Game 1 Box Score | Game 2 Box Score
Glenside, PA — In the first six games of the season, the Messiah softball team proved it had the capability to dismantle opponents.
Tuesday afternoon at MAC Commonwealth rival Arcadia University, it proved it could win in comeback fashion, too.
Messiah needed a sixth-inning grand slam from junior Nicole Adams to snatch victory from the jaws of defeat in the opener and a three-run sixth to provide some insurance in the nightcap, as the Falcons handed the host Knights 5-2 and 7-4 losses in both teams' league openers.
After holding its opponents scoreless in its first six contests of the year, Messiah (8-0, 2-0) showed some mettle to win in a bit more traditional fashion against what head coach Amy Weaver called "the best team we've faced thus far" Wednesday afternoon.
"These were two great wins to open our conference schedule," Weaver said. "Arcadia is very good both offensively and defensively. They proved to be our toughest competition yet, and we needed some big plays to come away with two wins."
Adams' grand slam qualified as just that in the opener, as Arcadia (4-2, 0-2) somehow captured a 2-1 lead after four complete innings despite a brilliant pitching performance from freshman Jessica Rhoads. Rhoads struck out a career-high 15 batters — she faced just 25 — and allowed just two hits, walking only two as well.
Unfortunately for Messiah, the second of Rhoads' allowed hits was a two-run homer in the fourth inning, a blast that trumped an unearned Falcons' run in the top of the second inning.
After a scoreless fifth inning, Messiah entered the sixth trailing by a 2-1 score.
That was when Adams came up huge.
With two outs retired, the sturdy first baseman ripped a towering shot to centerfield, bringing home freshman Jaclyn Merkel, senior Amy Bowie and freshman Lauren Seneca who reached via two walks and a hit-by-pitch. With a newfound 4-2 lead, Rhoads (4-0) was unstoppable in the pitching circle over the final two defensive half innings, allowing only a walk in the seventh and striking out four to close out the game with little additional drama.
"Obviously, Nicole's grand slam was absolutely huge," Weaver said. "We got some people on base, but couldn't bring them home. That couldn't have come at a better time for us."
Her first dinger of the year highlighted a 1-3, five RBI day for Adams, as the junior also hit a deep fly ball to centerfield to bring in the team's run in the second inning. Merkel (1-2) and sophomore Rebecca Stackhouse (1-2) accounted for the Falcons' other two runs of the day, as Arcadia pitcher Kiersten Hughes was impressive.
"Jess pitched an excellent game for us," Weaver said. "Obviously, the second hit she gave up was a big one, but she maintained her composure and threw incredibly well."
Weaver's team got the bats working in the day's second contest, blasting nine total hits en route to a 4-0 lead. A lead off single from sophomore Rebekkah Funk was driven in on a sacrifice fly from freshman Abi Buchler in the first inning, while Buchler scored in the second inning following a pair of Knights' errors.
Bowie then belted a two-run homer in the top half of the fifth inning, and it appeared Messiah would cruise to the victory.
Arcadia put up its best fight in the bottom of the fifth.
A pair of singles and a double — coupled with a Messiah error and two passed balls — led to three runs, and all of a sudden Game Two was up for grabs.
A Falcons' explosion in the top of the sixth quickly changed all of that.
A two-out single from Bowie drove in one and a two-run homer from Seneca tacked on two more, as Messiah charted three runs off of three hits and one Arcadia error. Junior Megan Rice allowed a solo home run in the bottom of the sixth, but took care of three batters to conclude things in a daylight-shortened contest.
Rice (3-0) went the distance in the circle, striking out four while walking two. Bowie was the star at the plate, going 3-3 with three RBI and two runs scored. Seneca's second home run of the year brought two across.
"We kind of let up defensively in the bottom of the fifth and made a couple key mistakes," Weaver said. "In our next at-bat though, we started smacking the ball."
With two league games out of the way, the team will now return to non-conference play in the state of Florida, as Messiah will play eight games in five days during the school's spring break. The Falcons will meet up with Bethel University next, facing off against the Royals at 9 a.m. next Monday. The team will then compete against Westfield State College at 11 a.m.
All games will take place in Orlando, Florida. For a detailed list of game times and opponent information, visit the team'sschedule page.
