Messiah v. Arcadia Box Score - Messiah v. Lebanon Valley Box Score
By Bryn Swartz, GoMessiah.com reporter
Reading, PA — If someone had told Messiah head coach Amy Weaver that her team would only collect 11 hits and score three runs in two games in Friday's opening rounds of the Commonwealth Conference Tournament, she would have said that there's no way the Falcons won them both.
She also would have been wrong.
Messiah captured a pair of wins using those exact numbers at Alvernia University's Angelica Park, defeating Arcadia University 1-0 and Lebanon Valley College 2-0 to stay in the winner's bracket at the double-elimination tournament.
The Falcons now await the winner of Saturday's elimination game between Lebanon Valley and Arcadia to compete for a plausible third straight league title — and eighth overall — Saturday at 1 p.m.
In Friday's first contest, Weaver chose to pitch sophomore Jocelyn Hickey (10-2, 1.51 ERA) over freshman Sara Dietrich (11-1, 1.97 ERA). Either would have made for a solid choice , but Hickey made the coach's decision look like an easy one by pitching arguably the greatest game of her college career.
The Lansdale, Pa. native threw all seven innings and allowed just one hit to the Knights, a single to Arcadia's second baseman Ashley McCarthy in the third inning.
She struck out just two, but she retired five in a row to start the game and another nine in a row from the third through the fifth innings.
The Falcons equally struggled against Arcadia pitcher Kelsey Roberts, scratching out just six hits and an unearned run.
The score came in the bottom of the second when freshman Krista Ammon singled with one out. Classmate Sara Dietrich followed with a single, and both runners moved up a base on an error by second baseman McCarthy. Junior Lauren Seneca lifted a fly to left field, which was deep enough to score Ammon for the game's only run.
The Falcons had a trio of singles to lead off the bottom of the fifth, as junior Ashley Lehman, freshman Sara Seneca and junior Jacki Merkel combined to load the bases with none out. A hit would have likely put the game away, but Rhoads struck out looking and sophomore Stephanie Schell grounded into a 4-3 double play.
Messiah's one run was more than enough, however, as Hickey easily retired Arcadia (22-11) in the bottom of the seventh on a trio of fly outs, one to each outfield position.
Against Lebanon Valley (29-8), the Falcons pitched junior Jess Rhoads, who still posted a mind-boggling 0.21 earned run average despite battling nagging injuries literally all season. Rhoads was nothing short of dominant, hurling all seven innings. She allowed just four hits and one walk and struck out five.
The Falcons manufactured a run in the top of the first as Sara Seneca singled, stole second, and scored on Schell's single.
Rhoads reached third in the top of the second after an error, a sacrifice bunt, and a passed ball, but the Falcons couldn't push her across.
In the top of the third, Sara Seneca singled with one out and promptly stole second. Merkel singled and stole second, and Sara Seneca scored on Schell's sacrifice fly.
Rhoads ran into a jam in the top of the sixth as Lebanon Valley put together a single and walk with two outs. But Rhoads struck out the Dutchmen's Marisa Krause to end the inning and keep LVC off the scoreboard.
In the bottom of the seventh, Rhoads closed out the game on a groundout, strikeout, and groundout, preserving the win and helping offset a pair of regular-season losses to the Dutchmen.
Messiah — ranked 13th in the latest NFCA Top 25 Poll — improved to 34-5 with the victories and more importantly advanced to the Commonwealth Conference Championship, where they will face either Lebanon Valley or Arcadia Saturday at 1 p.m. Should the Falcons lose an initial game Saturday, they would have a second chance to win the league title, per double-elimination tournament format.
Fans can keep tabs on who the Falcons are playing — and how they are doing — via Live Stats at the official website of the Commonwealth Conference Championship.
