4/16/26
 
FREDERICK, MD – Searching for a bounce back, Lackawanna College softball leapt back into the win column with a pair of impressive road victories on Thursday afternoon, knocking off Frederick CC by scores of 10-1 and 6-0 in non-region action at Frederick.
 
The Falcons (32-11) had a ton of contributions from the top of the order in both games, with both Ayahna Fleisher (Duncannon, PA) and Kyleah Edwards (Taylor, PA) both collecting six combined hits and driving in six and three runs, respectively, while the pitchers combined to allow just one run on ten hits across both contests.
 
In game one, the Falcons hit the front in the third inning, using a Riley Knott (Clarks Summit, PA) sac fly with the bases loaded to get the first run across. With two on and two away, Laniah Tasker (Chambersburg, PA) doubled to score another run and double the advantage. A passed ball scored a third, and the Falcons led 3-0 heading into the bottom half.
 
Starter Mia Scalese (Moscow, PA) loaded the bases with one out, and Lackawanna made a switch to throw Fleisher in the circle. The Cougars (15-13) singled home a run, but then got caught getting greedy and thrown out trying to squeeze a second run. A fly out was the third out, and the Falcons stranded a pair.
 
Fleisher managed to strand two more runners in the bottom frame of the fourth, pitching around a leadoff single and an error with one away to get two fly outs to the outfield. The Falcons made that stand up in the top of the fifth, with Fleisher singling to lead the inning off, and Edwards doubling her home to make it 4-1. Later in the inning, Edwards scored on a one-out RBI single from Tasker, who won a ten-pitch at-bat to drive in the fifth run of the game for the Falcons. An error at short made it 6-1, and Lackawanna had two on with one out and threatened to break it open big, but Frederick got out of trouble.
 
Fleisher retired the side in order in the home half, and the Falcons stranded two more runners in the top of the sixth. Fleisher retired the first two batters of the bottom of the sixth, and Scalese switched back in at pitcher with two away. A single from Frederick was her first at-bat, but she got a liner to third to end the inning.
 
In the seventh, three-straight one-out walks loaded the bases for the Falcons with two away. In stepped Fleisher, and she drove a long fly ball over the center field fence for the backbreaking grand slam, pushing the Lackawanna advantage out to 10-1.
 
Scalese pitched around a hit batter and a one-out walk to end the game, striking out a batter and getting a fly out to Knott to close out game one.
 
Fleisher got the win, her seventh of the year, giving up just two hits in 3.1 innings of relief and striking out a pair. She was a menace at the plate, going 3-for-3 with three runs, four RBIs, a walk, and she also reached after getting hit by a pitch. Edwards went 3-for-4 with two runs, a double, and an RBI. Tasker was 2-for-4 with two RBIs and her own double.
 
The Falcons waited until the middle innings of game two to get some runs on the board, but they didn't need much, as starting pitcher Mekenzie Revere (Ansonia, CT) pitched a complete-game shutout, striking out eight and allowing just four hits.
 
Both teams wasted baserunners in each of the first and second innings, but the Falcons broke through in the third. Haleigh Mazol (Stroudsburg, PA) legged out a sharp single to right field, advanced to third on a single from Fleisher, then scored on an RBI single from Edwards to get the Falcons on the board. With one out and Edwards on, Knott sent a fly ball over the outfield fence for a two-run homer, pushing the Lackawanna lead to 3-0. Later, with a runner on and two away, Gracie Sokol (Belle Vernon, PA) singled in another run to make it 4-0, Falcons, after 2.5 innings.
 
In the top of the fourth, after Tori May (New Castle, PA) singled to lead the inning off, Fleisher shot a fly ball to right field. The outfielder tried to make a diving play, but the ball hit the grass and skittered away. May scored, and Fleisher got to third and sprinted for home, but a great relay beat her to the plate, taking a homer off the board but giving her an RBI triple before the putout. The Falcons were up 5-0 heading into the bottom of the fourth.
 
Revere got a pair of strikeouts around a double, then a pop out to strand the runner in the home half of the fourth. She then retired the side in order in the bottom of the fifth. In the top of the sixth, Three-straight singles scored a run, ending with Edwards singling home Mazol to make it 6-0. The Falcons were poised for more, but a liner to third resulted in a double play.
 
Frederick got a runner to second with two away in the bottom of the sixth, but the Cougars stranded the runner. After the Falcons hit two doubles and had runners on second and third with one out in the seventh, Frederick wriggled out of the jam to get to the bottom frame, but Revere retired the side in order, ending game two with an emphatic swinging strikeout.
 
Revere's win is her 12^th of the season. Fleisher added three more hits and an RBI, while Edwards had three hits and two RBIs. Knott added a pair of hits and two RBIs. Mazol had two hits and two runs scored.
 
The Falcons will get back to Region XIX Division II play on Saturday, April 18^th, with a big doubleheader on the road at Delaware Tech CC. First pitch is set for 1:00pm ET in Georgetown, DE. Lackawanna split their doubleheader with Del Tech earlier this season, back on April 4^th.