Box Score
By Bryn Swartz, GoMessiah.com reporter
Reading, PA — In Friday's opening two games of the Commonwealth Conference Tournament, Messiah managed just five hits and one unearned run against Arcadia University pitcher Kelsey Roberts. The team escaped with a 1-0 victory, thanks to a brilliant one-hit shutout thrown by sophomore pitcher Jocelyn Hickey.
End result aside, Saturday's game against the same opponent couldn't have been any more different.
The Falcons jumped out to a 7-0 lead after one inning and coasted to an easy 14-0 victory over the Knights in a five-inning shortened game, clinching the 2011 Commonwealth Conference championship for the Falcons — their third consecutive title and eighth overall.
A rematch of Hickey vs. Roberts began with Hickey retiring the first three Arcadia hitters in the top of the first.
Then the fun began for the Falcons. In the bottom of the first, Messiah (35-5) produced arguably its most impressive hitting display of the 2011 season, batting around in the lineup plus two. The team scored seven runs on seven hits and a pair of walks. Designated hitter Jess Rhoads provided the biggest blow of the inning, doubling with the bases loaded to score freshman Krista Ammon, sophomore Stephanie Schell and junior Jacki Merkel. When freshman Amanda Fife doubled in Lauren Seneca for the team's sixth run, the damage had been done and Roberts (13-6) was removed.
When the dust had settled, Messiah led 7-0 after just one inning. A day after collecting just five hits and no earned runs in six innings, the Falcons chased Roberts for five hits and seven earned runs in two thirds of an inning.
"We already faced (Roberts) once, and once you've already seen a pitcher you feel a bit more comfortable hitting against her,” said Amy Weaver, Messiah head coach. “Hitting is mental. Also their whole team was tired. They had already played two games earlier in the day and they were starting to wear down."
A product of falling to Messiah in Friday's opener — and thus being relegated to the loser's bracket — Arcadia (24-12) had to work its way back into Saturday's championship game, beating Lycoming College by a 4-1 score Saturday morning and then knocking out top-seeded Lebanon Valley College by a 2-1 score shortly thereafter.
The Falcons, meanwhile, sat back and watched it all happen, playing refreshed softball when it was finally their time to take the field. Weaver's club pushed across two more runs in the bottom of the second behind an RBI double from Rhoads and an RBI single from junior Jess Brown.
In the bottom of the fourth, Messiah scored five more, effectively ending even the most remote possibilities of Arcadia making a comeback. Junior Ashley Lehman drove in the final two runs of the inning on a single to center field, giving the Falcons an insurmountable 14-0 lead.
One half inning later, the game was ended by virtue of the mercy rule. The Falcons had clinched their third straight Commonwealth Conference Championship and eighth overall — five of which coming under the direction of Weaver. Hickey (12-2) was named the tournament's most valuable player. On the weekend, she pitched 11 innings, allowing just four hits and no earned runs in two of the biggest games of her college career.
'Today our team was on fire with lots of intensity," Merkel said. "The dugout was never silent. We utilized everyone on the team and hits were coming from almost everyone in the lineup. Our bats were never silent."
The Falcons will now compete in the NCAA Tournament for the third straight year, ultimately seeking the program's second national championship to complement its golden trophy in 2009. Messiah will learn its opponent and location when the NCAA Regional fields are announced Monday. Regional play begins on Thursday, May 12th.
"Obviously, we're excited to win a conference championship and go back to NCAAs,” Weaver said. “Like this tournament, we expect to do well. We don't know yet who we're playing but we're 35-5 and we've beat a lot of teams this season. I really expect to do well, and I hope our girls feel that way, too."
The Falcons can take full confidence in knowing that they have three aces capable of winning games, as Jess Rhoads, Jocelyn Hickey and freshman Sara Dietrich have combined for a 35-4 record and a 1.22 earned run average this season. They also have a team batting average of .347, including seven regulars hitting above .368.
Fans can view the 2011 NCAA Division III Softball Championships selection show on NCAA.com. The show will begin Monday at 12 p.m. EST.
