4/23/24
 
SCRANTON, Pa. – Visiting Brookdale CC spoiled Lackawanna College's Sophomore Day festivities, snapping Lackawanna's eight-game winning streak and knocking off the Falcons with a pair of tight victories in doubleheader action on Tuesday afternoon at Scranton HS softball field. Brookdale won game one by a 4-2 margin, then scored three runs in the seventh inning to take a 9-8 victory in game two.
 
The Falcons (33-14) celebrated their seven sophomores in the pre-game ahead of game one, but it was Brookdale's sophomore, Malloy Shevlin, that stole the show. The pitcher was the starter in both games, throwing 247 total pitches. She struck out 18 combined batters, eleven in game one, and was a combined 4-for-6 with four RBI, including a double in the top of the seventh of game two to tie the game, then scoring the go-ahead run.
 
In game one, a tie game was broken open by Brookdale (12-11), which scored a run in the fourth, fifth, and sixth innings. The Falcons pushed a run across in the seventh, but couldn't rally for more. Morgan McVicar (First Year; Blakely, PA) went 1-for-3 with a RBI, while Alexis Semanek (Sophomore; Wilkes-Barre, PA) also had a run driven in and was 1-for-3. The Falcons struck out eleven times, and stranded six runners. Alivia Graber (Sophomore; North Syracuse, NY) was tagged with the loss, despite a season-best eight strikeouts and giving up four runs on eight hits in seven innings.
 
The Jersey Blues tripled to start the contest, but Graber got a strike out and a pop out to put two away. Shevlin delivered with a two-out single to right to score the runner and put Brookdale ahead 1-0. The Falcons answered in the bottom frame, when Madison Maloney (Sophomore; Scranton, PA) walked to lead off the inning, stole second, advanced to third on a ground out, and scored on a McVicar double to left to tie it up.
 
Both teams wasted runners in scoring position in the second, and Lackawanna wasted another runner in the third. Brookdale pushed Shevlin to third, and scored her on a single to center to make it 2-1 in the top of the fourth, but Graber buckled down and got two outs to get out of the inning. The Falcons had a quick 1-2-3 bottom half, and Brookdale took advantage in the top of the fifth, using a one-out double, grounding out to advance the runner, and scoring a run on a dropped third strike to make it 3-1.
 
The Falcons had one of their best chances in the bottom of the fifth, when Emmalee Mowery (First Year; Mechanicsburg, PA) reached on a one-out single, then got to second on an error in the outfield. Another error put runners on the corners, and Maloney stole second to put runners in scoring position, still with one out. Shevlin was unphased on the bump, getting back-to-back strikeouts to strand the runners.
 
In the top of the sixth, Brookdale also had runners on second and third, and a double to right drove one of those runs home to make it 4-1. With one out, a ground ball to third was scooped up by Allyson Lemerise (Sophomore; Catonsville, MD), who stared the runner on third back to the bag, then threw down to first for the put-out. The runner on third made a break for it, but Mazzie Musgrave (First Year; Old Forge, PA) fired a dart to Semanek at home, who tagged the runner at the plate for the second out, eventually helping the Falcons get out of the inning.
 
Lackawanna had a chance in the bottom of the seventh, still down 4-1, when Aria Reyes (Sophomore; Allentown, PA) doubled to start the inning, and was scored by a Semanek double to center, cutting the deficit to 4-2. Lackawanna had the tying run at the plate with nobody out, but three straight outs from Shevlin gave game one to Brookdale.
 
The second game was much more offensive, with Lackawanna rallying from a 6-3 deficit in the fifth, courtesy of run-scoring single from Skylar Borthwick (Sophomore; Pittston, PA) and a three-run homer from Reyes, and the Falcons held an 8-6 lead into the seventh, but Brookdale rallied to score three of its own, with Shevlin tying the game on a double, then scoring the go-ahead run. Lemerise was 3-for-4 with three RBI and two runs scored, while Maloney went 2-for-3 with two runs scored, and Reyes had three RBI. The Falcons struck out seven times for the game, and stranded five runners. Reyes was brilliant in emergency relief, coming on in the third inning, and striking out eight in five innings, but was tagged with the loss for the three runs that scored in the seventh.
 
Brianna Dinice (First Year; Terryville, CT) started the game in the circle for the Falcons, and struck out the side, firing up Lackawanna for the bottom half. Maloney reached after getting hit by a pitch, then stole second and advanced to third with one out. McVicar reached on an infield single to third, setting the stage for Lemerise, who smashed a three-run homer to left field, giving the Falcons the early advantage. Shevlin settled down to get the final outs to close out the first.
 
As well as Dinice's first inning went, her second inning was that bad. Three straight walks loaded the bases, and a hit batter forced the first run home for Brookdale. A wild pitch scored a second run, and the subsequent throw to the plate was off the line, allowing two more runs to score. Without recording a hit, Brookdale had the 4-3 lead. Dinice struck out a batter, gave up a single, and got a pair of fly outs to save herself from further damage.
 
After a 1-2-3 bottom of the second, Dinice was under duress again in the third, when Brookdale put up three straight hits, two of them doubles, to make it 6-3, Jersey Blues. That's when Dinice came out, and Reyes came on. Reyes struck out a pair of batters, then got a foul out to first to get out of trouble.
 
The next hit for either side came in the top of the fourth, when a one-out single gave Brookdale a base runner. The Jersey Blues tried to steal second, but Paige Pieper (First Year; Middleton, ID) hosed the runner on a frozen rope to second, combining with Maloney for the tag and the caught stealing. Reyes then got a strike out to fire up the Falcons for the bottom half.
 
A two-out single from Jillian Heimberger (First Year; Unionville, PA) gave the Falcons a base runner, and Pieper ended up reaching on a long ball to left that was dropped in the outfield, allowing Pieper and Heimberger to get to second and third, respectively. A strikeout ended the threat, however, stranding the runners.
 
Lackawanna, down 6-3 in the bottom of the fifth, finally broke through. A one-out double from Maloney to left gave the Falcons a runner in scoring position, and Borthwick delivered with a single to right to score Maloney and cut the deficit to 6-4. A fielder's choice eliminated Borthwick, and Lemerise singled to left to put runners on first and second with two outs. In stepped Reyes, who rocketed a pitch to the deepest part of the field for an improbable three-run homerun, vaulting the Falcons into the lead at 7-6.
 
After Reyes pitched around a one-out single with no trouble, the Falcons added another run in the sixth, when Maloney tripled with two outs to center, scoring Mowery to make it 8-6 after six innings.
 
In the top of the seventh, Brookdale finally got to Reyes. A leadoff walk put a runner on, and a single to right, plus runners advancing on the throw, made it second and third with nobody out. Shevlin delivered with a smoked double to left-center field, scoring both runners to tie the game. After a sac bunt, another double followed, scoring Shevlin to make it 9-8, Brookdale. Reyes recovered to get the two outs to get out of the inning, but the damage was done.
 
A one-out single, followed by a two-out walk, gave the Falcons a life-line, and Pieper battled with Shevlin, but eventually struck out looking, stranding the runners and giving the Jersey Blues the doubleheader win.
 
The Falcons will try to bounce back on Thursday, April 25^th, when they travel to Frederick CC for a non-region doubleheader match-up. First pitch of the doubleheader will be at 2:00pm ET in Frederick, MD.