Grantham, PA - Steady rainfall and a threatening forecast halt play between No. 11 Messiah and Haverford in Game Two of the Super Regional on Saturday afternoon. The game was suspended in the middle of the second inning with the Fords leading 6-2, and the two teams are tentatively scheduled to resume play on Sunday morning at 10:00 a.m.
Rain was in the forecast for most of Saturday, but the games committee on site determined there to be enough of a window to start the contest. The rain arguably played a factor for both pitchers, as Messiah's
Courtney Allen and Haverford's Sara Tauriello combined for seven walks in just 1.5 innings. Four of those free passes were issued by Allen in the Falcons' only defensive half, with Haverford tallying six runs in the frame. The big blow came with two outs, the bases loaded, and the score 1-1. On a 2-2 pitch Allen challenged Kendall Chambers with a fastball that she drilled high and far over the left field fence for a grand slam. That made it 5-1, and Haverford soon went up 6-1 on a single by Rachel Wolfson.
Messiah got a run back in the second when Allen walked with the bases loaded. With the bases still loaded,
Becky Notte was retired on a great lunging catch in foul territory by third baseman Jessica Koshinski.
As the teams walked off the field the umpires came together with the games committee in the rain, and they decided to halt play. The game will start from the same situation-- Haverford leading 6-2 and coming to bat in the bottom of the second-- on Sunday morning.
With rain in the forecast for the rest of Saturday and also Sunday, it may be challenging for Game Two, and certainly a possible Game Three, to be completed before the NCAA's Sunday evening deadline; a winner from the Super Regional between Messiah and Haverford must be determined by Sunday evening, meaning that if Haverford is not able to play and win two games on Sunday, Messiah will be declared the winner by virtue of both their Game One win and their higher seed in the NCAA Tournament.
Neverthless, if and when Game Two does start back up, Messiah will need to climb out of a four-run deficit to keep from going to a winner-take-all Game Three.
Fans are encouraged to follow
GoMessiah.com and
@MessiahSports on twitter for any additional updates on the weekend schedule.
