3/18/25

SCRANTON, Pa. – Lackawanna College softball has a busy week ahead of itself, with doubleheader contests on five of the next seven days. It all starts with three straight days of action, as the Falcons travel to take on the County College of Morris in a pair of games on Tuesday, March 18^th, before hosting Hudson Valley CC in back-to-back doubleheaders on Wednesday, March 19^th and Thursday, March 20^th.
 
The doubleheader with Morris is set for a 3:00pm ET start in Randolph, NJ. Morris is competing as a club team this season.
 
Then, on Wednesday and Thursday, the Falcons are scheduled to host the Vikings from Hudson Valley CC in doubleheaders starting at 3:30pm ET on both days at Scranton HS softball field. There will be a pay-per-view video livestream available via the Lackawanna College Athletics Network at lackawannafalcons.com/LIVE for both games.
 
About The Falcons
The Falcons (4-8) had a rough afternoon this past Saturday, dropping a doubleheader on the road at WVU Potomac State College by scores of 12-1 and 8-0. The Catamounts hit four combined home runs and shut down the Falcons on offense throughout the afternoon. You can read the full recap HERE.
 
The Falcons have struggled at the plate this season, hitting just .247 through their first 12 games. Lackawanna has scored 43 runs, averaging 3.6 per game on the year. The Falcons have 12 extra-base hits, including ten doubles, and they have a .615 OPS. Lackawanna has drawn 27 walks and struck out 66 times. They have also stolen nine bases.
 
Pitching-wise, the Falcons have been pretty good, posting a staff ERA of 5.27 through 12 games this year. In 73 innings, the Falcons have allowed 87 runs, 55 earned, on 99 hits, while striking out 32 and walking 44. Opponents are hitting .311 against the Falcons this season and have been hit by eight pitches.
 
Defensively, the Falcons have 30 errors and a .910 fielding percentage. They've turned two double plays and caught four runners stealing this season.
 
Sophomore outfielder Emmalee Mowery (Mechanicsburg, PA) leads the team with 12 total hits and a .343 batting average this season. Mowery has a .894 OPS, first on the team, boosted by her team-high .465 OBP, and she leads the Falcons in doubles (3), extra-base hits (3), and total bases (15). She has drawn seven walks, tied for the team-high, but has also struck out seven times, tied for second-worst on the team this season. Mowery has five multi-hit games during the season, including the three games leading into the doubleheader at Potomac. She was 3-for-4 with a run scored, a double, and two RBIs in the win against Southern Maine CC. Mowery was a combined 0-for-2 with four walks in the two games against Potomac on Saturday. She has 28 putouts and one assist in the outfield this season.
 
Sophomore utility player Jillian Heimberger (Unionville, PA) is second on the team with ten hits and is hitting .303 through 12 games. She has a .772 OPS and has scored a team-high seven runs. Heimberger has five RBIs, tied for second on the team, and has a double this year. Heimberger has drawn seven walks, tied with Mowery for first on the team, but she has also struck out nine times, a squad-high. Heimberger has a .439 OBP, second on the team this season, and she has stolen a base. She has one multi-hit game on the season, collecting two hits and two RBIs in a loss to nationally ranked Danville Area CC back on March 2^nd. Heimberger was a combined 2-for-4 with two runs scored and an RBI in the doubleheader against Kaskaskia and Southern Maine CC on March 7^th. Heimberger was 1-for-4 in two games against Potomac last Saturday. She has 17 putouts and 13 assists this season.
 
First-year second base player Lindsey Tasker (Clarks Summit, PA) is tied for third on the team with nine hits this season, posting a .333 batting average through 12 games. Tasker has scored five runs, tied for third on the team, and has a double and three RBIs this season. She has four walks and three stolen bases this season. Tasker also has a .789 OPS on the year. Tasker has three multi-hit games this season, including her last two games before Potomac. She was as combined 5-for-7 in her two games on March 7^th, scoring two runs and driving in another. Tasker was a combined 1-for-2 against Potomac with two walks last weekend. She has 21 putouts and ten assists this season from second base.
 
First-year corner infielder and catcher Laniah Tasker (Chambersburg, PA) is tied with Lindsey for third with nine hits this season, and she has a .281 batting average through eleven games. Laniah has four runs scored this year and has driven in a pair of RBIs. Laniah has drawn a walk and has been hit by two pitches this season. Laniah has two multi-hit games, both against Kaskaskia two weeks ago. Tasker was 3-for-4 with a run scored and an RBI in the 8-3 loss to the Blue Angels on March 7^th. She was 1-for-4 with an RBI and a double in two games against Potomac State this past weekend. She has 25 putouts and a team-high eleven assists this season, helping turn one of the two double plays for the Falcons this season.
 
First-year first base player Gracie Sokol (Belle Vernon, PA) has eight hits on the year, posting a .250 batting average through 12 games. Sokol has a .658 OPS and has three runs scored, and she is one of two Falcons with a triple this season. Sokol has five RBIs, tied with Heimberger for second on the team, and has two walks on the year. Sokol has recorded a hit in eight of her 12 contests. She was held hitless in two games against Potomac last weekend. Sokol has 54 putouts and three assists this season.
 
