4/25/25
 
SCRANTON, Pa. – In a doubleheader ten days in the making, Lackawanna College softball fought hard, but ultimately fell short in a pair of games against Mercer County CC on Friday afternoon at Scranton HS softball field, dropping game one by a 7-5 margin, and losing in game two, 9-7.
 
Game one on Friday restarted in the top of the fifth, with the Falcons (26-24, 11-7) ahead 4-1. Right from the jump, the visitors kept the pressure up, scoring a combined six runs on eight hits over the final three innings. The Falcons finally got their bats going in the bottom of the seventh, but it was too little, too late.
 
Mercer (35-3, 15-3) hit back-to-back singles to start the fifth, then got a one-out RBI single to cut the deficit to 4-2. Pitcher Mia Scalese (Moscow, PA) stranded the bases loaded and avoided a major catastrophe with back-to-back punchouts.
 
The pressure stayed on after the Falcons went down in order with three straight strikeouts in the bottom half, and Mercer scored two more in the top of the sixth to tie the game. A two-out double was smacked deep into left field to score a run, then a single to center tied the game at 4-4. The Vikings loaded the bases again, but Scalese induced a foul out at catcher to keep the game tied.
 
A leadoff double from Kaislyn Currie (Gibbons, AB) in the bottom of the sixth gave the Falcons their first baserunner on the restart. Currie made it to third on a ground out that put two outs on the board, but a strikeout stranded the potential go-ahead run 60 feet away.
 
In the top of the seventh, Mercer kept the heat on, leading off with a single, advancing that runner on a sac bunt, then scoring two runs on back-to-back doubles, going ahead 6-4. Later, with runners on the corners and two outs, a wild pitch let a third run cross, pushing the Vikings' advantage to 7-4 heading into the bottom half.
 
In the bottom of the seventh, Back-to-back singles, followed by a fielder's choice, put runners on the corners with one out. Laniah Tasker (Chambersburg, PA) poked an RBI single to center to keep the Falcons alive, getting Lackawanna within 7-5. A pop out put two away, and a strike out stranded the final pair of runners and gave Mercer the win.
 
In game one, Emmalee Mowery (Mechanicsburg, PA) was 2-for-3 with two runs, while Gracie Sokol (Belle Vernon, PA) was 2-for-4 with a run scored and an RBI. Jillian Heimberger (Unionville, PA) was 1-for-4 with a run scored and an RBI.
 
The second game was back-and-forth, with the Falcons taking an initial two-run lead, only to see Mercer rocket ahead at 4-2 after four innings. The Vikings expanded that lead to 7-3 in the sixth, but Lackawanna rallied to cut the deficit to 7-6. Mercer scored two crucial runs in the seventh to grab a 9-6 lead, and Lackawanna loaded the bases and had the go-ahead run on first, before a ground out ended the potential rally. Lackawanna finished with 13 hits, but stranded nine runners throughout game two, while throwing five wild pitches.
 
Abigail Yenalevitch (Kingston, PA) got the Falcons going in the bottom of the second, doubling home a run with one out, then scoring on a wild pitch to make it 2-0, Falcons.
 
That score would remain until the top of the fourth inning. Mercer loaded the bases on two walks and a single with nobody out, then got a two-run single to left to tie the game. Back-to-back pop flies put two outs on the board, but an RBI single to left, followed by back-to-back wild pitches, plated two more runs to push the Viking advantage to 4-2.
 
The Falcons stranded a runner in the bottom of the fourth, but then retired the side in order in the top of the fifth to get to the bottom frame. Mowery took a pitch on the leg to get on base, got to second on a ground out, then scored on an RBI single from Heimberger to get within 4-3 with just one out. Unfortunately, two straight outs stranded the runner and kept the game at a one-run margin.
 
Mercer struck back in the top of the sixth, using a leadoff double and a single to score a run to make it 5-3. They added another, this time on a one-out single to right, then scored one more for good measure to push the lead out to 7-3, Vikings, heading into the bottom of the sixth.
 
A walk and a single put two Falcons on base in the home half, and Yenalevitch delivered a big blow with a two-run double to center. However, she made a mistake rounding second and tried to stretch it to a triple, getting gunned down at third. With the score at 7-5 and one out, a pop out at second became the second out, but Mowery and Scalese hit back-to-back singles to drive in another run and cut the deficit to 7-6. The go-ahead run reached when Heimberger singled to short, but a pop up to right ended the potential rally and kept the Falcons down a run.
 
With a runner on first and two outs, a wild pitch put that runner on second, Mercer pounced, hitting back-to-back singles to score a pair of runs and push the lead back out to 9-6. Mercer had a chance to keep the inning rolling, but an excellent defensive play by the Falcons got the out at third and sent things to the bottom frame.
 
Back-to-back singles got Lackawanna baserunners with nobody out, but two straight outs threatened to put the potential comeback on ice. Mekenzie Dineen (Wilmington, DE) singled to center to load the bases, and Mowery punched a single back up the middle to force a run home and put the game-winning run on base. Scalese battled in her at-bat, but a ground out to second was all she could manage, and the Falcons were retired to end the inning and the doubleheader.
 
Mowery was 2-for-4 with two runs and an RBI, while Yenalevitch was 2-for-4 with a run and three RBIs. Dineen had two hits, while Heimberger was 2-for-3 with an RBI. Brianna Dinice (Terryville, CT) was hit with the loss, giving up four runs on five hits in four innings.
 
The pair of losses means Lackawanna College is guaranteed the third spot in the Region XIX DII playoffs, set for next Friday, May 2^nd, at Mercer County CC in West Windsor Twp. NJ. That means the Falcons will face the Vikings in the first round. Lackawanna does have one more regular season doubleheader remaining, as the Falcons will host Raritan Valley CC on Sunday, April 27^th, with first pitch at 12:00pm ET at the Scranton HS softball field.