Box Score Game One I
Box Score Game Two
Grantham, PA - Messiah College dropped game one of a double-header with Arcadia University on Saturday, losing 12-8 in a high-scoring affair. The Falcons fell behind 7-0 after the first two innings, but battled their way back to 7-6 in the fourth. The Knights responded with another big run, scoring five more times to take a 12-8 win, their first-ever victory over Messiah.
In game two, the Falcons took their turn in scoring early runs as they went up 4-0 after two innings. RBIs by
Sarah Dietrich, freshman
Katie Souders, and sophomore
Madelyn Coffey highlighted a three-run first. The Falcons tacked on three more runs in the subsequent innings to take the 6-1 victory. The win moved Messiah to 1-3 on the season, and 1-1 in the Commonwealth.
"A lot of good things happened today and yet there are quite a few things we need to improve upon," head coach
Amy Weaver said. "We had lots of hits and scored eight runs in the first game, but it wasn't enough for the win. We need to win games when we score that many runs."
The Falcons' offense, led by freshman
Courtney Allen (3-for-4), Dietrich, Coffey, and Souders (all 2-for-4), generated 14 hits in game one, but inconsistent pitching and unsteady defense gave way to too many early runs to overcome.
In both the first and second innings, the Falcons' pitchers gave up lead-off walks that eventually scored, but extra-base hits (an RBI triple and two-run homerun) and several passed balls did even more damage.
With a 7-0 deficit after the first two innings, the Falcons got on the board in the bottom of the third when Dietrich tripled to right center. Allen and freshman
Brooke Pompeo scored on the hit.
The Falcons continued to chip away at their deficit n the bottom of the fourth, scoring four runs on four hits. Coffey got things going with a double to right center and was driven home when Souders found the hole between first and second. Pinch-running extraordinaire, senior
Daniella Pusateri, took Souders place on second base and quickly motored to third on a passed ball and then scored due to a Knight defensive error. Moments later, Dietrich singled up the middle, driving in her third RBI of the game. The Falcons crossed home plate for their final run of the inning on a passed ball, bringing the score to 7-6.
Just when the Falcons could taste a come-from-behind win, the Knights added three runs in the sixth and two more runs in the seventh, all but sealing the victory.
The young Falcon squad didn't go down without a fight, though. In the bottom of the seventh, Souders drove the ball over the fence in right center for a two-run homerun, adding a lot of excitement to Messiah's bench.
"I was proud of our team for scoring runs after we put ourselves into a pretty deep hole," Weaver said. "It was very exciting to see freshman
Katie Souders get her first home run. She helped set the tone for us going into the second game."
In the second game, the Falcons' pitching and offense were hot from the start.
After sophomore
Mallory Rutledge pitched a three-up-three-down half inning, Allen dropped a looper in behind second base for a very important lead-off single. Pompeo followed suit by laying down a beautiful bunt for a hit, allowing Allen to advance to third. In the next at-bat, Dietrich showed a bunt on the first pitch but pulled back, allowing Pompeo to steal second. With no outs and runners in scoring position, Dietrich drove the ball to center field for the sacrifice fly-out. Allen scored on the play and Pompeo moved to third. In the next at-bat, senior
Stephanie Schell tried to drive in Pompeo, but Pompeo went on contact and Schell's well-hit ball to short was quickly thrown home for the out at the plate.
With two outs and Schell on first, Coffey continued the offensive onslaught by driving the ball to the center field fence for an RBI triple. Souders answered moments later with yet another hit to center, scoring Coffey in the process for the 3-0 lead.
The Falcons added on another run in the second inning and two more in the fourth by simply executing fundamentals. Junior
Lauren Smith singled to left field and was moved to second on Allen's sacrifice bunt. A ground-out by Pompeo advanced Smith to third and Dietrich came up big with a hard hit to right field, allowing Smith to trot home in the second.
In the fourth, Allen once again got on-base in the lead-off position to start things for the Falcons. Pompeo laid down a sacrifice bunt, moving Allen on to second, then Dietrich hit the ball well to right field for another sacrifice.
With runners in scoring position, the Knights made a pitching change. Schell's patience at the plate led to a walk in the next at-bat, creating a first-and-third situation. Coffey rose to the occasion yet again, this time hitting a slow mover to the short stop which gave her enough time to be safe at first and allowed Allen to score. With runners on first and second, Souders drove the ball to center, pushing Schell across the plate for the sixth and final run of the game for the Falcons.
The most productive offensive efforts for the Knights came in the top of the fifth when they strung together three consecutive hits that led to the scoring of their one and only run.
The Falcons ended the game with six runs on 11 hits and committed only one error. Coffey led the Falcons by going 3-for-4 with two RBI's. Dietrich (1-for-1) and Souders (2-for-3) also drove in two runs.
Rutledge went the distance for the Falcons on the mound, picking up her first win of the 2013 season. She allowed one run on four hits, walked two, and struck out one.
"Our offense was rolling in game two," Weaver said. "We put together a solid game. Good pitching and solid defense made the difference."
The Falcons return to action next Saturday when they take on Huntingdon College in their first of seven Spring Break contests to be played in Panama City Beach, Florida. The double-header is set to begin at 2:00 p.m.