Sophomore pitcher Brianna Dinice (Terryville, CT) has thrown the most innings for the Falcons this season, appearing in six games and throwing 33.2 innings this season. Dinice is 3-3 with a 4.78 ERA on the year, starting in every one of her appearances. Dinice has allowed 31 runs, 23 earned, on 40 hits, while striking out a team-best 15 batters and walking 23. Batters are hitting .280 against Dinice this season. Dinice has thrown four complete games on the season. Her best game came in the first one, throwing seven innings, striking out five, and allowing just one unearned run in the win against Fayetteville Tech. Against Southern Maine, she went all seven innings and gave up four runs, three earned, to pick up the win. Dinice lasted only two innings in her last start, walking seven and giving up six runs, four earned, on three hits against Potomac.
 
First-year pitcher Mia Scalese (Moscow, PA) has pitched in 19.1 innings this season, making five appearances, four of which have been starts. Scalese is 0-4 with a 7.60 ERA. Scalese has given up 36 runs, only 21 earned, on 39 hits, striking out seven and walking ten. Opposition is hitting .398 against Scalese this year, and she has hit six batters with pitches this season. Mia's last appearance was against Potomac over the weekend, pitching four innings of an 8-0 loss and giving up all eight runs on eight hits.
 
Heimberger has pitched the third-most innings, throwing 16 so far this season. She is 1-1 in three appearances with a 2.19 ERA, making two starts. Heimberger has given up 13 runs, five earned, on 15 hits, with eight strikeouts and seven walks. Batters are hitting .246 against Heimberger so far this season. Jill's win came against Olney Central on March 3^rd, pitching all seven innings and striking out a season-high five batters for the win. She gave up nine runs, but only three were earned. Her last appearance came against Kaskaskia on March 6^th, where she gave up three runs, just two earned, on four hits in six innings, a good outing, but she took the loss as Lackawanna fell, 3-1.
 
The head coach for the Falcons is Jeff Pittsman, entering his 14^th season in charge of the Falcons. Pittsman has 268 wins in his career, the most in program history. He won a region championship in 2017, and he has helped the Falcons get to the Region XIX playoffs in eight straight seasons. Pittsman took over the program in 2012, having to piece together a roster from non-scholarship athletes and limited numbers. The team saw massive improvement in year two, winning 13 more games, and Pittsman steadily built the Falcons into a winner, winning 25 games by 2016. Lackawanna hasn't been below .500 since. Before coming to the Falcons, coach Pitt coached travel softball from 2006 to 2013 in Northeast PA, helming the Impact Panthers and Northeast Stars in his time. Before that, he was an assistant football coach with his alma mater, Mid Valley HS, from 1989 through 2001, and then Riverside HS from 2003 through 2004.
 
About County College of Morris
The Titans have not yet played this season, and the doubleheader with Lackawanna will be their first two games of the year.
 
The head coach is Mike Borozan.
 
About Hudson Valley CC
The Vikings have also not yet played, and the four games with Lackawanna will serve as their season-openers for the 2025 campaign.
 
Last year's team finished 20-10, falling to Corning in the Region 3B championship series. They have several sophomores from last year's team, including many starters. Those returners have the Vikings amongst those teams receiving votes in the latest NJCAA Division III polls.
 
Rick Tedisco is entering his fifth season with the Vikings. Last year's 20-10 record marked the third-straight season where Hudson Valley won 20 or more games. Tedisco was hired in 2020, just as the pandemic hit and shut down the program for two years. His first official year of action was 2022, where the Vikings went 21-13. Tedisco began coaching softball in 2008, and founded the Capital District Fusion Girls softball travel organization, which now has eight teams ranging from 12U to 18U, winning multiple state and national titles. Tedisco is 62-41 in his three full seasons of action at Hudson Valley CC.
 
The Match-Up
Lackawanna is 4-3 against Morris, dating back to 2022. They lost three games to the Titans in 2023, but swept them in 2024, winning 8-3 and 14-1 at home against Morris in April of last year.
 
Against Hudson Valley CC, the Falcons are 3-0, winning a game at Onondaga in 2023 in five innings at 12-4, and then sweeping the Vikings last year by scores of 10-4 and 2-0 on March 26^th last season.
 
The doubleheader with Morris on Tuesday, March 18^th, is set for a 3:00pm ET start in Randolph, NJ. Morris is competing as a club team this season.
 
The four game series against Hudson Valley starts on Wednesday, March 19^th, as the Falcons and Vikings open the first doubleheader starting at 3:30pm ET at Scranton HS softball field. The Thursday, March 20^th, doubleheader will also start at 3:30pm ET. There will be a pay-per-view video livestream available via the Lackawanna College Athletics Network at lackawannafalcons.com/LIVE for both games.
 
Lackawanna is scheduled to open its Region XIX DII schedule on Saturday, March 22^nd, as the Falcons will travel to West Windsor Twp., NJ, for a doubleheader on the road at Mercer County CC. First pitch is set for 12:00pm ET on Mercer's campus.