Box Score Game 1 -
Box Score Game 2
Elizabethtown, PA – The Falcons closed out their regular season play with two shut-out wins over Elizabethtown College Saturday. Pitching was stellar as junior Sara Dietrich and freshman
Mallory Rutledge held the Blue Jays to only four hits on the day. With the 3-0 and 2-0 wins, Messiah finishes with a perfect 14-0 conference record and claims the number one seed going into the Commonwealth Conference playoffs next weekend.
“We hit the ball really well today and our pitching was top-notch,” Head Coach
Amy Weaver said. “Although we left quite a few runners on-base, we were hitting the ball hard, but right to people. These wins helped build our confidence going into post-season.”
Game One
The Falcons (33-6, 14-0) wasted no time scoring in the first game of the doubleheader, plating their first run in the opening inning – a feat that occurred in the last nine of 10 games.
Sophomore
Sarah Seneca worked a lead-off walk for Messiah and moved into scoring positing by stealing her
team-leading, 33
rd base of the season. Senior
Ashley Lehman's sacrifice bunt moved S. Seneca to third and it was senior
Jaclyn Merkel (1 for 4, 1 RBI) who singled to drive her home.
The Blue Jays (23-17, 7-7) responded in the bottom of the first with a two-out rally, yet back-to-back singles and a walk didn't faze the Falcons. With bases loaded, Dietrich ended Elizabethtown's best scoring opportunity of the game with a strike out to close out the inning.
Despite getting runners on base in six of seven innings played, Messiah had a tough time scoring. Leaving 11 runners on base, the Falcons were fortunate to plate two more runs in the sixth, adding a bit more cushion to their lead.
“We can't fault our hitters,” Weaver said. “We hit well and had some hard shots, but Elizabethtown made the plays. We're swinging at good pitches and making solid contact. That's really what matters in the end.”
In the sixth, Dietrich's lead-off single to right field got things going for the Falcons. After a sacrifice bunt from sophomore
Krista Ammon that moved Dietrich to second, Messiah's offense got a little help from a couple Blue Jay defensive errors. In the next at-bat, senior
Abi Buchler got on-base and advanced to second due to one of those errors. Dietrich (2 for 4) scored on the play. After a fly-out, S. Seneca (2 for 3, 1 RBI) followed Buchler's lead with a single to left field. The ball was mishandled by Elizabethtown allowing S. Seneca to continue on to second and Buchler to score Messiah's final run.
Dietrich (16-2) shutdown the Blue Jays, allowing only one hit throughout the sixth and seventh innings. On the day, her performance was rather impressive. In seven innings of work, Dietrich (1.11 ERA) gave up only three hits, struck out five, and allowed six base runners to earn her fourth complete game shut-out.
Game Two
Pitching was once again at a premium in the second game as freshman
Mallory Rutledge (10-2, 1.94 ERA) gave up only one hit to earn her third combined shut-out of the season. Dietrich faced two batters in the fourth.
Messiah's offense remained steady in the early innings, but it wasn't until the third that their efforts paid off. Three consecutive singles from senior
Lauren Seneca, S. Seneca, and freshman
Nicole Blantz loaded the bases for Lehman who grounded out, but brought in the lone run of the inning.
The Falcons managed hits in both the fourth and fifth innings and broke through with one run on three hits and a Blue Jay error in the sixth.
“These were two solid wins for us today,” Weaver said. “Our offense, defense, and pitching are coming together right when we need them to and that builds confidence. Being the number one seed going into playoffs is a big deal and that confidence is really important.”
The Falcons will take their confidence into the Commonwealth Conference Championships that begin Friday, May 4th at Messiah College. The first game of the double elimination tournament between #4 Elizabethtown College and #1 Messiah College will begin at 11:00 a.m. The second game will begin at 1:00 p.m. between #3 Alvernia University and #3 Lebanon Valley College. The winners of each game will face-off in the 3:00 p.m. game. All teams will compete again on Saturday.
Commonwealth Conference Championships Schedule
Friday, May 4
11:00 AM - Game #1 - #4 Elizabethtown College vs. #1 Messiah College
1:00 PM - Game #2 - #3 Alvernia University vs. #2 Lebanon Valley College
3:00 PM - Game #3 - Winner Game #1 vs. Winner Game #2
Saturday, May 5
9:00 AM - Game #4 - Loser Game #1 vs. Loser Game #2
11:00 AM - Game #5 - Winner Game #4 vs. Loser Game #3
1:00 PM - Game #6 - Winner Game #3 vs. Winner Game #5
3:00 PM - Game #7 - If necessary
