4/26/26
 
SYRACUSE, NY – The offense came in spurts for Lackawanna College softball on Sunday afternoon, but it would be all the Falcons needed to knock off SUNY Onondaga CC in a pair of non-region contests, 10-1 and 8-0, at the Onondaga CC Softball Complex.
 
The Falcons (40-13) used a six-run first inning in game one to get ahead of the Lazers (14-15) and never look back, while a seven-run fifth inning in game two helped Lackawanna walk it off for the doubleheader sweep.
 
In game one, Ayahna Fleisher (Duncannon, PA) went 2-for-3 with two runs and an RBI, while Mia Scalese (Moscow, PA) had a two-run triple, and Laniah Tasker (Chambersburg, PA) drew three walks and had a double. Gracie Sokol (Belle Vernon, PA) went 2-for-3 with two RBIs and a run scored. Mekenzie Revere (Ansonia, CT) picked up her 15^th win of the season, striking out three in five innings of work, allowing just one unearned run.
 
Lackawanna hit the front running in the first inning, pushing six runs across to grab the lead. Fleisher led the game off with a walk, stole second, and scored on an RBI single from Riley Knott (Clarks Summit, PA) with one out. Tasker doubled to left to double the lead at 2-0. Later, with two outs, Sokol singled to center to score Tasker. Back-to-back walks loaded the bases, and a wild pitch, followed by a passed ball, scored two more runs to drive the lead to 5-0. Fleisher came up for her second plate appearance and drilled a single to center to score the sixth run, giving the Falcons the big advantage after just a half inning of play.
 
Things were quiet until the top of the third inning. Still leading 6-0, the Falcons used a walk and a single to put two batters on. Scalese came up to the plate and smashed a ball to the right-center gap. The ball beat the right fielder and skipped to the fence, then the outfielder fell trying to corral it, allowing Scalese to turn a two-run triple into score for herself because of the error, making it 9-0, Falcons. Later, Sokol added a two-out single that scored the tenth run for the Falcons in the contest, making it 10-0 after 2.5 innings.
 
The Lazers got on the board in the bottom of the third because of a single to left that was misplayed, letting the batter get around the bases and home for the Onondaga score. They then threatened to score more with back-to-back singles to lead off the fourth, but Tasker and Fleisher combined to throw a runner out, and the Falcons retired the side to keep the Lazers off the board.
 
Onondaga put two more on in the fifth with one away, but Revere got a fielder's choice and a ground out to keep the Lazers off the board and end the game early via run-rule.
 
In game two, the Falcons got an early lead, but it wouldn't be until the fifth inning when they'd turn it on, scoring seven runs in the fifth to run away with the run-rule victory. Fleisher was 3-for-4 with two runs and an RBI, while Knott went 2-for-3 with a run and an RBI. Scalese added two more RBIs. Fleisher got the win, pitching the shutout with five hits and three strikeouts.
 
The Falcons were the "home" team in game two, so, after Fleisher retired the side to start the game, she doubled to lead off the home half, then scored when Knott tripled to right to make it 1-0, Falcons. Lackawanna had runners on second and third with two down in the inning, but a liner was caught in center field to strand the runners and keep it at 1-0.
 
Onondaga had a runner on in the second inning with one away, but Sokol combined with Mekenzie Dineen (Wilmington, DE) to turn a double play and end the inning. Fleisher pitched around two singles in the third to keep the Lazers scoreless, and Lackawanna had a nice defensive play in the fourth, throwing out a batter trying to stretch a double into a triple.
 
Still up 1-0 in the bottom half of the fifth inning, the Lackawanna offense finally woke up. Fleisher tripled to center to lead the inning off, then scored on a sac fly from Kyleah Edwards (Taylor, PA). With one out, Knott singled, and a walk put two runners on. Mackenzie Adolfson (Throop, PA) singled to center to score a run and make it 3-0. Sokol followed that up with a double to center, pushing the Lackawanna advantage to 4-0. Scalese then hit a single to short and scored the two runners to make it 6-0. A single, followed by an error, let Scalese score, and the potential walk-off run was aboard. Later, with two outs, Fleisher walked it off with a double to left, scoring the game-ending run.
 
Lackawanna College softball has now won 40 games for the first time in a season, finishing its regular season at 40-13. The Falcons will now prepare for the Region XIX Division II playoffs, set to begin on Friday, May 1^st, at Mercer County CC. While the final four has yet to be finalized, the Falcons are likely to face Delaware Tech CC in their first-round match-up on Friday. The tournament is double-elimination, with the goal of sending the Region XIX DII champion and the runner-up into the Atlantic A and Atlantic B District tournament the following weekend.