4/8/23
 
WEST WINDSOR TWP, NJ – Lackawanna College softball hung on in game two to earn a tough road split in Region XIX DII play against Mercer County CC on Saturday afternoon in West Windsor Twp, NJ. The Falcons fell in game one, 4-2, and managed to hang on to a 10-9 win in game two.
 
Lackawanna College (15-8, 3-1) dropped game one to the high-powered Vikings (21-5, 3-1), but held its own throughout. Lackawanna's only runs came in the top of the first inning, when Catarena Sommers (Windham, OH) and Madison McVicar (Blakely, PA) hit back-to-back doubles to give the Falcons an early 2-0 advantage. Mercer scored three in the bottom frame on a three-run homerun, then added another run in the bottom of the third on an RBI single. The Falcons had their chances to answer, with two runners on and one out in both the fifth and sixth innings, but they couldn't capitalize. Gabby Wettig (Manheim, PA) was 2-for-3, while McVicar and Sommers were each 1-for-3 with a double. Allyson Lemerise (Catonsville, MD) pitched a stellar game, only giving up four runs on seven hits and striking out six, but still got pegged with the loss.
 
In the top of the first, Lackawanna got things going when a one-out walk from Skylar Borthwick (Pittston, PA) preceded a double from Sommers that put the runners in scoring position. McVicar gave the Falcons the 2-0 lead with a double of her own to center. The Vikings got a fly out and a strike out to strand McVicar.
 
Mercer immediately took the lead back in the bottom of the first, getting a walk, a single, and a three-run homerun in quick succession to go ahead at 3-2. Lemerise shook it off and got the outs she needed to get out of the inning.
 
Mercer had things cooking again in the third, still up 3-2. Back-to-back singles led off the inning, and a one-out single scored a run to make it 4-2, Vikings. Lemerise, with two on and one out, responded with back-to-back strikeouts to get Lackawanna out of the jam.
 
Each team had a baserunner in the fourth, but neither could take advantage. Still trailing 4-2 in the fifth, the Falcons looked like they had their best shot to get even. A Lemerise single led the inning off, and a Madison Maloney (Scranton, PA) one-out single put two on. Borthwick hit a hard liner to short that was caught on the run for the second out, and Sommers grounded to second to strand the runners and keep the Vikings in front at 4-2.
 
Lemerise danced out of trouble in the bottom half, and the Falcons again had a golden opportunity in the top of the sixth. Back-to-back one-out singles put two on, but a fly out, followed by a pop out, once again stranded the runners and kept the Vikings ahead at 4-2.
 
The Falcons went quietly in the top of the seventh, and that would be all for game one, giving Mercer the victory and handing Lackawanna its first loss in Region XIX play on the year.
 
In game two, the Falcon offense came alive, but it took till the fifth inning to do so, scoring all ten of its runs in the fifth frame to overcome a 2-0 deficit, then hanging on through the final three innings to withstand a furious Mercer CC rally and earn the doubleheader split. Trailing 2-0 in the top of the fifth, the Falcons scored three runs on four hits and a walk before recording their first out. The Vikings put two away, but Gwen Balavage (Avoca, PA) delivered the blow that blew the inning open, crushing a line drive single to center that scored a pair. Krista Scoblick (Harvey's Lake, PA) followed that up with her team-leading fifth homerun to push the Falcon lead out to 7-2. More two-out magic followed, with a pair of singles, a walk, and an error scoring three more runs in the inning before Mercer cut it short. Alivia Graber (North Syracuse, NY) had pitched well into the fifth, but started buckling under the pressure from the Vikings, as they scored four in the fifth, two in the sixth, and got one home to make it 10-9 in the seventh. Graber gave up that run after a one-out single, then a two-out HBP, a walk, and an error on a pop fly in the infield. She bounced back to shut the door with a pop out to right to end the game. Skylar Borthwick (Pittston, PA) was 2-for-4 with two RBI and a run scored, while Balavage led the way with a 3-for-4 showing and two RBI. Madison Maloney (Scranton, PA) went 2-for-4 with a run scored and an RBI.
 
Things didn't really get going in game two until the bottom of the second, when Mercer led the inning off with a solo shot to right field to claim the 1-0 lead. A pair of two-out singles had the Vikings threatening for more, but Graber got a pop out to end the threat.
 
The Vikings added to that lead in the bottom of the third, hitting another solo homer, this time with two-outs, to left field to make it 2-0. Graber once again go the third out to get out of the inning.
 
The top of the fifth, with Mercer still ahead 2-0, was what changed the game. A leadoff double for Wettig, followed by a single form Aria Reyes (Allentown, PA) had the Falcons in business. Lemerise drew a walk to load the bases, and Maloney singled to center to score a run and cut the lead in half. Borthwick followed with a single that pushed two across to give Lackawanna a 3-2 lead. A ground out, followed by a strikeout, put two on the board, but the Falcons used some two-out magic to keep things going. Balavage lined a single to left to score a pair and make it 5-2, and Scoblick one-upped her with a first-pitching-swinging homerun to left that pushed the Falcon lead out to 7-2. Wettig and Reyes reached again, still with two outs, and Lemerise singled on a fly ball to center that scored Wettig. A double steal brought Reyes home for the 9-2 lead, and an error on a pop fly on the infield let Lemerise come around to score, giving the Falcons a 10-2 advantage, before Mercer got a ground out to finally end the inning. The Falcons had 14 batters come to the plate in the inning.
 
Mercer went right to work on trying to cut into the lead in the bottom of the fifth. Back-to-back singles opened the inning, and a one-out single to third scored one run. Graber induced a sac fly to center to allow another run and get one out away from ending the threat, but a hit-by-pitch kept things going, and a two-out single to center scored a pair of runs to cut the lead to 10-6. Graber got a ground out to second to end the fifth.
 
More came in the bottom of the sixth. A one-out walk gave the Vikings a baserunner, and an error on the infield with two outs kept the inning alive. Mercer took advantage, singling to center to score one run, then taking advantage of another Falcon error on the infield on the next batter to get another run across and cut it to 10-8. Graber snagged a liner back at her to cut the rally short.
 
The Falcons went quietly in the top of the seventh, leaving it all or nothing for Mercer in the bottom frame. A pop out was the first out, but a one-out single put a runner on. Graber got a swinging strikeout to put two away, but a hit-by-pitch kept the inning going, and a walk loaded the bases. A soft liner on the infield looked like it may have ended the game, but the Falcons dropped the ball for an error, allowing a run home and extending the game at least another batter. That's as far as it would get, however, as a fly out to right was secured by Sommers and the Falcons escaped with the 10-9 win and the doubleheader split.
 
The Falcons are back to work after the Easter holiday on Tuesday, April 11^th, when they travel to Penn State Hazleton for an afternoon doubleheader in Hazleton, PA.