Messiah v. Alma Box Score - Messiah v. Adrian Box Score
By Bryn Swartz, GoMessiah.com reporter -
Clermont, FL — Florida trip one of two is in the books.
Messiah can only hope the second jaunt to the Sunshine State produces slightly better results.
Monday afternoon at Legends Way Ballpark, the Falcons defeated Alma College 7-6 but fell victim to Adrian College, 14-4, in the second game. Messiah (3-1) had jumped to number four in the nation in the first NFCA Division III Top 25 Poll.
Against Alma (2-1, Messiah (3-1) started freshman pitcher Sara Dietrich (2-0), who had tossed a complete game, one-hit shutout against the University of Mary Washington nine days ago — her first collegiate start.
The Falcons helped Dietrich with three runs in the first inning. Freshman Sara Seneca led off the game with a single and stole second, and scored on a two-out single by sophomore Stephanie Schell. Junior Lauren Seneca crushed a two-run homer to give Dietrich a 3-0 lead before she even took the mound.
Dietrich pitched well for the first two innings, allowing three walks but no runs. She ran into trouble in the third, though, and surrendered five runs on four hits, two walks and two errors.
Trailing 5-3, the Falcons scored a run in the top of the fifth on an RBI single by junior Abi Buchler. In the top of the sixth, Sara Seneca provided the hit of the game, connecting for a three-run homer with two outs. The Falcons retook the lead 7-5.
Dietrich allowed a run in the bottom of the sixth but pitched a hitless seventh to secure her second complete game victory of the season.
"We had three key players who were unable to make this trip," Weaver said. "We're also still waiting for (junior pitcher) Jess (Rhoads) to recover from her injury and (sophomore) Jocelyn (Hickey) was one of the three who couldn't make the trip, so she couldn't pitch either. It was definitely frustrating not being able to pitch either of our two veterans on this trip. On a positive note, Lauren and Sara Seneca both hit key home runs that helped us win the first game."
Without Rhoads — who is still recovering from a nagging knee injury that plagued her for the majority of the 2010 season — or Hickey — who missed the trip due to academic commitments — Weaver handed the ball to freshman Shayna Weber, making her first collegiate appearance. Weber was hit hard, allowing a trio of hits and runs in the first inning before she was replaced by Dietrich, the starter in the Falcons' first game of the day.
Dietrich struggled, allowing six hits and six runs over the next two and two thirds innings. Because of five Messiah errors, she did not allow an earned run.
Freshman Krista Ammon — usually playing first base — pitched the final two innings, allowing six hits and five runs. Errors continued to plague the Falcons, as just two of Ammon's five runs were earned runs. The game was called after five innings due to the mercy rule.
'They started hitting Weber hard so we put in Sara, who was already pretty tired from pitching the first game," Weaver said. "We ended up pitching Krista Ammon in the final innings. She did pitch in high school but she is not listed as a pitcher on our roster."
The Falcons' bats banged out a respectable eight hits for five runs, but four of the runs were in the final inning when the Falcons trailed 14-1.
"The second game was a nightmare," Weaver said. "We had a ton of errors. It was basically a combination of pitching problems and fielding problems. Our hitting was okay, but you're not going to win games when you can't pitch or field."
At least the weather was nice. Messiah played both of Monday's games under sunny skies and warm conditions, and will return to Legends Way Ballpark during the school's spring recess — playing eight games in five days Mar. 14-18.
“We're looking forward to coming back down here again in two weeks, sure, but we're looking more forward to playing better softball,” Weaver said.
Messiah will have a pair of home double-headers before its return south, as the team will face both Shenandoah University and Albright College next week on Starry Field. The Falcons will meet up with Shenandoah Tuesday, Mar. 8. Game time for the first of two is set for 2:30 p.m.
