3/31/26

SCRANTON, Pa. – Excellent pitching and a red-hot Mackenzie Adolfson helped Lackawanna College softball earn an important Region XIX Division II doubleheader sweep over Salem CC on Tuesday afternoon, as the Falcons won 10-2 and 2-0 in a pair of contests at Scranton HS softball field.
 
The Falcons (22-7, 8-0) got two solid pitching performances from starters Mekenzie Revere (Ansonia, CT) and Ayahna Fleisher (Duncannon, PA), combining to allow just two runs on ten hits and strike out 15 batters. Couple that with Adolfson (Throop, PA) smacking two home runs, two doubles, and driving in five runs, and the Falcons earned two important wins against the Mighty Oaks (13-9, 5-5).
 
In game one, the Lackawanna offense jumped all over Salem's starter, scoring four runs in the bottom of the fourth inning and answering two Salem runs in the third with two of its own, before accelerating with four runs in the fifth to trigger the run-rule victory.
 
After Revere struck out a pair in the first inning to strand a pair, the Falcons used a pair of singles and a fielder's choice to put two runners on with one out in the bottom half. Laniah Tasker (Chambersburg, PA) shot a single to deep right-center field to score the two runners and put the Falcons ahead 2-0, then she scored when Adolfson rocketed a 1-1 pitch to dead center to make it 4-0, Falcons, after one.
 
Salem got on the board in the third inning, using a leadoff single, a two-out walk, and then an RBI single to right to score a run. Two-straight hit batters forced another run in, and the Oaks were down just 4-2. Revere managed to get out of major trouble with a pop up to short that stranded the bases loaded.
 
In the bottom of the third, Tasker singled to center and advanced to second on a wild pitch. She'd score when Adolfson smacked a double over the right fielder's head and off the bottom of the fence to make it 5-2. Adolfson later came home to score on a double-steal attempt, putting the Falcons ahead 6-2 after three innings.
 
Salem, which stranded eleven different batters in game one, had its best chance to make something happen in the fifth inning. A walk, a hit batter, a fielder's choice, and another hit batter loaded the bases with two away and the top of the order up to bat. Revere managed to get the crucial third out without a run scoring, forcing a ground ball to short and picking off the runner at third for the force out.
 
That massive out in the top half led to the Falcons scoring big in the fifth. Adolfson doubled to deep center to lead the inning off. A ground out moved her to third, and she baited the shortstop to throw home on another ground ball before scampering back to the bag, letting Madison Pirolli (Southampton, PA) on with a fielder's choice. With runners on the corners, a walk loaded the bases with one out and forced a pitching change. Mekenzie Dineen (Wilmington, DE) singled to center to score Adolfson and make it 7-2. Fleisher then singled to left on a hard ground ball to score another run, and Kyleah Edwards (Taylor, PA) walked it off with a hard single up the middle to center, scoring two runs to make it 10-2, ending the contest early via run-rule.
 
Revere pitched five innings and struck out five, allowing two runs and four hits for her seventh win of the season. Fleisher was 3-for-4 with an RBI, while Edwards finished 3-for-4 with two RBIs and two doubles. Adolfson went 3-for-3 with two doubles, a homer, three RBIs, and three runs, and Tasker was 2-for-3 with two runs and two RBIs.
 
Game two was a pitcher's duel, with the Oaks making excellent defensive plays I the outfield to help back their starter Jordyn Busch, while Lackawanna starter Fleisher, pitching her first game in nearly two weeks, was equally up to the task, striking out ten for the game.
 
Salem stranded one runner in each of the first three innings, but Lackawanna had the best chance to break the deadlock in the bottom of the third. After back-to-back hard line outs from Fleisher and Edwards, an error on a pop up behind first base let Riley Knott (Clarks Summit, PA) reach. Tasker singled up the middle to put two on, and Adolfson came up to bat. She swung on the first pitch and hit another laser to the outfield, but the center fielder was right there to grab the ball and deny the Falcons a scoring opportunity.
 
Fleisher doubled with one out in the fifth, but Lackawanna didn't get anything going. In the top of the sixth, a lead-off single gave the Oaks a baserunner, but Fleisher bounced back with three-straight punch outs to keep Salem off the board and set up the bottom of the sixth for Adolfson to be the hero.
 
A leadoff walk from Tasker brought Adolfson to bat, and she belted a 2-1 pitch over the center field fence for her second homer of the doubleheader and her fourth round-tripper in the last week, putting Lackawanna ahead 2-0 late in the game. Two singles gave the Falcons a pair of baserunners with one out and a chance to potentially add, but the Oaks got the crucial outs to get to the seventh frame.
 
Fleisher gave up back-to-back singles to start the inning, and a sacrifice bunt pushed the runners into scoring position with just one out. The next batter hit a soft pop up that didn't get beyond home plate, with Adolfson squeezing it for the second out. The final batter grounded softly to Fleisher, who flipped to first for the out, securing the shutout victory and the sweep.
 
Fleisher got the complete-game shutout win, her sixth victory of the season, giving up six hits in seven innings. Adolfson had the only two RBIs for the game with her two-run homer, while Fleisher, Tasker, Pirolli, and Mia Scalese (Moscow, PA) each collected hits for the game. The Falcons had just two strikeouts over the span of both games.
 
Lackawanna College is now 22-7 and 8-0 in Region XIX DII play. The 22-7 start is the best in the Jeff Pittsman era through 30 games, and 22 wins before April is a record under coach Pitt. The Falcons are back in action on Thursday, April 2^nd, with a doubleheader at home against Brookdale CC. First pitch of the twin bill with the Jersey Blues is set for 3:30pm ET at Scranton HS softball field. Brookdale is currently receiving votes in the latest NJCAA Division III national polls.