Box Score Game One |
Box Score Game Two
Listen:
Mees Hits Two-Run Home Run in Game One
Listen:
Schell Grounder Scores Blantz for Game One Walk-Off
Listen:
Souders Drills Two-Out, Two-Run Walk-Off Home Run Over Etown
Grantham, PA - On the day of the 7th Annual Softball Home Run Derby at Messiah College, freshman
Katie Souders got the party started early.
Souders drilled a deep, two-out, two-run home run to centerfield to seal a dramatic 7-5 win over Elizabethtown on Saturday afternoon. The win completed the double-header sweep of the Blue Jays by the Falcons, and moved them to 8-4 in the Commonwealth Conference.
Game One
It wasn't exactly what dreams are made of, but it's a game-winner nonetheless.
Senior
Stephanie Schell brought in the game-winning run by way of an error on shortstop Lindsey Cooper on Saturday, sending Messiah to a 7-6 win on senior day at Messiah College. Schell's chopper to Cooper went under the glove and through her legs as
Nicole Blantz raced home from third with the deciding run.
Schell's at-bat came after
Becky Notte lined a first-pitch, RBI single to left center to tie the game at 6-6. The two run rally by the Falcons came after
Courtney Allen and Blantz singled to open the frame.
Messiah's late rally was surely a stunner of the Blue Jays, as Etown had just completed a rally in the top of the seventh inning to take their first lead of the game at 6-5.
"I was proud of how we rallied today," head coach
Amy Weaver said. "We never gave up and we didn't give in. Steph [Schell] and Katie [Souders] came up big for us."
The Falcons turned a 3-0 lead after the second inning into a 5-0 advantage after posting single runs in the both the third and fourth. Through four innings, starter
Claressa Mees allowed only two hits to keep the Blue Jays off the scoreboard.
In the top of the fifth, Etown started to chip away at the Falcons' lead. After two extra-base hits led to a single run in the fifth, the Blue Jays posted three more runs in the sixth. Mees gave up back-to-back walks and saw the ball fly off of Kaylee Werner's bat and over the left center fence. The three run shot brought Etown to within one run at 5-4.
After a hitless bottom of the sixth for the Falcons, the Blue Jays took the 6-5 lead in the top of the sixth. After a lead-off single ended Mees's outing and brought
Mallory Rutledge into the game, Etown managed three more hits that resulted in two additional runs.
With the game on the line and the top of the line-up coming to the plate, the Falcons were primed for a come-from-behind victory.
Courtney Allen started things off for the Falcons by driving the ball to center field for a single. In the next at-bat,
Nicole Blantz dropped a brilliant bunt just inches from the plate and beat the throw to become the Falcons' second base runner. With runners on first and second,
Brooke Pompeo successfully executed another sacrifice bunt to push the runners onto second and third. Moments later,
Becky Notte delivered the game-tying RBI single when she took the first pitch to left center.
With one out and Blantz on third, the Falcons had two more outs to win the game. It took
Stephanie Schell just one swing. With the infield pinching in, Schell hit the ball hard on the ground to the short stop who charged to make the play, but lifted her glove at the last second as the ball bounced through her legs. Blantz rushed home on contact to score the game-winning run.
With the 7-6 victory,
Mallory Rutledge picked up the win and moved to 9-4 on the season. Offensively, the Falcons amassed 11 hits to Etown's nine.
Becky Notte (3-for-4) led Messiah with a double and two RBI's.
Game Two
Etown scored three runs on two homeruns to take the early lead in Game Two, but the Falcons wasted no time to equalize the score.
In the bottom of the first,
Brooke Pompeo started things off with a single, but it was great heads-up base running that made the most impact. With Pompeo on third,
Becky Notte singled and Pompeo broke for home. As she did, Etown attempted to make a play, but Notte got into a rundown between first and second, allowing Pompeo to score. In the next at-bat,
Stephanie Schell roped a two-out double just inside the right field line to score two more runs and bring the score to 3-3.
The Falcons took the 4-3 lead in the bottom of the second, but the Blue Jays answered with their own single run in the top half of the third to tie the score once again.
In the bottom of the fourth,
Stephanie Schell drove the ball to the fence in left center for a stand up double and eventually scored the go-ahead run after a passed ball and wild pitch cleared the way.
But the lead wouldn't last long.
The Blue Jays tied the game at 5-5 in the top of the sixth after a throwing error by Pompeo at third base put the tying run on second. Etown's Keli Krause delivered a RBI single to tie the score once again.
Going into the seventh inning, reliever
Sarah Dietrich retired Etown in order in the top of the inning to give the Falcons one more chance to get the win.
In the bottom half,
Nicole Blantz earned a lead-off walk and was moved to third on a sacrifice bunt by Pompeo. Moments later,
Katie Souders hit a bomb over the center field fence to win the game in walk-off fashion and complete the sweep.
"We're in the playoff hunt so every game is important," Weaver said. "These were two huge wins for us today. We need take this momentum and finish well."
The Falcons have three more conference opponents - Stevenson (5-7), Alvernia (11-1), and Widener (4-8) - on their schedule. Prior to taking on their Commonwealth competition, Messiah will travel to McDaniel College on Thursday for a non-conference match-up. The double header will begin at 3:30 p.m.
