4/20/24
 
SCRANTON, Pa. – Mazzie Musgrave hit a go-ahead triple in game one, and Lackawanna College softball took advantage of key errors and a howling wind in game two to claim a doubleheader victory over Salem CC on Saturday afternoon at Scranton HS softball field. The Falcons took game one, 10-8, and ran away with game two, 8-2.
 
Lackawanna (31-12, 9-3) overcame a 4-3 deficit into the bottom of the fourth inning of game one, when Musgrave (First Year; Old Forge, PA) cleared the bases loaded with one out on a triple to left, vaulting the Falcons into a 6-4 advantage. A sac fly scored Musgrave, and a solo homer from Morgan McVicar (First Year; Blakely, PA) gave the Falcons an 8-4 lead heading into the fifth.
 
That lead would extend to 10-5 entering the sixth, but Salem (24-10, 6-4) used four straight hits to open the top half, including a two-run double and a one-run single, closing the gap to just 10-8. Allyson Lemerise (Sophomore; Catonsville, MD) buckled down and got two huge back-to-back strikeouts, then a ground out to third to end the top frame with the Falcons still in front.
 
After Lackawanna wasted a runner on third in the bottom of the sixth, Lemerise got the first two outs of the top of the seventh, before a single, followed by a walk, gave Salem two base runners with two outs and the tying run at the plate. The Mighty Oaks hammered a ball to the outfield, but Emmalee Mowery (First Year; Mechanicsburg, PA) charged in to catch the liner and give her squad the much-needed win.
 
Salem had initially taken a 2-0 lead after the top of the first, but Lackawanna responded when Musgrave hit a one-out double, and was scored by Skylar Borthwick (Sophomore; Pittston, PA) with a triple to right. McVicar tied the game with a sac fly, and the game was 2-2 after one. That lead moved to 3-2 in the bottom of the second, when Madison Maloney (Sophomore; Scranton, PA) sac flied to right, one batter after Mowery had sac bunted to advance runners to second and third. Salem tied the game in the fourth on an errant throw trying to catch a runner stealing, then took the lead on a two-out double to left to make it 4-3, setting up the Falcons for their big fourth.
 
Musgrave was 2-for-4 with two runs scored and three RBI, while both Borthwick and McVicar had a pair of RBI. Aria Reyes (Sophomore; Allentown, PA) had a pair of hits and two runs scored, while Mowery added two runs and a run driven in. Lemerise got the win, giving up eight runs, four earned, on 15 hits, while striking out five in seven innings.
 
Game two was similar, in the sense that Salem held a 2-0 lead, but the Falcons weren't hitting, so much as the Mighty Oaks were imploding.
 
Trailing 2-0 into the bottom of the fourth, Lackawanna had managed just one hit through the first three innings. Musgrave broke that up with a leadoff single, advanced to second on a ground out, and then got to third when McVicar singled on a sky high ball that the wind blew away from the first base player, putting runners on second and third with two outs. The wind continued to pick up and clouds began to roll in, making it difficult for the fielders, and Paige Pieper (First Year; Middleton, ID) took advantage. Pieper battled through a length at-bat before popping up a similar knock to McVicar's, and a similar result occurred when the infield dropped the ball, letting two runs come home and putting Pieper on second. A hit batter, followed by a walk, loaded the bases, still with two outs, when Mowery delivered with a single that tipped the glove of the second base player and skipped into center, allowing two more runs to score. Maloney followed with a single to right, pushing the Falcons advantage to 6-2, before a triple to center from Musgrave made it 7-2, Falcons.
 
Reyes, who had come on early in relief for the Falcons, had a quick 1-2-3 fifth, and the Falcons loaded the bases with two outs in the bottom frame, but couldn't score. Salem put runners on first-and-third with just nobody out in the top of the sixth, marking the Mighty Oaks' best chance at a comeback, but Reyes got a huge swinging strike out for the first out. She then induced a ground ball to the left side on a 2-1 pitch, which Lemerise expertly scooped up, tagged the runner who was directly next to her off the bag, and then fired across the diamond to Musgrave for the huge 5-3 double play.
 
Lackawanna added a run in the bottom of the sixth when a ground ball to the right side was fumbled by second base, letting Borthwick reach and allowing Musgrave to score from second. The Falcons threatened to add more with two on and two out, but a ground ball to the left side was snagged spectacularly by the short stop, who flipped to third for the force out.
 
In the top of the seventh, Reyes locked it down, despite a two-out double, getting a ground out to the right side to end the game and give Lackawanna a doubleheader sweep.
 
Reyes was spectacular in relief, allowing just two runs on seven hits in 5.2 innings, striking out three. Reyes had to come in after starter Alivia Graber (Sophomore; North Syracuse, NY) left with a finger injury in the second inning. McVicar finished 3-for-4 with a run scored, while Musgrave was 2-for-3 with two runs scored. Mowery had a pair of RBI, as did Maloney.
 
The Falcons have now won six straight games, and have won 30+ games in a regular season for the third time under coach Jeff Pittsman. Lackawanna is back to action on Sunday, April 21^st, when the Falcons host Northampton CC for a doubleheader. First pitch of game one is at 12:00pm ET at Scranton HS softball field.