Game 1 Box Score | Game 2 Box Score
Grantham, PA — Say this much about freshman pitching sensation Jessica Rhoads:
She is certainly not one-dimensional.
Rhoads collected her two latest pitching decisions in 3-0 and 6-5 wins over MAC Commonwealth foe Widener University Tuesday afternoon, blasting the game-winning home run in the sixth inning of the nightcap to secure her 15th pitching win of the year.
That rocket helped offset a season-high five Messiah errors in the finale, keeping the Falcons undefeated in conference play while picking up the second straight home sweep in as many tries.
"Suffice it to say, we were very glad to walk away with two wins today," said Amy Weaver, Messiah head coach. "We put ourselves in a serious hole (in Game Two), but we kept chipping away."
No such persistence was needed in the day's first contest, as Rhoads (15-1) steamrolled Widener (15-13, 4-4) in her ninth complete game of the season. The hard-throwing right hander struck out 12 Pride batters while allowing just six hits — five of which were singles.
Messiah (24-4, 8-0) got on the board in the first inning following a lead-off double from freshman Abi Buchler and an infield single from sophomore Rebekkah Funk, while a sacrifice fly from junior Lindsay Hall played Buchler.
The Falcons put two more runs up in the bottom of the fourth inning, with those runs being driven in off another double from Buchler and a single from freshman Jacklyn Merkel.
Messiah committed no errors in the contest, and things appeared to be going smoothly — despite the presence of occasional snow flurries on an unseasonably cold afternoon.
"The team looked good," Weaver said.
That perspective changed just moments into the second contest.
Weaver's club committed three of its five errors in the first two innings of play, as Widener raced out to a 5-0 lead after two and a half stanzas, putting junior and starting pitcher Megan Rice in a precarious situation: While Rice gave up all five runs in two and two-thirds innings pitched, none were earned, as Weaver inserted sophomore Roo Eby to the pitching circle midway through the second.
"Megan pitched well but after five runs we decided to go with a change just to shake things up," Weaver said. "Roo came out and also pitched well. We just kept telling them to try and get one run at a time and keep chipping away and they did."
With its five errors out of its collective system — the team's previous single-game high was three — Messiah began its methodical comeback. A Funk triple highlighted a two-run third, while a double from Hall and a single from Rhoads brought one more across.
When Merkel blasted a two-run shot to right center field in the fifth inning — her fifth homer of the year — the Falcons had come all the way back to tie the game.
Fittingly, it was Rhoads that would singularly produce the go-ahead run.
Coming on to pitch for Eby in the offensive half of the fourth inning, Rhoads ripped a towering blast to left field in the sixth — her first dinger of the season.
She then retired the Widener half of the seventh inning in three-up, three-down fashion, giving Messiah a rally-win following a rough start.
"The home runs from Jacki Merkel and Jess Rhoads were timely and helped us recover from the worst defensive game of the year," Weaver said. " Fortunately our good bats saved us as a team. Rhoads came on in the end to shut them down and secure the win. It was a great team effort with many people coming in to do their job at key times."
Rhoads finished with five strikeouts in the pitching circle to go with a 2-2 at-bat performance, numbers that brought two runs across the plate. Merkel finished 2-3 with three RBI, while Funk's double and triple equated to a 2-4 line with two runs scored and one batted in.
Messiah will next take a brief hiatus from league play, as the team will host McDaniel College in a double-header Thursday afternoon before taking an extended Easter break. Game time for the first of two with the Green Terror is set for 3 p.m.
