3/6/25
 
NORTH MYRTLE BEACH, SC – The bats were quiet through most of Thursday's action, as Lackawanna College softball fell in a pair of games at the Fastpitch Dreams Spring Classic in South Carolina, falling 8-1 to Lincoln Trail College and 3-1 to Kaskaskia College.
 
The Falcons (3-5) struggled on offense, putting together eleven hits in two games, and they were shaky on defense with six combined errors.
 
In game one, the Falcons took on Lincoln Trail, which beat Lackawanna on Tuesday, 11-2 and had a perfect game going into the fifth inning of that contest. Thursday's contest saw the Statesmen (6-4) hold the Falcons hitless into the fifth inning, but only hold a 1-0 lead. That was thanks to a strong outing from starter Brianna Dinice (Terryville, CT), who gave up just one run on two hits through the first four innings.
 
Lackawanna College had its best chance in the second inning, when an error put Kizbelth Ortiz (New London, CT) on second with two outs. A strikeout ended the potential scoring opportunity, however, and the Falcons couldn't get another baserunner until the bottom of the fifth.
 
The problem was, in the top of the fifth, Lincoln Trail finally got its offense rolling. Back-to-back errors put runners on the corners to lead off the inning. Dinice got a strikeout to get the first out of the inning, but a hard single to short scored a run to make it 2-0, LTC. Another single up the middle pushed the lead to 3-0. A nice play from Dinice to Laniah Tasker (Chambersburg, PA) at the plate forced the second out, but the big blow came after a walk loaded the bases. A two-run knock to left field scored a pair, giving Lincoln Trail a 5-0 lead heading into the bottom frame.
 
Tasker broke up the no-hitter with a lead off single to right. Ortiz grounded into a fielder's choice to reach base, and came around to score when Abigail Yenalevitch (Kingston, PA) ripped an RBI triple to right field, getting Lackawanna on the board at 5-1. A walk put runners on the corners, still with one out, but the Falcons couldn't convert, grounding out and then striking out to strand the runners.
 
Trail scored a run in the sixth on an error on a throw back to third, then tacked on two more in the seventh with a bases loaded single and a fielder's choice. The Falcons had one more faint chance in the bottom of the sixth, after Jillian Heimberger (Unionville, PA) singled to left with one out, but she got caught trying to stretch it into a double and thrown out at second. A Gracie Sokol (Belle Vernon, PA) single kept the inning going, but a pop out ended the threat, and the Falcons were retired in order in the seventh inning to close out the 8-1 loss.
 
Heimberger was 1-for-3, while Sokol went 1-for-3 and Laniah Tasker was 1-for-3. Ortiz had the run scored courtesy of Yenalevitch's triple. Lindsey Tasker (Clarks Summit, PA) drew the only walk. Dinice took the loss, her second of the season, giving up eight runs, five earned, on eight hits in seven innings. She struck out four and walked seven.
 
The Falcons had more hits in game two, but still only managed one run, with the difference being a bad third inning.
 
Kaskaskia (5-2) finally broke open the scoreless contest in the bottom frame of the third. A single and a passed ball, followed by a ground out, put a runner on third with just the one out. An excellent bunt single pushed that runner across for the first run, and then a stolen base put another runner in scoring position. A wild pitch put that runner on third, and then a successful double steal let that run come home to make it 2-0, Blue Angels. With two outs and a runner on third, an error on the infield let another run cross before the Falcons could finally get out of trouble.
 
Lackawanna got going in the top of the fifth inning. A one-out walk from Lindsey Tasker put a runner on, and Isabella Rodriguez (Lancaster, PA) delivered a double to left. Tasker sprinted the base paths and slid into home for the run. A fly out to left was just deep enough to move Rodriguez to third, but a pop out to right field ended the inning early.
 
The top of the sixth was a missed chance for the Falcons to get even. A one-out single from Paige Pieper (Middleton, ID) put a runner on first, and then a Laniah Tasker bloop single to right center put runners on the corners with two down. Lackawanna would strike out to leave the runners stranded, preserving the Kaskaskia 3-1 lead.
 
Heimberger, who, apart from the third inning, really pitcher herself out of trouble all day, had to work for it in the bottom of the sixth. A lead off single, followed by a sac bunt and a passed ball, led to a runner getting to third with one out. Heimberger bounced back with a crucial strikeout to put two away, and then a grounder to Lindsey Tasker to end the inning.
 
In the seventh, a two-out single from Emmalee Mowery (Mechanicsburg, PA) brought the tying run to the plate, but a strikeout was all the Falcons would get for their troubles, ending the game.
 
Mowery was 2-for-4 with a double, while Laniah Tasker put together a pair of hits, as well. Lindsey Tasker scored the only run and drew the only walk, while Rodriguez scored the RBI. Pieper was 1-for-3, as was Sokol. Heimberger picked up her first loss of the season, surrendering three runs, two earned, on four hits in six innings of action.
 
Lackawanna College softball has one more doubleheader in Myrtle Beach, as the Falcons will play a pair of games on Friday, March 7^th. Their first game is at 11:00am ET against Kaskaskia College, once again, followed by a 1:00pm ET match-up with Southern Maine CC. That doubleheader will close out their spring break trip down south.