3/29/25
 
SCRANTON, Pa. – Lackawanna College softball climbed back to .500 overall for the season with a pair of wins at home against Sussex County CC on Saturday afternoon in Region XIX DII play, winning 8-0 and 6-2 at Scranton HS softball field.
 
The Falcons (15-15, 2-2) got contributions from up-and-down the lineup on the breezy afternoon, but it was Emmalee Mowery (Mechanicsburg, PA) who really carried the load, posting four combined hits, all for extra bases, and driving in six runs on the day.
 
Game one was a run-rule victory for the Falcons, as Lackawanna steadily built its eight-run lead through four innings and then held the visitors scoreless in the fifth for the win. Brianna Dinice (Terryville, CT) gave up just two hits in five innings, striking out seven and walking four in the win. Mowery was 2-for-2 with two doubles and four RBIs, while Gracie Sokol (Belle Vernon, PA) went 2-for-2 with two runs. Jillian Heimberger (Unionville, PA) was 1-for-2 with an RBI and two runs, and Lindsey Tasker (Clarks Summit, PA) drew a pair of walks and scored twice.
 
The Skylanders (1-11, 1-9) got two early baserunners in the first on back-to-back walks, but Dinice stranded the runners with three straight outs. Mowery drew a walk in the bottom half, stole second, then scored when Isabella Rodriguez (Lancaster, PA) doubled down the left field line to put Lackawanna up 1-0. Rodriguez made it to third with one out, but a strike out and a pop up left her on base.
 
After Dinice walked the leadoff and then struck out the side in the top of the second, the Falcons got some two-out magic going in the bottom frame. Sokol singled and Tasker walked to put two on. When the lineup swung around to the top of the order, Mowery came up and doubled on a hard-hit ball to center, scoring the pair of baserunners and putting the Falcons up 3-0 after two.
 
Dinice was in some trouble in the third, when the Skylanders had two on and only one out, but she got out of trouble on a hard liner to first. Sokol snagged the hit and quickly stepped on first to double off the runner for the unassisted double play. The Falcons manufactured a run in the next inning, as Heimberger reached on an HBP, got to second on a wild pitch, advanced to third on a fly out, then scored on a sac fly from Mia Scalese (Moscow, PA), giving Lackawanna a 4-0 advantage through three innings.
 
The fourth was where the Falcons really hit the accelerator. Sokol singled, then got to third on a passed ball and a wild pitch. Tasker walked and stole second, and Mowery delivered with her second double of the day, hammering a ball over the left fielder's head to score Sokol and Tasker and make it 6-0, Falcons. Later, Heimberger scored Mowery with one out on a single to center. With two outs, an error let Scalese get to first and put Heimberger on third. Another infield error let Heimberger score, pushing the Lackawanna lead to run-rule territory at 8-0 heading into the fifth.
 
Dinice stepped up the top frame, pitching around a two-out single to get a ground out to third base to win game one.
 
Lackawanna was wasteful in game two, leaving eleven on base, but they scored five runs in the first two innings and did enough to hold off the Skylanders defensively. Mowery was 2-for-4 with a double and a triple and two RBIs. Tori May (New Castle, PA) had a pair of hits and an RBI, while Abigail Yenalevitch (Kingston, PA) had two hits, a run scored, and got the win on the day, pitching four innings of relief, striking out five and allowing just one run on six hits.
 
Heimberger got the start, and Sussex managed to scratch a run across in the first inning. A hit batter gave the Skylanders a baserunner, then an error at third placed runners on the corners with one out. A fly out to center was the second out of the inning, but an errant throw to second on a steal attempt let the runner at third come home and give Sussex a 1-0 lead. Heimberger struck out the final batter to get the Falcons into the bottom half.
 
Coincidentally, the Falcons started their rally because of a hit batter, when Mekenzie Dineen (Wilmington, DE) was plunked with one out. Heimberger hit a ground ball to third and reached base when the throw sailed over the first base player's head. That error let Heimberger reach third and allowed Dineen to score and tie the game. Another error, this time at second, plated Heimberger and gave the Falcons a 2-1 advantage. Later, with two on and one out, May singled up the middle to score a third run and give the Falcons the 3-1 lead heading into the second inning.
 
Heimberger exited and Dinice entered as the pitcher. Sussex immediately got two baserunners and had a pair of runners in scoring position with one out, but the Falcons responded with some good defense. A weakly hit ball back to Dinice was fired back into Paige Pieper (Middleton, ID) to get the runner out trying to score at home. Then, a grounder to Dineen at short was scooped up and fired across the diamond in time to strand a pair of runners and keep it at 3-1.
 
Yenalevitch doubled down the left field line to start the second, then Mowery pounded one over the left fielder's head and hustled around the base paths for a triple to make it 4-1, Falcons. Later, Dinice earned an RBI on a sac fly to center, and the Falcons extended the lead to 5-1.
 
After a leadoff single for Sussex in the third, the Falcons turned another line out double play, as a liner to Tasker at second was caught and quickly fire back to first for the double play. Dinice then struck out the next batter to send it to the bottom of the third. May reached on a dropped third strike with one out, an the Falcons had the bases loaded with one out and Mowery at the bat. This time, however, it was Sussex that benefited from a liner double play, as Mowery smashed a ball to third base that was caught on the fly, and May was doubled off for the third out.
 
Yenalevitch came on to start the fourth, and Sussex responded by loading the bases with one out. Abby responded by striking out the next two batters to strand the bases loaded. The Falcons got two baserunners with one out, but a fielder's choice and a diving catch in left field stranded the pair.
 
Sussex led the fifth off with a triple to left, and then an RBI ground out made it 5-2, Falcons. Yenalevitch got the next two outs to stay out of any trouble. In the bottom half, May legged out a double to left to get the inning started. With two outs, Mowery hit another double to center, scoring May to make it 6-2, Lackawanna. She got to third on a wild pitch, and the Falcons had runners on the corners with two down, before a ground out once again stranded two runners.
 
Sussex left two on in the sixth, and the Falcons did the same thing in the bottom frame, giving Sussex one last chance in the seventh. A leadoff single gave the Skylanders a lifeline, but Yenalevitch got a sharp liner to third that May snagged for the first out, then struck out the next batter to put two away. The final batter swung at the first pitch and lined it softly back to Yenalevitch, who comfortably grabbed it for the final out to give the Falcons the doubleheader sweep.
 
Lackawanna College has now won four straight games, and the Falcons will look to keep their momentum rolling on the weekend with one last doubleheader on Sunday, March 30^th, as they travel to take on SUNY Corning CC for the second time in a week. First pitch of the twin bill is set for 12:00pm ET in Corning, NY.