Augustana College Game 1 Box Score --
University of Michigan-Dearborn Box Score --
Augustana College Game 2 Box Score
Clermont, FL - The sunny skies and warm Florida temperatures suited the #13 ranked Falcons in Friday's opening 3-1 win over Augustana College (IL). Unfortunately, the surroundings at the National Training Center had little positive effect on their next two games, resulting in a 0-2 loss to the University of Michigan Dearborn (NAIA) and 4-15 loss to Augustana on Saturday.
In their opening game against Augustana College, Messiah (2-1) had a solid all-around performance. Great pitching, solid defense, and 10 hits propelled the Falcons to a 3-1 victory.
Junior
Jocelyn Hickey (2-0) threw a complete game giving up only one run on six hits.
The Falcons' offense was subdued until the top of the fifth, when freshman
Nicole Blantz - 3-for-3 on the day - bunted her way on-base to begin a Messiah rally. Blantz advanced to third on a single from sophomore
Sarah Seneca and scored off of another single from senior
Abi Buchler. With Seneca on third, senior
Ashley Lehman singled to drive in the Falcons' second run. Once again, Messiah had a runner on third and only one out. Senior
Jaclyn Merkel hit the ball hard to third base and was safe at first, but Buchler got caught in a run-down and was out at the plate. Junior
Stephanie Schell ended the inning with a fly out to right field.
Augustana (0-1) would answer in the sixth to score one run on two hits.
In the seventh, the Falcons added one more insurance run when Blantz's bunt single resulted in a trip to third base because of an Augustana throwing error. A textbook sacrifice bunt from
Sarah Seneca scored Blantz and put Messiah up 3-1, but the Falcons wanted more. Messiah continued their offensive pressure when Buchler singled and Lehman moved her to second with the sacrifice. Merkel stepped into the box looking to score Buchler, but her efforts were denied by Augustana's left fielder, Lauren Schneiderbauer, who fielded Merkel's hit and threw a laser to the plate to catch Buchler on her way home.
After a lead-off walk, Hickey denied any chances of an Augustana rally forcing three straight outs.
"This was a nice start for us," head coach
Amy Weaver said. "Everything came together and we executed. We met our expectations, so I'm happy about our performance."
Friday's second game against the University of Michigan-Dearborn (1-0) was an entirely different story.
The Falcons had a rough outing at the plate and struggled on defense, committing several errors and unnecessarily throwing the ball around. Despite their efforts, Messiah ended the game without scoring for the 0-2 loss.
"We had a great first game, but didn't finish well in Game 2," head coach
Amy Weaver said. "We want to be a team that is consistent and finishes strong. That's what we'll focus on for tomorrow; being consistent."
Unfortunately for the Falcons, Saturday proved to lack the consistency they desired.
Facing Augustana College - who beat the University of Michigan-Dearborn 15-0
The Falcons found themselves in an early deficit when the Vikings' (2-1) Chaney Tambling hit a two-out grand slam off of Messiah's ace, Hickey.
Over the next four innings, Messiah (2-3) slowly chipped away at their deficit, scoring two runs on three hits in both the third and fourth innings. But just when the Falcons thought the tides were turning, the Vikings unleashed an offensive onslaught in the fifth that pushed them to their breaking point.
With the bases loaded and two outs, a critical error in the outfield by Messiah scored three Viking runs and acted as the catalyst to the Falcons' demise. Eight more runs would score - all of which were unearned - as the Vikings took a commanding 11-run lead enroute to a 15-4 win.
Despite the fact that 16 of Messiah's 19 roster players entered the game, the Falcons ended the day scoring four runs on nine hits and committed three errors.
"We were right in the game until the dreaded fifth inning," Weaver said. "Instead of one mistake and a couple of runs, the wheels feel off and we had several errors and mistakes. We have a lot to work on to get ready for our next games."
Messiah will take the next two weeks to prepare for their second trip to Florida for their Spring Break games (March 12-16). The Falcons' next game is slated for Monday, March 12 at 1:00 p.m. against SUNY-Geneseo.
