Game 1 Box Score | Game 2 Box Score
Allentown, PA — The Messiah College softball team picked up its second and third wins of its last four games Thursday afternoon at Muhlenberg College, using a dominant pitching performance to claim a 5-0 victory over the Mules in the opener while coming from behind to win a 9-7, eight-inning decision in the nightcap.
Messiah (18-14) rode the steady right arm of freshman Corinn Eby in the day's first game, as Eby (4-5) went the pitching distance in allowing just three Muhlenberg hits, all of which were singles.
The Falcons used a methodical attack on offense to slowly build its final five-run margin, posting two runs in the second inning off a home run from sophomore Tori Hatt while singles from freshman Rebecca Stackhouse and senior Lana Trotter brought home two more in the sixth inning. A sacrifice fly from junior Amy Bowie scored freshman Rachel Ashworth in the seventh inning.
"We really had a great pitching performance from Corinn Eby in the first game," said Amy Weaver, Messiah head coach. "Offensively, we just kind of chipped away to score our runs, but really the story was Corrin's outstanding pitching performance. We had a very business-like attitude today, and that was apparent by the way we won."
Eby helped Messiah to just its third shut-out of the year in her complete-game performance, issuing three strike outs and retiring 21 of 28 total batters faced. Hatt blasted her first career homer in leading a 2-3, two RBI, two runs scored effort at the plate. Trotter finished 3-4 with an RBI, while sophomores Lindsay Hall (3-4), Nicole Adams (2-3) and Abby Bergakker (2-4) all doubled.
Muhlenberg (6-24) made certain to get more offense off the ground at the outset of the day's second game, scoring five runs in the bottom of the first to shock Messiah junior and starting pitcher Jenna Batchelor. Batchelor, who entered the game with the most pitching wins (six) of the Falcons' rotation, was hampered by a pair of errors in the initial stanza, giving up three singles and two doubles while retiring just one batter. Weaver then inserted freshman Jessica Climenhaga to quell the trend, and the hard-throwing right hander retired two of her first three Mule batters.
The damage was significant, however, as Messiah had allowed five runs — only two of which were earned — in the first inning.
"I think, after getting shelled in the first inning, it would have been easy to panic, but we pulled the kids in and said we're going to approach this just like the first game," Weaver said. "We're just going to chip away and get back in this thing slowly, and that's exactly what we did."
Weaver's club responded with three runs in its half of the next inning, as Hatt again came up huge, this time sending a two-RBI single into right field. Trotter followed with another RBI single, and Muhlenberg's lead was just 5-3.
As Climenhaga began to find her groove in the pitching circle — she would eventually strike out six batters while walking just three — the Mules' offense ground to a halt. Muhlenberg registered just two hits over its next six offensive halves of play, while Messiah scored single runs in the fifth and seventh innings to eventually tie the game. A single from Bowie drove in Hall (who doubled) in the fifth, while a single from Hall drove in Trotter to tie the game at 5-5 in the seventh.
As Climenhaga retired the Mules in order in the bottom of the seventh, extra innings were on tap. For Weaver, it was clear who had the momentum.
"When we tied the game up in the seventh, our dugout was alive," she said. "The kids were jumping and screaming, and I knew we had a good chance to win just based on our attitudes."
Weaver's team put attitude into action in the top half of the eighth, scoring four runs off of three hits. Another single from Hatt scored Bergakker to give Messiah a lead, while a base knock from freshman Rebekkah Funk plated another. When Hall blasted a single through the right side with one out retired, Trotter and Stackhouse both scored, giving the Falcons a 9-5 advantage.
Climenhaga (6-4) struggled only briefly in the bottom of the inning, giving up a pair of RBI singles before grounding out the side and collecting the pitching win.
Hatt was again the leader at the plate, going 2-2 with three RBI and a run scored. Hall finished 4-5 with three RBI and the team's only extra-base hit of the game (a double), while Trotter went 2-4 with an RBI and a run plated.
"Nobody ever gave up," Weaver said. "Muhlenberg gave it a good shot at the end, but we were able to hang on and shut them down when we needed to. It was a good pair of wins today as we head back into conference play this weekend."
Messiah will return to face MAC Commonwealth opponent Albright College Saturday, as the league race for post-season tournament positioning heats up in the final week of the regular-season. The Falcons will host the Lions in a double-header at Starry Field. First pitch of the initial game is set for 1 p.m.
