3/20/25
 
SCRANTON, Pa. – Lackawanna College gutted out two impressive wins at home against Hudson Valley CC on Thursday, picking up the twin bill sweep at Scranton HS softball field. The Falcons won game one, 1-0, and then took game two, 6-5.
 
It was all Mia Scalese (Moscow, PA) in game one for the Falcons (8-10). Scalese, who had struggled in the pitching circle so far this season, threw her best game of the year when the Falcons needed it, striking out seven and scattering three hits in a complete game shutout. Her efforts pitching helped keep the only run of the game, coming off a Jillian Heimberger (Unionville, PA) triple, stand up and be just enough for the Falcons in game one.
 
Heimberger was 1-for-3 with the RBI, while Scalese was 1-for-3 and Emmalee Mowery (Mechanicsburg, PA) had the only other hit. Hudson Valley starter Moira Collins took the loss, despite only allowing three hits and striking out eight in six innings.
 
The Vikings (2-2) got a runner to second on a wild pitch in the first, but a pair of strikeouts helped Scalese shut down the visitors in the inning. She singled and stole second in the bottom frame, but was stranded on a pop up.
 
A pair of singles got Hudson Valley two base runners with two outs in the third, but Scalese worked around the trouble and induced a pop up to short to strand the runners. That gave Lackawanna a chance in the bottom half. Mowery drew a two-out walk and stole second to put herself in scoring position. Heimberger then hit a low liner to the right side that skipped past the right fielder and rolled behind for extra bases, letting Mowery motor home and putting Heimberger on third with an RBI triple to give the Falcons a 1-0 lead after three innings.
 
HVCC had an excellent opportunity in the fifth inning, when a leadoff walk got the visitors a baserunner. A sac bunt moved that runner into scoring position, bringing the top of the lineup up with a runner on second. A routine grounder to short almost spelled disaster for the Falcons when the throw was off line and flew past first base, deflecting off the fence and rolling down the line. The lead runner rounded third and broke for home, but Gracie Sokol (Belle Vernon, PA) turned and fired a strike to catcher Paige Pieper (Middleton, ID), who applied the tag at the plate to keep the Falcons ahead 1-0. Scalese induced a pop up to short to end the inning and get the Falcons out of trouble.
 
Nothing really happened until the top of the seventh, the last real shot for Hudson Valley. The Vikings were down to their last out when another error on the infield for Lackawanna put a baserunner in scoring position. Scalese, however, could not be denied, once again getting the big out when she forced a pop-up on the infield to third base. The Falcons secured the out and clinched the game one win.
 
Game two certainly saw a bit more offense, and it came down to the bottom of the seventh inning, with things tied at 5-5 and the Falcons trying to walk things off. Mowery reached base on an error at short to start the inning, then Kaislyn Currie (Gibbons, AB) was walked, and Heimberger, after a passed ball put runners in scoring position, was intentionally walked. That loaded the bases with nobody out. Pieper flew out on the infield for the first out, which brought up Kizbelth Ortiz (New Britain, CT). On a 1-1 pitch, Ortiz squared to show bunt, but pulled back as the pitch came barreling in on her leg, hitting her square on the ankle and knocking her to the ground. Kiz got up, dusted herself off, and marched off to first, while her teammate Mowery crossed home plate for the sudden and bizarre ending to what was a tight, nervy game.
 
Heimberger got the game two win, pitching three scoreless innings of relief and allowing just one hit, while she was also 1-for-3 with an RBI and a walk. Currie had a three-run triple in the second inning, while Mowery was 1-for-4 with two runs scored. Mekenzie Dineen (Wilmington, DE) added a hit and an RBI, while also pitching two scoreless innings and striking out a pair to start the game.
 
HVCC had two baserunners with two outs in the first, but Dineen got a ground out to short to strand the runners. Lackawanna got a two-out single from Heimberger, but she was stranded in the bottom half.
 
Dineen came back out for the second, and a pair of singles put two on with just one out for the Vikings. Dineen got a big strikeout to put two down, then Isabella Rodriguez (Lancaster, PA) made an excellent catch on a hard-hit liner to short to strand the pair of runners and keep things tight.
 
That served to fire up the Falcons in the bottom half of the second. Lackawanna had the bases loaded with just one out, when Dineen singled to left to score the game's first run. Lackawanna made the second out at third on the quick throw in, but the bases were quickly loaded again when Mowery drew a walk in the next at-bat. In stepped Currie, and, after falling behind 0-2, the Canadian ripped a bases-clearing opposite field triple to push Lackawanna into a 4-0 advantage after two innings.
 
A pitching change moved Dineen to short stop and brought on Brianna Dinice (Terryville, CT) to pitch in relief. Dinice struck out her first two batters, then gave up back-to-back singles. Lindsey Tasker (Clarks Summit, PA) made a great defensive play to strand the runners, however, when she snagged a hard-hit liner on the infield for the third out.
 
Hudson Valley made its move in the fourth, however, as the Vikings scored five in the inning. The big hit was a grand slam with two outs, as Izzy Ratcliffe launched a two-strike pitch over the fence in left field with the bases loaded, tying the game at four. The inning continued on back-to-back singles to score another run, giving Hudson Valley a 5-4 lead. Dinice finally got out of trouble on a soft fly out to Tasker at second.
 
Lackawanna had to wait until the fifth inning to respond. Currie reached after getting plunked, stole second, then advanced to third on a wild pitch. Heimberger grounded to the right side to drive in Currie and tied the game at five heading into the sixth inning.
 
Heimberger pitched around a leadoff single, getting a swinging strike out and a pair of ground outs to third. She then put together a crucial 1-2-3 seventh, winning several long at-bats with fly outs to get the game into the seventh, setting the stage for the late game victory for the Falcons.
 
The wins help Lackawanna College offset a pair of losses to Hudson Valley from yesterday. The Falcons will now look to their next pair of games, a doubleheader on the road at Mercer County CC on Saturday, March 22^nd. First pitch in the Region XIX DII opener will be at 12:00pm ET in West Windsor Twp., NJ.