Bethany Box Score | Wisconsin-Whitewater Box Score
Clermont, FL — Messiah wrapped up the competitive portion of its spring break Florida swing Friday, winning consecutive shutouts against Bethany College (2-0) and 12th-ranked University of Wisconsin-Whitewater (1-0) at the National Training Center's Legends Way Ballpark.
The wins kept the Falcons perfect in the Sunshine State this season, sweeping three double-headers over the last five days while improving their overall record to 9-2.
"Overall, we're happy with how we played down here," said Amy Weaver, Messiah head coach. "It was good to get back to winning, and good to get back to playing solid softball."
Against Bethany (6-3), Messiah received a full-game, one-hit performance from freshman Jocelyn Hickey in the pitching circle, as Hickey retired the first nine batters of the game.
Her lone hit came in the bottom of the fourth — a harmless leadoff single to the Bison's Chelsea Butler.
"Jocelyn Hickey pitched incredibly well in the first game," Weaver said. "She only gave up one hit and pitched a complete game shutout. If I had to highlight anybody for today, it would be her. Bethany College is known to be a pretty good hitting team and Jocelyn completely shut them down."
The Falcons' big bats remained silent until the top of the fourth inning, when senior Abby Bergakker doubled with one out and scored off of freshman Stephanie Schell's single.
Messiah added an insurance run in the top of the sixth after sophomore Jacki Merkel singled, stole second, and scored off a single from classmate Jessica Rhoads.
Hickey ran into a little bit of trouble in the bottom of the sixth inning. She walked Bethany's Elizabeth Kletzli to lead off the inning. Kletzli reached second on a grounder to first. The Bison's Maria Vallone walked with two outs to bring the winning run to the plate, but Hickey struck out Bethany's Bridgette Fauth to end the inning.
The final three hitters for the Bsion went down weakly in the seventh inning, completing the Falcons' fourth shutout of the season.
"We didn't hit very well today," said Weaver. "We got key hits when we needed them and got the runs in and that's all that matters."
Against Wisconsin-Whitewater (1-1), the Falcons scored just a single run, in the bottom of the fourth. Schell led off the inning with a walk, advanced to second on a sacrifice bunt, reached third on a groundout and scored on sophomore Lauren Seneca's single.
The Warhawks entered the game ranked 12th in the latest NFCA Top 25 National Poll — Messiah entered ranked fourth.
"We knew it was going to be a good game today," said Weaver. "The rankings are usually pretty accurate, so I knew that it would be a great game going in. We left seven runners on base today but luckily got one run in the fourth inning. We need to do a better job on driving in runners."
Rhoads (5-1) allowed just one hit from the pitcher's circle, a single in the fourth inning. She didn't walk a single hitter and struck out 12, including five of the final six batters of the game. She also pitched a complete game shutout for the third time this season.
"Jess mowed them down today," Weaver said. "She pitched a great game and gave up just one hit. She went the distance, as she usually does."
Rhoads' victory was her fifth of the season, against just a single loss. She lowered her earned run average to just 0.52, and has pitched a complete game in all six of her outings.
Messiah will enjoy the Florida sun before returning to campus Sunday, and will then practice for its upcoming home opener: The Falcons are slated to host Dickinson College Wednesday afternoon for a double-header. Game time for the first of two is set for 3 p.m.
