3/4/24
 
MYRTLE BEACH, SC – Timely hitting and excellent pitching made the difference for Lackawanna College softball on Monday evening, as the Falcons took a pair of games in impressive fashion to sweep their doubleheader at the Fastpitch Dreams Spring Classic at Myrtle Beach. Game one was an 8-2 win over St. Clair County CC, and game two was an 8-0 shutout win in six innings against USC Sumter.
 
The Falcons (5-4) held their opponents to a combined two runs on ten hits, striking out seven total batters and walking just one in both games combined. In game one, Lackawanna jumped ahead in the bottom of the first inning, after an error, and back-to-back walks loaded the bases with nobody out. Jillian Heimberger (First Year; Unionville, PA) skipped a pitch back towards the pitcher, but Madison Maloney (Sophomore; Scranton, PA) beat the throw home, and a subsequent throw allowed a second run to score and advance the runners into scoring position. A Paige Pieper (First Year; Middleton, ID) single to center scored a third run, still with nobody out, and a fourth came home with two away on a wild pitch. A fifth run scored when Morgan McVicar (First Year; Blakely, PA) singled to right to score Pieper, staking the Falcons to a 5-0 lead after the first.
 
After Heimberger cruised through the top of the second, Maloney and Emmalee Mowery (First Year; Mechanicsburg, PA) hit back-to-back singles to get the Falcons going, and then pulled off a double-steal to put runners in scoring position. A costly error from the Skippers' infield allowed Skylar Borthwick (Sophomore; Pittston, PA) to reach and the two runners came home to score. Later, with runners on the corners and nobody out, Pieper brought a third run in the inning home on a ground ball, but St. Clair flipped that into a double-play, helping them eventually get out of the inning, down 8-0.
 
St. Clair managed to put two runs on the board in the fifth, thanks to a passed ball and a ground out, but the Falcons got good pitching from Heimberger, Mazzie Musgrave (First Year; Old Forge, PA), and Brianna Dinice (First Year; Terryville, CT). Heimberger went two innings and gave up one hit for the start, while Dinice gave up one hit and struck out three in two innings of relief for the win. Maloney was 1-for-3 with two runs scored, while Heimberger went 2-for-2 with two RBI and a run scored. Borthwick had two RBI and two runs scored without recording a hit.
 
Game two was more of the same from the Falcons, as Lackawanna jumped out to an early lead and cruised the rest of the way to a run-rule victory over the Fire Ants from USC Sumter. After dancing around a leadoff single in the top frame, the Falcons went to work in the bottom of the first, drawing back-to-back walks to open the inning. A one-out error loaded the bases, and Allyson Lemerise (Sophomore; Catonsville, MD) was able to pop out to center that was deep enough to score Maloney, but the Falcons were doubled off on the base paths with Pieper getting thrown out at second to end the inning.
 
Lemerise cruised through the top of the second, and the Falcons really laid the hammer down in the bottom half. Emilee Dickinson (Sophomore; Hillsboro, OR) led the inning off with an infield single, and back-to-back walks loaded the bases with nobody out. A bases-loaded walk to Musgrave brought Dickinson in to score, and Maloney cashed in with a two-run single to right field that made it 4-0, still with nobody out. Later, a one-out walk from Borthwick loaded the bases again, and Pieper broke the game wide open with a laser to left field that went over the fielder's head and cleared the bases, making it 7-0, Falcons, heading into the third.
 
Neither team could really muster much in the way of offense the rest of the game until the bottom of the sixth, with the Falcons back to bat. Leading 7-0, Lackawanna got a leadoff single from Musgrave, who then stole second to put herself in scoring position. After a strikeout, the Falcons got Mowery aboard on an infield error to put runners on the corners. Borthwick drew a walk to load the bases again, and Pieper drew a bases loaded walk to force the game-ending run home and give the Falcons the victory in six innings.
 
Lemerise was outstanding, giving up four hits and striking out four in six innings of shut-out work. Maloney was 2-for-3 with two runs scored, two RBI, and a walk, while Pieper was 1-for-3 with four RBI and a walk. Musgrave was 1-for-2 with two runs scored, an RBI, and a walk at the bottom of the lineup. The Falcons drew eight walks all-together.
 
Lackawanna has now won its last three games, and will look to keep the streak alive on Tuesday, March 5^th, when the Falcons have another pair of games in Myrtle Beach. The first will come against Southeastern CC-Whiteville at 1:00pm ET from the Central Park Field 2 location at 1:00pm ET, followed by a battle with Henry Ford CC at 5:00pm ET from the Central Park Field 4 location.