4/21/24
 
SCRANTON, Pa. – Lackawanna College softball got contributions from up-and-down the lineup as the Falcons turned back the Spartans from Northampton CC in doubleheader action on Sunday afternoon at Scranton HS softball field. Lackawanna took game one, 11-7, and then won game two by a 9-2 margin.
 
Skylar Borthwick (Sophomore; Pittston, PA) led the way in game one, going 3-for-4 with two runs and three RBI, while Morgan McVicar (First Year; Blakely, PA) was 2-for-4 with four RBI and a run scored, two coming on a two-run homerun in the sixth inning. Allyson Lemerise (Sophomore; Catonsville, MD) went 3-for-4, while Madison Maloney (Sophomore; Scranton, PA) was 2-for-4 with a run driven in and a run scored. Alivia Graber (Sophomore; North Syracuse, NY) got the win, allowing four runs on eight hits in four innings of action.
 
In game two, Maloney went 3-for-4 with two runs scored and two RBI, including her 100^th hit of her Lackawanna softball career, a leadoff double to start the bottom of the first inning. Aria Reyes (Sophomore; Allentown, PA) was 2-for-3 with two runs scored and two RBI, while Kaislyn Currie went 1-for-4 with two RBI. The Falcons took advantage of eight errors from Northampton. Brianna Dinice (First Year; Terryville, CT) improved to 8-0 on the season, giving up two runs, just one earned, on five hits in seven innings of work. 
 
The Falcons (33-12) were locked in on offense from the outset, scoring runs in every inning of game one, and four of their six innings in game two. Game one was a particularly torrid affair, with both teams combining for 31 hits in an 18-run barnburner. Lackawanna built a 6-3 lead, and was up 11-4 going into the seventh, before Northampton (13-9) stormed back with three runs to make it tight.
 
Two players reached to start game one for the Spartans, but Graber bounced back, after having a single deflect off her hand, to get a pair of fly outs and stranded the runners. The Falcons responded in the bottom frame when Maloney led the inning off with a single to center, and a walk made it runners on first and second. With no one out, Borthwick hit a rocket to right field, tripling home the pair of runners. A groundout from McVicar made it 3-0, Falcons, heading into the second.
 
Northampton bounced back, placing runners on first and third with two away. A single to left scored one run, and a two-run single to center tied the game at three. Lackawanna scored two more in the bottom half, courtesy of a one-out triple from Maloney, followed by a one-run single from Borthwick that made it 5-3, Falcons.
 
Lackawanna added a run in the bottom of the third, and Northampton added a run in the fourth, thanks to a single to right. The Spartans had runners on second and third with just one out, but a grounder to the left side was thrown home to get the lead runner out, and a fly out to center stranded a pair of runners and kept Northampton from breaking things open.
 
The Falcons added a run on a single from McVicar in the bottom of the fourth, then forced Northampton to strand the bases loaded with one out, forcing two fielder's choices to get out of trouble. Another run scored on a wild pitch in the fifth, pushing the Lackawanna advantage to 8-4, and then three more came home in the sixth. Borthwick reached on a single to start the inning, and McVicar launched a two-run shot to left field, her team-leading fifth homer, blowing things open at 10-4. Another run came around to score on a wild pitch, but the Falcons couldn't get the walk-off run to score before the end of the inning.
 
Northampton came back from the brink in the top of the seventh, using a leadoff single, followed by a deep fly ball to center that made it 11-6. Another two straight singles put runners on first and third, still with nobody out, and a liner to center was deep enough to score the runner on third, making it 11-7. With the runner on first, Lackawanna regained its composure, getting a fly out, and then a ground out, to end the game and take a wild game one.  
 
In game two, Northampton jumped out early on Lackawanna starting pitcher Dinice, using a one-out double, followed by an error in right with two outs to score the first run. In the bottom frame, Maloney doubled to deep left field, her 100^th career hit. She got to third on a wild pitch, and an error at second base let Mazzie Musgrave (First Year; Old Forge, PA) aboard, with Maloney crossing the plate to tie the game. Later, with runners on first and second and two outs, Reyes came up and singled to right field, scoring Musgrave to give the Falcons a 2-1 lead.
 
In the bottom of the second, Emmalee Mowery (First Year; Mechanicsburg, PA) hit a one-out double, and was rewarded when Maloney tripled to right to bring her home, making it 3-1, Falcons, but Lackawanna stranded Maloney at third. Northampton responded with a two-out single to score a run in the top of the third, cutting the Lackawanna lead down to 3-2 heading into the bottom frame. That, unfortunately, would be a disaster for the visitors, as Northampton committed four errors in the inning.
 
A dropped fly ball in the outfield let McVicar get to second to start the inning, and a second error, this time on the throw from third to first, let Kizbelth Ortiz (First Year; New Britain, CT) reach. A run-scoring single to center scored McVicar, putting the Falcons up 4-2. A fly out let Ortiz get to third, and Currie doubled to left to score the pair of runners, making it 6-2, Lackawanna. Mowery singled home another run, and then an error at second let Maloney reach, putting runners at first and second with still just one out. Another error, this time at short, loaded the bases, still with one out, but Lackawanna couldn't break the game completely open, taking a 7-2 lead into the fourth.
 
Nothing happened until the bottom of the fifth, when another error at third let Mowery reach and advance to second. Maloney then delivered with a single to center, scoring Mowery and making it 8-2. Later, with one out and Maloney on third, Borthwick singled through the right side to score Maloney and put the Falcons ahead at 9-2. Another error with two outs had Lackawanna with runners at first and third and two away, but a strikeout ended the inning.
 
Northampton had runners at second and third with two outs in the top of the seventh, but Dinice, as she had done throughout the game, got the third out, popping up the final batter to second, handing Lackawanna College its eighth straight win.
 
Lackawanna has Monday off, before it gets back to action on Tuesday, April 23^rd, with a doubleheader at home against Brookdale CC. The Falcons will celebrate their seven sophomore student-athletes for Sophomore Day, with festivities starting around 3:00pm ET, and game one to follow at 3:30pm ET at Scranton HS softball field.