3/15/26
 
LITTLE RIVER, SC – Lackawanna College softball got its spring break trip off to an excellent start, as the Falcons swept a pair of games in their first day at the Fastpitch Dreams Softball Classic in South Carolina on Sunday morning and afternoon. The Falcons dropped the Wolfpack from Madison College in the morning session, 8-1, and then hung on through a late rally in game two to defeat Mohawk Valley CC, 11-9, during the afternoon.
 
The Falcons (8-3) fell behind in each of the first innings of their respective contests, but reclaimed the lead in the bottom half of each game, rocketing in front and never trailing again. The Falcons had 19 combined runs and 25 hits, striking out just six combined times over the two games.
 
Against Madison (3-3), the Wolfpack pounced early on starter Ayahna Fleisher (Duncannon, PA), using a lead-off single and a sac bunt to put a runner in scoring position, and then cashing in with stolen base and an RBI single with two outs to go ahead, 1-0, in the top of the first. The Falcon offense responded immediately in the bottom frame, putting two runners on and then getting an RBI single from Laniah Tasker (Chambersburg, PA) to tie things up. Riley Knott (Clarks Summit, PA) followed with an RBI single to left that scored the go-ahead run, and Gracie Sokol (Belle Vernon, PA) delivered a big blow with a double to center that scored a pair. Later in the inning, with two outs and the bases loaded, Fleisher made sure the Falcons got a little extra boost, pushing a single up the middle to score two more runs, forcing a pitching change, and putting Lackawanna ahead 6-1 heading into the second.
 
That would be all that Fleisher really needed, as she scattered seven hits over the seven innings, never really getting challenged the rest of the way. Lackawanna added two more runs in the bottom of the fifth thanks to an RBI ground out and a run-scoring single from Mekenzie Dineen (Wilmington, DE).
 
Fleisher earned the win, her fourth of the year. She was also 2-for-3 with a run scored and two RBIs. Sokol went 2-for-3 with two RBIs, while Tasker posted a pair of hits and a run and RBI. Madison Pirolli (Southampton, PA) and Mackenzie Adolfson (Throop, PA) each had two runs scored, and Dineen added a pair of hits at the bottom of the lineup.
 
In game two, what looked like a runaway Lackawanna victory nearly turned into disaster, as Mohawk Valley (0-2) scored six runs over the final three innings to close the gap. The Hawks had the bases loaded with just one out, and traded a grounder and then a bases loaded walk to get within 11-9 before the Falcons got the groundout to end the game.
 
Before that, Lackawanna was cruising, but Mohawk Valley had the early lead in the top of the first inning. Starter Mekenzie Revere (Ansonia, CT) hit her first two batters, then a single up the middle was misplayed in the outfield, allowing a pair of runs to score and the batter to reach third. A wild pitch scored a third run, but Revere managed to settle in, getting a pair of strikeouts and a line out to end the inning.
 
Lackawanna immediately struck back in the bottom half, with a bases-loaded two-run single from Kyleah Edwards (Taylor, PA) to get it to 3-2. Pirolli came up and doubled to left to score two more and put Lackawanna in front at 4-3.
 
Revere struck out the side in the second, and the Falcons added another run on a two-out single from Sokol to make it 5-3. MVCC had a runner on second with one out, but catcher Riley Knott combined with Laniah Tasker to catch the runner stealing at third to eliminate the threat. Revere got the final out of the third via a strikeout, and the Falcons added two more in the bottom frame on back-to-back singles from Mia Scalese (Moscow, PA) and Tasker to go ahead 7-3.
 
Revere kept things clean in the top of the fourth with another pair of strikeouts, and Lackawanna put four more on the board in the bottom half. Abigail Yenalevitch (Kingston, PA) laced a doubled to center to score a run, followed by an inside-the-park home run from Fleisher that scored three runs and made it 11-3, Falcons.
 
In the top of the fifth, Revere started to come unglued. An error let a runner on, and back-to-back walks, the second occurring on a wild pitch, made it 11-4. A two-run single scored another pair of runners before Revere got a strikeout for the first out of the inning. A wild pitch put runners in scoring position, and back-to-back walks scored another run. With the bases loaded, one out, and the tying run at the plate, the Hawks had momentum, but Revere struck out two more batters to strand the bases loaded and keep the Falcons ahead.
 
Lackawanna grounded into a double play in the bottom of the fifth, but Scalese came in to pitch to start the sixth and kept things clean, which included getting some help from Knott and Fleisher catching a runner stealing second.
 
The Falcons stranded a runner in the bottom of the sixth, and Mohawk Valley used a pair of singles and a walk to load the bases with one out in the top of the seventh. The tying run came to the plate, and a ground out forced a run in. Now, with two outs, a hit batter loaded the bases, bringing the go-ahead run to the plate. A bases loaded walk forced in another run and cut the Lackawanna advantage to just two, but a pinch hitter failed MVCC, as a ground ball to third base let Tasker step on the bag for the force out to end the game and secure the sweep.
 
Revere got the win, her second of the season, pitching five innings and giving up seven runs, four earned, on just three hits. She had eleven strikeouts, but also eight walks. Scalese pitched two innings of relief, striking out a pair and walking three, while giving up two runs on two hits. Fleisher went 3-for-3 with three runs and three RBIs, all coming on her three-run homer, while Sokol added three more hits and scored a pair of runs. Pirolli had two hits, including a double, and two RBIs, while Yenalevitch added a pair of hits, including a double, and scored two runs.
 
Lackawanna College has now won four-straight games and seven of its last eight contests. Lackawanna College has another pair of games tomorrow on Monday, March 16^th, in day two of their action at the Fastpitch Dreams Classic, taking on St. Charles CC at 9:00am ET in game one, followed by a clash with Morton College at 11:00am ET in game two.