3/7/24
 
NORTH MYRTLE BEACH, SC – Skylar Borthwick hit a pinch-hit, walk-off double in game two to help Lackawanna College softball salvage a doubleheader split on Thursday afternoon at the Fastpitch Dreams Spring Classic in South Carolina, helping the Falcons to a come-from-behind 7-6 win over Bay College. In game one, the Falcons dropped a 4-1 decision to Kaskaskia College.
 
The Falcons (8-5) had just fallen behind 6-5 after giving up three runs in the seventh to the Norse from Bay College. That completed a collapse after leading 5-2 after the fifth inning for Lackawanna, and the Falcons were desperate to try to get the win. Morgan McVicar (First Year; Blakely, PA) doubled to center to start the inning, and Emilee Dickinson (Sophomore; Hillsboro, OR) singled to put runners on the corners with nobody out. Allyson Lemerise (Sophomore; Catonsville, MD) pinch-ran for Dickinson, then stole second to really put the Falcons in business, still with nobody out. That set the stage just one batter later for Borthwick (Sophomore; Pittston, PA), who came off the bench to pinch-hit, and proceeded to inside-out a pitch the opposite way into right field, where it dropped down the line. That was deep enough to score both McVicar and Lemerise, and give the Falcons the win.
 
Lackawanna had fallen behind 2-0 in the first inning after an error and an RBI triple, followed by an RBI single, put the Norse up. It seemed like the Falcons were in trouble, but they managed to swing a neat and tidy 6-4-3 double play to end the threat. A sac fly in the bottom frame got the Falcons on the board and, as Alivia Graber (Sophomore; North Syracuse, NY) settled in on the mound, the Falcons got the offense going in the third. A leadoff single put a runner on, and with two outs, the Falcons had that runner at second. McVicar delivered with an RBI single to right that tied the game at 2-apiece.
 
The game was still tied at two in the bottom of the fifth when the Falcons took control. Madison Maloney (Sophomore; Scranton, PA) led the inning off with a single, and Aria Reyes (Sophomore; Allentown, PA) also got on with a single, setting up McVicar to drive them both in with a double to center, giving Lackawanna a 4-2 advantage. That lead was expanded when Paige Pieper hit a one-out RBI single to left that scored McVicar and made it 5-2. The Falcons were looking for more, but a double play ball ended the inning early. Bay got one back in the top of the sixth, but Graber managed to get back-to-back pop-ups to end the threat.
 
In the top of the seventh, Brianna Dinice (First Year; Terryville, CT) came on in relief of Graber to try to protect the 5-3 lead. The Norse pounced, drawing a walk, advancing to second on a passed ball, and lacing a triple to right that scored a run and made it 5-4. An RBI single tied the game at 5-5, and after another passed ball put a runner on third with one out, another RBI single gave the Norse the 6-5 advantage. Dinice managed to limit the damage when she got a line out with two runners on to end the inning and set the stage for Borthwick's dramatics.
 
McVicar was 3-for-3 with two runs scored, two doubles, and four RBI, while Borthwick picked up two RBI on the game-winner. Maloney was 1-for-2 with two walks and two runs scored, and Dinice picked up the win, her third on the year, despite giving up three runs on three hits in her inning of work. Graber gave up three runs, two earned, on five hits in six innings in the circle.
 
Game one on the day was a tight, hard-fought contest, but the Falcons committed two errors that led to three runs in the seventh inning, turning a tie-game into a three-run hole that they couldn't climb out of. Lackawanna struck out six times, five over the last four innings, and didn't draw any walks on the day.
 
Kaskaskia used some two-out magic to get the first run in the top of the third, as the Blue Angels got a runner with a one-out single, then stole second with two outs, setting up an RBI single to center that made it 1-0.
 
In the bottom of the fourth, the Falcons finally got themselves going. Borthwick led the inning off with a single to force a pitching change, but a fielder's choice took her off the base paths and put McVicar on first with one away. A strikeout put two away, but Dickinson stayed hot, ripping an RBI double to center that scored McVicar.
 
The Falcons had a chance in the bottom of the sixth, when Maloney hit a leadoff single, then stole second with two outs, but Lackawanna couldn't bring her in, setting up a disastrous top of the seventh. With Lemerise still working hard in the circle, a pop up was the first out of the inning. She bounced back after a one-out single to get a line-out to third for the second out. A looping shot landed just in front of center and ate up the Falcons' outfield, allowing the runners to get to second-and-third with two outs. A walk loaded the bases, and a single deep behind second base to short scored two runs to give Kaskaskia the 3-1 lead. They added another on another error in the outfield, allowing the runner at second to score. A strikeout stopped the bleeding, but the Falcons had a three-run hole to try to climb out of with just three outs left. A one-out single by Lemerise, followed by a two-out single from Jillian Heimberger (First Year; Unionville, PA) brought the tying run to the plate, but the Falcons struck out and the game ended.
 
Dickinson was 2-for-3 with the lone RBI, while Maloney, Borthwick, Lemerise, Heimberger, and Paige Pieper (First Year; Middleton, ID) all added hits. The Falcons stranded five, and committed three overall errors. Lemerise got hit with the loss, despite a solid seven inning outing, giving up four runs, one earned, on seven hits.
 
The Falcons are now 8-5 overall after the doubleheader split.  They have one more doubleheader at the Fastpitch Dreams Spring Classic, starting Friday, March 8^th, at 9:00am ET, when they'll take on Madison College. Right after that, at 11:00am ET, the Falcons will battle with Kankakee CC on the same field.