3/28/25
 
SCRANTON, Pa. – Lackawanna College got to walk things off twice on Friday afternoon, taking down Frederick CC by scores of 8-0 and 6-5 in non-region action at Scranton HS softball field.
 
The Falcons (13-15) got to end things early in game one with a walk-off single in the fifth to trigger the run rule, then came back from a late deficit in the seventh to hit a walk-off single and secure a nice pair of bounce back wins, after dropping their previous two games on Thursday.
 
Game one was not particularly competitive, as Jillian Heimberger (Unionville, PA) allowed just three hits in five shutout innings, and the Falcons scored five runs in the first to build a big early lead. Heimberger was 2-for-3 with a run, while Laniah Tasker (Chambersburg, PA) went 1-for-3 with two RBIs and two runs. Tori May (New Castle, PA) had two hits and two RBIs, and Paige Pieper (Middleton, ID) scored a pair of runs in the win.
 
After Heimberger retired Frederick (5-18) in order to start game one, Lackawanna pounced immediately in the bottom half. Emmalee Mowery (Mechanicsburg, PA) reached on a leadoff walk, then got to third on a Heimberger single with one out. Later, the Falcons had runners on second and third with one out when Tasker singled to center, scoring both Mowery and Heimberger and giving the Falcons the early 2-0 advantage. Tasker stole second, then got to third on a wild pitch. Eventually, with the bases loaded and still one out, May stepped in and delivered a one-run single to right to make it 3-0. Gracie Sokol (Belle Vernon, PA) singled to make it 4-0, and Lindsey Tasker (Clarks Summit, PA) flew out to right for a sac fly and made it 5-0, Falcons, after one inning.
 
Lackawanna added two more in the second on back-to-back singles from Kizbelth Ortiz (New Britain, CT) and May, both coming with two outs.
 
Frederick got its first baserunner in the top of the third on a leadoff single. An error at first with two outs put runners on the corners, but Heimberger preserved the 7-0 lead with a pop up to center to strand the runners.
 
Neither team could get a runner past first base until the Falcons came to bat, still up 7-0, in the bottom of the fifth. Sokol struck out for what should have been the second out, but she hustled down the line on the dropped third strike to give Lackawanna a baserunner. A Lindsey Tasker single put two runners on, but a pop out behind her put two away. Isabella Rodriguez (Lancaster, PA), who had been quiet all afternoon, slapped a single to right field, scoring Sokol from second and letting Lackawanna walk off game one on the run-rule.
 
Frederick built an early lead in game two, lost it to the Falcons in the sixth, then gained it back in the seventh inning at 5-4. With their backs against the wall, the Falcons delivered, tying the game with an RBI single from Laniah Tasker with nobody out, then getting a clutch two-out bloop single from Kiz Ortiz to right field that scored Tasker and ended game two at 6-5.
 
Mia Scalese (Moscow, PA) got the win, giving up five runs, three earned, on seven hits in seven innings. Mowery was 3-for-4 with a run and an RBI. Heimberger stayed hot, going 3-for-4 with two runs and an RBI. Tasker had two hits, and Mekenzie Dineen (Wilmington, DE) was 2-for-3 with an RBI and a run scored.
 
The Falcons got runners to first and third in the first inning, but came up empty. Frederick pounced in the second, getting four hits and a walk to make it 2-0 before an out was even recorded. A ground out to second was the first out of the inning, but also scored a third run to give the Cougars the 3-0 advantage. Scalese, after another walk, settled in, getting an infield fly and then a line out to right to strand the bases loaded and keep the inning from exploding.
 
Neither team had much to do until Lackawanna in the bottom of the third. Dineen and Mowery had back-to-back singles to start the inning, then Heimberger singled with one out to load the bases. Laniah Tasker popped up to short for the second out, then another infield pop up stranded the bases loaded and kept the Falcons off the board.
 
Frederick had two baserunners with two outs in the top of the fourth, but Scalese got a groundout to keep herself clean. The Falcons had two baserunners with one out in the bottom half, but Sokol got caught stealing, then a pop up ended the inning.
 
The bottom of the fifth was where Lackawanna College finally got on track. Mowery and Scalese each singled to start the inning, and Heimberger scored Mowery on a fielder's choice to get the Falcons on the board. Heimberger then stole second to get into scoring position, which paid off two batters later, as Pieper singled to center to score her, cutting the deficit to one at 3-2 after five innings.
 
The Falcons kept coming in the sixth. A one-out triple to right from Lindsey Tasker gave the Falcons some life, and Dineen cashed her in with a double to center to tie the game at 3-3. Mowery then pushed Dineen home with a double to right, giving the Falcons a 4-3 lead in the bottom of the sixth. Scalese had a chance to help herself out, but she lined into a double play at first, quickly ending the potential big rally.
 
Frederick got two baserunners with one out in the top of the seventh, then scored both of those runs on an error on the infield for Lackawanna College. Suddenly, the Cougars were back in front, 5-4, and Lackawanna needed to get out of the inning without anything else getting across. Scalese got a pop up to right for the second out, then she induced an infield pop up to short stop to get the Falcons into the bottom half.
 
Now needing to score, Lackawanna turned to Heimberger, who singled to lead off the inning, then stole back-to-back bases to put herself in scoring position. Laniah Tasker singled to left to tie the game and now represented the game-winning run on base. Back-to-back strikeouts threatened to cut the rally short, but Tasker managed to steal second base to get a little closer to home. That proved to be an excellent strategic move, as Kiz Ortiz singled on a bloop hit to right field, just over the heads of the right side of the infield, and just enough of a hit to score Tasker scurrying around third and heading home. Lackawanna, for the second straight game, had ended things with a base hit, albeit, in a much closer contest.
 
Lackawanna College will look to keep the momentum rolling when the Falcons welcome Sussex County CC to Scranton on Saturday, March 29^th, for a doubleheader in Region XIX DII play. First pitch is set for 12:00pm ET at the Scranton HS softball field.