC (16-3) on Friday, April 7^th, at Scranton HS. The doubleheader is set to start at 1:00pm ET from the Scranton HS softball field.