Scranton Lions Softball Drops Twin Bill to Penn State Du Bois

By: Ross Turetsky, Penn State Scranton Athletics

On a Saturday afternoon road matinee, the visiting Penn State Scranton Lady Lions softball squad lost both ends of their conference doubleheader to Penn State Du Bois by the scores of 15-1 and 21-0 respectively. With the pair of defeats, Scranton sees their overall record move to 7-20 and 2-12 in their crucial conference play schedule with only a week left in their 2023 regular season campaign.

In the game one five inning affair, Du Bois scored early and often as they cruised to a dominant 15-1 home triumph. Du Bois tallied a run in each of the first two innings, a big six spot in the bottom of the third, and seven more in the fourth frame to ensure their big victory. Scranton was able to avoid the dreaded shutout on offense when they picked up a run in the top half of the third inning to get on the scoreboard. Overall Scranton was out hit by their opponent by a 17-1 margin in the contest.

The Lions from Scranton got their offensive production from stand-out sophomore Olivia Shimonis, who went a perfect 1-1 at the plate, and reached base via the walk twice. The Lions other base runners came from freshman center fielder Megan Gatto, sophomore Alicia Gagner, and senior second baseman Sam Collins who all drew a walk in the matchup. Freshman shortstop Rachel Murray tallied her club's lone run in the ball game.

Meanwhile, the hometown Du Bois squad had a well-balanced offensive attack that featured six players who had stellar multi-hit performances in the battle, as freshman pitcher Megan Hyde, sophomore second baseman Brianna Bone, fellow sophomore, center fielder Abby Pentz, senior third baseman Jordan Bundy, freshman first baseman Hanna Richey, and sophomore left fielder Makena Baney led the way. Hyde went 3-6 at the dish, drilling a triple, scored a trio of runs, and knocked in three. Bone was 3-4, hammering a double, scored a couple of runs, and drove home a pair. Pentz also went 3-4, ripping a double and a triple, stole two bases, scored a hat trick of runs, and picked up an RBI. Bundy was 2-4, scoring once, and drove in a couple of runs. Richey went 2-3 at the plate, tallying a run, and collected a couple of RBI. Last but certainly not least, Baney was also 2-3, with a pair of booming doubles, scored a couple of runs, and had a game-high four RBI in the contest.

On the pitching side of things, Scranton started Shimonis on the mound and she picked up the loss, tossing a gritty quartet of innings, walking no one, and struck out a batter. Meanwhile, Du Bois had Hyde toe the slab first and she earned the victory on the bump, throwing a commanding 4 1/3 innings, allowing just one unearned run, no hits, five bases on balls, and fanned six Scranton hitters. Sophomore hurler Kelsey Stuart came in relief out of the bullpen and finished up the ball game by throwing a scoreless 2/3 of an inning, giving up just one base hit, and struck out a pair of batters in her outing.

In the game two nightcap five inning affair, Du Bois once again slugged their way to another big home victory, this time by a 21-0 shutout margin. Du Bois scored a couple runs in the bottom half of the first inning, a five spot in each of the second and third frames, and a robust nine runs in the fourth. Scranton was out hit 22-1 in the ball game.

Shimonis once again picked up Scranton's lone base knock in the contest, as she went 1-3 at the dish. The Lions other base runners came from a walk apiece by Gatto, sophomore pinch hitter Tori Wardach, Collins, and senior right fielder Kelly Velehoski who also stole a base to boot.

Meanwhile, Du Bois had a whopping eight players with stalwart multi-hit ball games in the nightcap, as Richey, senior Larissa James-LaBranche, fellow senior, infielder Paige Pieta, Stuart, Bone, junior pinch hitter Tanisha Myers, freshman shortstop Caitlyn Watson, and Pentz set the pace for their club. Richey went a flawless 4-4 at the plate, with a double, scored a trio of runs, and knocked one in. LaBranche was 3-4 at the dish, also scoring three times, and picked up an RBI. Pieta went 2-4, with a nice double, and drove home a pair. Stuart was 2-3, with a double, scored a run, had a couple of RBI, and stole a base for good measure. Bone went 2-4, cranking a double, scored twice, and drove home a trio of runs. Myers was a perfect 2-2 coming off the bench, scoring once, and knocking in a pair. Watson went 2-3, with a pair of stolen bases on the base pads, scored three times, and had a hat trick of RBI. Lastly, Pentz was 3-4, with a double, swiped a bag, walked once, scored a quartet of runs, and knocked in a trio.

In the pitching department, Scranton once again started Shimonis on the mound and she picked up the loss, throwing all four innings for her ball club. Meanwhile, Du Bois had Bone start on the bump and she earned the complete game shutout victory, tossing a dazzling five innings, allowing just one base hit, walked four, and fanned five Scranton batters in the battle.

Now veteran head coach Mar Tsakonas and her 7-20 Penn State Scranton softball squad will look to bounce back and snap their 10 game losing skid when they next host non-conference foe Bucks County Community College for their special Senior Day doubleheader this upcoming Tuesday afternoon, with first pitch scheduled for 3pm. Meanwhile, head coach Jeff Tomb and his Penn State Du Bois softball team, who with their pair of victories over Scranton improved their overall record to an even 8-8 and 8-6 in their all-important league play schedule, will look to extend their three game winning streak when they next go on the road to face off with conference rival Penn State Beaver for an integral doubleheader next Saturday, April 22^nd, with first pitch kicking-off at 2pm.