Game 1 Box Score - Game 2 Box Score
By Bryn Swartz, GoMessiah.com reporter
Chester, PA — After missing the previous two double-headers due to a nagging injury, junior pitcher Jess Rhoads returned to the pitching circle for the first game of a double-header against Widener University Friday.
Head coach Amy Weaver could not express enough how happy she was to have her star pitcher back on the mound.
"It means a lot," she said. "When (Jess) is out there, everyone is pretty confident that she is going to shut teams down and do her thing."
And do her thing, Rhoads did. She pitched seven brilliant innings in Game One, allowing three hits and no runs. She walked one and struck out five, en route to a 3-0 Falcons' win.
Through three innings, Widener pitcher Kelsey Shultz held the powerful Falcons' bats scoreless. Freshman Sara Seneca led off the game with a single but was caught stealing second before Shultz retired the next nine hitters in succession.
In the top of the fourth, Messiah finally pushed across a run. Sara Seneca led off the inning with a walk and reached second on junior Abi Buchler's sacrifice bunt. Junior Jacki Merkel reached on a fielder's choice and scored on freshman Krista Ammon's double.
The Falcons then scored single runs in the fifth and sixth to increase their lead to 3-0. In the fifth, junior Ashley Lehman doubled in pinch-runner Elizabeth D'Amelio. In the sixth, Ammon doubled home Merkel.
Through six innings, Rhoads (8-1) hadn't allowed a run. Widener (14-14, 4-4) managed a rally in the bottom of the seventh though. Trailing 3-0, they loaded the bases on an error by Messiah, a single and a hit batter. The Pride's Meg Phillips stepped to the plate, knowing that one swing of the bat could hand Widener an incredible walk-off victory.
But Rhoads induced Phillips to ground out, and the Falcons won their fifth consecutive game.
In the second game, Messiah started sophomore Jocelyn Hickey in the circle, and the results were similar.
Hickey (8-2) allowed just one hit and no runs through the first three innings, but the Falcons couldn't score and help out their teammate.
In the top of the fourth, Merkel and Ammon worked two-out walks, and sophomore Stephanie Schell singled in Merkel for the game's first run.
The Falcons added another run in the fifth on back-to-back, two-out doubles by Lehman and Sara Seneca. In the sixth, Merkel increased the lead to 3-0 on a solo homer, her second of the season and just the seventh by a Falcons' player.
The Falcons put across one more run in the top of the seventh, as Buchler's sacrifice fly scored D'Amelio.
Nursing a 4-0 lead, Hickey ran into some trouble in the bottom of the seventh. With one out, Widener's Casey Hargadon blasted a two-run homer, spoiling the shutout.
Weaver then relieved Hickey and brought in freshman Sara Dietrich. Dietrich allowed a walk, a single, an RBI groundout and a walk.
Trailing 4-3, Widener had runners on first and third with two outs. In the biggest at-bat of the game, Dietrich induced a groundout to second base to clinch the victory for the Falcons.
"Jocelyn was definitely tired in the later innings of the second game," Weaver said. "We almost took her out before the seventh inning but we kept her in. They caught up to her, though, so we had to bring Sara in to finish the game."
The sweep of Widener improved Messiah's record in the conference to 6-2. The team's overall record, 24-4, includes a six-game winning streak and victories in 16 of the last 18 games.
Messiah is scheduled for an ultra-quick turnaround, as the Falcons are slated to host Elizabethtown College tomorrow in a double-header beginning at noon. With heavy rains in the forecast, however, that double-dip will likely be postponed. Check back to this website for the latest on possible postponements and make-up announcements.
Head coach Amy Weaver could not express enough how happy she was to have her star pitcher back on the mound.
"It means a lot," she said. "When (Jess) is out there, everyone is pretty confident that she is going to shut teams down and do her thing."
And do her thing, Rhoads did. She pitched seven brilliant innings in Game One, allowing three hits and no runs. She walked one and struck out five, en route to a 3-0 Falcons' win.
Through three innings, Widener pitcher Kelsey Shultz held the powerful Falcons' bats scoreless. Freshman Sara Seneca led off the game with a single but was caught stealing second before Shultz retired the next nine hitters in succession.
In the top of the fourth, Messiah finally pushed across a run. Sara Seneca led off the inning with a walk and reached second on junior Abi Buchler's sacrifice bunt. Junior Jacki Merkel reached on a fielder's choice and scored on freshman Krista Ammon's double.
The Falcons then scored single runs in the fifth and sixth to increase their lead to 3-0. In the fifth, junior Ashley Lehman doubled in pinch-runner Elizabeth D'Amelio. In the sixth, Ammon doubled home Merkel.
Through six innings, Rhoads (8-1) hadn't allowed a run. Widener (14-14, 4-4) managed a rally in the bottom of the seventh though. Trailing 3-0, they loaded the bases on an error by Messiah, a single and a hit batter. The Pride's Meg Phillips stepped to the plate, knowing that one swing of the bat could hand Widener an incredible walk-off victory.
But Rhoads induced Phillips to ground out, and the Falcons won their fifth consecutive game.
In the second game, Messiah started sophomore Jocelyn Hickey in the circle, and the results were similar.
Hickey (8-2) allowed just one hit and no runs through the first three innings, but the Falcons couldn't score and help out their teammate.
In the top of the fourth, Merkel and Ammon worked two-out walks, and sophomore Stephanie Schell singled in Merkel for the game's first run.
The Falcons added another run in the fifth on back-to-back, two-out doubles by Lehman and Sara Seneca. In the sixth, Merkel increased the lead to 3-0 on a solo homer, her second of the season and just the seventh by a Falcons' player.
The Falcons put across one more run in the top of the seventh, as Buchler's sacrifice fly scored D'Amelio.
Nursing a 4-0 lead, Hickey ran into some trouble in the bottom of the seventh. With one out, Widener's Casey Hargadon blasted a two-run homer, spoiling the shutout.
Weaver then relieved Hickey and brought in freshman Sara Dietrich. Dietrich allowed a walk, a single, an RBI groundout and a walk.
Trailing 4-3, Widener had runners on first and third with two outs. In the biggest at-bat of the game, Dietrich induced a groundout to second base to clinch the victory for the Falcons.
"Jocelyn was definitely tired in the later innings of the second game," Weaver said. "We almost took her out before the seventh inning but we kept her in. They caught up to her, though, so we had to bring Sara in to finish the game."
The sweep of Widener improved Messiah's record in the conference to 6-2. The team's overall record, 24-4, includes a six-game winning streak and victories in 16 of the last 18 games.
Messiah is scheduled for an ultra-quick turnaround, as the Falcons are slated to host Elizabethtown College tomorrow in a double-header beginning at noon. With heavy rains in the forecast, however, that double-dip will likely be postponed. Check back to this website for the latest on possible postponements and make-up announcements.
