Scranton Lady Lions Sweep Big Conference Twin Bill Over Fayette

By: Ross Turetsky, Penn State Scranton Athletics

On a sunny Saturday afternoon home doubleheader, the Penn State Scranton Lady Lions softball team won both ends of their twin bill over conference rival Penn State Fayette in a big comeback 12-11 walk-off win in the opening contest, and in the game two nightcap held on for the 11-9 triumph. With these big pair of victories, the Lions snap their six game losing skid and improve their overall record to 4-19 and with their first conference wins of the year today, are now 2-4 in their crucial league play schedule with just two weeks remaining in their 2026 regular season campaign.

In the first game, after Scranton had an early 2-1 advantage at the end of the first inning, the road warriors from Fayette put up a big six spot in the top half of the third to take a sizeable 7-2 lead, plated a couple of runs in the fourth to go up 9-3, and added two more in the fifth frame to take an 11-7 lead. However, the Lions from Scranton would show great resiliency and lots of fight as they roared right back tallying a run in the bottom of the third, a robust four spot in the fourth frame, scored once in the fifth, two more in the sixth to cut the deficit to a lone run at 11-10, and in their final at-bats in the seventh inning plated two more to clinch the thrilling 12-11 walk-off victory. Both squads were deadlocked at 16 hits apiece in the matchup.

Scranton was led on the offensive attack by a whopping five players who put up stellar multi-hit performances in the battle, as stand-out freshman shortstop Emily Moyles, junior DP Genevieve Moyles, junior second baseman Maddie Kelsch, sophomore third baseman Tori Stephenson, and sophomore first baseman Abby Colleran set the pace for their ball club. Moyles went a near flawless 3-4 at the plate, crushing a two run homer over the left field fence to give her team the early 2-1 lead in the first, smashed an RBI double to center field in the bottom of the fourth and once again in the seventh and final frame cracked a clutch RBI double that would tie the game up at 11 apiece, to go along with getting hit by a pitch, scored three times, and drove in a game-high four runs. (Genevieve) Moyles, Emily's sister, also was a red hot 3-4 at the dish, walking once, and notched an RBI. Kelsch went 2-5, hammered a double, and scored a trio of runs. Stephenson was also 2-5 including smacking the game winning RBI single to right field in the bottom of the seventh to drive home (Emily) Moyles for the clinching run. Colleran was a perfect 2-2 at the plate, got hit by a pitch, walked once, tallied a run, and knocked in a pair. The Lions other quartet of hits in the showdown came from speedy lead-off hitter and junior center fielder Vanessa Hodges who went 1-4 with a walk, a run scored, and stole a base to boot, freshman catcher Natalie Charles was also 1-4, scored once, and had an RBI single to left in the third inning, junior left fielder Kaleena Lukasewicz went 1-4 as well, as she drilled a nice double to left field, and scored a couple of runs, and last but certainly not least, right fielder Brook Weaver was 1-2, drawing a walk, tallied a run, and drove one home for good measure on a sac fly to center in the fifth frame.

Meanwhile, Fayette also had five players with top notch multi-hit efforts, as freshman pitcher/shortstop Makenzee Kenney, sophomore DP Kylie Stevenson, freshman center fielder Haylee Speicher, freshman third baseman Kendra Firestone, and sophomore second baseman Kaylee Doppelheuer led the way on the offensive attack for their squad. Kenney was 4-5 at the plate, cracked a double, scored a couple of times, and knocked in a hat trick of runs. Stevenson went 3-5, cranked two doubles, scored a run, and had a team-high four RBI. Speicher was 3-4, scored twice, and knocked in a run. Firestone went 2-4 with a triple, swiped a bag on the base pads, and tallied a couple of runs. Doppelheuer also was 2-4 with a solid double. Fayette's other two base hits came off the bats of freshman right fielder Hayleigh Vance who went 1-4, scoring once, and had an RBI, and junior left fielder Heaven Grum also was 1-4 and knocked in a pair.

