Scranton Lions Softball Drops Twin Bill to Valley Forge 

On a Tuesday night under the lights, the Penn State Scranton Lions softball squad dropped both ends of a road doubleheader to non-conference foe the University of Valley Forge Patriots by the scores of 15-3 and 14-1 respectively. With the defeats, Scranton sees their overall record go to 3-8 and their all-important conference mark stays at 0-2 before blasting back into league play this weekend. 

In the game one five inning affair, Valley Forge scored early and often, as they put up a trio of runs in the bottom half of the first inning, a robust 10 runs in the second, and two more in the third frame, to cruise to their dominant 12 run home triumph. Scranton's runs all came in the top half of the third inning, where they put up a solid three spot to draw the game a little closer. The Patriots also won in the hit department over the Lions by a 13-2 to margin. 

Scranton's two hits in the contest came from the dynamic duo of junior shortstop Kathryn Lahey and freshman second baseman Rachel Murray who each had a hit apiece. Lahey, who went 1-2 at the plate, hit a nice RBI single to right field to score freshman left fielder Sara McNichols to cut the deficit to 13-3 in the third frame. Meanwhile, Murray also went 1-2 at the dish and scored a run. The Lions other run was scored by sophomore catcher Ashlyn McNally and their other RBI came from McNichols.  

Meanwhile, Valley Forge had a well-balanced offensive attack where five of their players tallied multi-hit stand-out performances. Sophomore center fielder Caitlyn Fisher led the way going 3-4, with a game-high four RBI, scored three times, stole two bases, and crushed a big three run home run in the bottom of the second inning to give her squad a 13-0 advantage at the time. Freshman third baseman Jeanna Garsik was a flawless 3-3 at the dish, scoring a run and stealing a base to boot. Senior shortstop Jaeleen Mendoza was a perfect 2-2 at the plate, scoring a run, drilled a double, and picked up an RBI. Fellow senior, left fielder Christina Stanford was 2-3, with a pair of RBI, and scored a run. Last but certainly not least, sophomore infielder Keegan Thompson was also 2-3, with a double and a triple, collected a hat trick of RBI, and scored twice in the matchup. 

On the pitching side of things, Scranton started sophomore hurler Olivia Shimonis who picked up the loss on the mound in her gritty four innings of work, allowing just three earned runs, four walks, and fanned three Valley Forge batters in her outing. As for Valley Forge, they had junior pitcher Laura Medio toe the slab, as she earned the complete game victory, tossing five strong innings, only allowing two earned runs, a pair of base hits, just one walk, and struck out a stalwart 10 Scranton hitters in the showdown.  

In the game two nightcap five inning affair, Valley Forge put up an awe-inspiring eight runs in the bottom of the first inning and six more in the third frame, as they cruised to their 13 run home triumph. The Lions from Scranton were able to avoid the dreaded shutout in the fifth and final inning, as they brought home a run to get on the scoreboard before game's end. Valley Forge out hit Scranton by a slim 8-6 margin in the battle.  

Scranton had multi-hit games from both sophomore center fielder Maria Keifer and Murray in the nightcap. Keifer was a perfect 2-2 at the plate and Murray also went 2-2, and knocked in her club's only run of the game in the fifth frame when she singled up the middle to drive in McNally. McNally had a triple and Shimonis singled to account for the other two Lions hits in the contest.  

Meanwhile, Valley Forge had a pair of players who had multi-hit performances in game two, as Fisher and Mendoza set the pace for their team. Fisher was a flawless 2-2 at the dish, with a double, reached base once via the walk, scored twice, and knocked in two runs. Mendoza also went 2-2, smashed a double, had a trio of RBI, and scored two runs in the matchup.  

On the pitching side of things, Scranton's starting hurler McNally took the loss on the bump and Shimonis came in relief and threw a solid four innings, only surrendering four earned runs, seven hits, one walk, and struck out a pair of Valley Forge batters. Meanwhile, Valley Forge started freshman Ronae Young on the mound and she earned the complete game victory tossing five quality innings, only giving up one earned run, six hits, no walks, and fanned five Scranton hitters on the day. 

Now veteran head coach Mar Tsakonas and her 3-8 Penn State Scranton softball squad will look to snap their five game losing skid when they next host conference foe Penn State Greater Allegheny this Friday afternoon for a doubleheader, with first pitch scheduled for 3pm. Meanwhile, head coach Jeffrey Cellucci and his 7-5 University of Valley Forge Patriots will look to extend their four game winning streak when they host Saint Elizabeth University for a doubleheader this Friday starting at 3pm.