On the pitching side of things, Scranton had sophomore right-hander Elena Davis toe the slab and she went the distance in her complete game victory, as she hurled all seven innings, allowing 11 runs, eight of them earned, 16 hits, walked no one, and fanned a trio of hitters in her start. Meanwhile, Fayette started righty Kenney on the mound and she tossed the first four frames for her club, surrendering seven runs, four of them earned, seven base hits, walked three, and struck out a couple of Scranton batters in her outing. Right-handed freshman Sidney Bergman came in relief and took the loss, as she threw the final two plus innings for her team, giving up five earned runs, nine hits, and walked a hitter in her appearance.

In the game two nightcap, it was a back-and-forth slugfest affair once again, as Scranton jumped out to an early 3-0 lead in the first, both clubs scored a run in their respective second frames, Fayette came back and tallied a trio in the third, both teams scored a couple of runs in the fourth, Scranton had a big five spot in the bottom of the fifth, and Fayette scored three times in the seventh and final frame in their valiant comeback attempt before Scranton would hold on to take the two run, 11-9, nail-biting triumph by game's end. Fayette out hit the Lady Lions by a 14-11 margin in the contest, but also led in the costly errors department by a whopping 9-2 pace.

Scranton had a hat trick of players with impressive multi-hit showings in the nightcap, as Charles, (Emily) Moyles, and Hodges set the tone offensively for their team. Charles led the way going a near perfect 3-4 at the dish, scoring a run, and driving home a pair. (Emily) Moyles continued her hot hitting with her 2-4 performance, smashing a big two run triple to right field in the first, and tallied a run. Hodges also went 2-4, stealing three bases, scoring four times, and recorded an RBI. The Lions other four hits came from Kelsch who was 1-3, drew a walk, swiped a bag, scored once, and drove in a run, Stephenson went 1-4 with a run, Colleran also was 1-4 and tallied a pair of runs, and finally, junior right fielder Maddie Langdon went 1-3 with a solid single to center in the second.

Meanwhile, Fayette had an awe-inspiring five players with multi-hit ball games, as Vance, Firestone, Stevenson, Speicher, and freshman first baseman Morgan Matthews all had stellar showings at the plate. Vance was 3-4 at the dish and scored a run. Firestone went 2-4, drew a walk, scored twice, and had an RBI. Stevenson was 2-3, hammered a solo home run to right center field to get her team on the scoreboard in the top half of the second, smashed a double, walked once, tallied a couple of runs, and drove home a trio. Speicher went 2-4 with a run scored. Matthews also was 2-4 and notched an RBI. Fayette's other three base hits came from Bergman who went 1-5 with a run, Kenney was 1-4, belted a double, tallied a run, and had an RBI, and finally, junior catcher Julie Cooper went 1-4 as well, with a run, and knocked one in too.

In the pitching department, Davis started once again for Scranton after going the distance in the opening match, and she earned the complete game victory, tossing all seven frames, allowing nine runs, seven of them earned, 14 base hits, walked a couple, and struck out six batters. Bergman took the ball again for her Fayette ball club and she took the loss in her six inning complete game effort, surrendering 11 runs, five of them earned, 11 hits, walked only one, and fanned a pair of Scranton hitters in her outing.

Penn State Scranton softball head coach Arnie Dommes was proud of his team's effort and fight throughout the day that helped them earn their first two conference victories on the season. "It feels great and their two key wins, especially with the playoff seedings and that coming up, you need to take advantage of every win you can. Our pitcher (Elena Davis) has been carrying the team all year. The first game we had our number one pitcher get hurt and she's been throwing her and a couple other girls who have never thrown since high school and they've been carrying the team and really stepping up and doing a great job. Offensively, our bats are starting to finally come alive. We struggled a little bit at the beginning of the year but right now they are starting to come alive," said coach Dommes.

Now coach Dommes and his 4-19 Penn State Scranton Lady Lions softball team will look extend their mini two game winning streak when they next host non-conference foe Gallaudet University from Washington D.C. this Sunday afternoon in a scheduled doubleheader starting at 12 noon. Meanwhile, head coach Becky Howell and her 1-10-1 Fayette squad, who are 0-6 in league play, will look to bounce right back from their tough pair of losses to Scranton and snap their six game losing skid when they next travel on the road to face off against conference rival Penn State Hazleton this Sunday afternoon, with first pitch slated for a 4pm start time.

Postgame Interview with Head Softball Coach Arnie Dommes