XML Box Score Box ScoreRochester, NY - The Falcons' offense exploded for 14 runs on 15 hits to beat Marywood University 14-6 (five innings) and advance in the NCAA Regional in Rochester Saturday afternoon.
Courtney Allen's grand slam in the top of the fifth highlighted a slugfest, which included home runs from
Becky Notte and
Amanda Jones. The Pacers (24-13) exit the tournament after a banner year in which they won their second conference championship and advanced to the NCAA tournament for the first time in program history. Messiah moves on to play No. 1 University of Rochester at 4:15 p.m.
Jones got the Falcons on the board in the top of the first with a solo home run over the center field fence, but the Pacers responded with five runs on three hits in the bottom of the inning. A three-run homerun by Marywood's Steph Bagniewski highlighted the inning, giving the Pacers the 5-1 lead.
Starter
Mallory Rutledge exited the game after facing only six batters. In 0.1 innings pitched, she gave up five runs on three hits. After the big first inning,
Claressa Mees entered the game and shutdown the Pacers' bats.
The Falcons took no time to diminish their deficit as they added six more runs in the top of the second. The ball just flew off the bat as Messiah accumulated four hits with Allen and Notte each driving in two RBI. Notte went yard toward the end of the inning, while Allen's RBI came off a single to left field.
The bats continued to scream in the fourth and fifth innings, as the Falcons added seven more runs. A single run was posted in the fourth, while six more hits in the fifth led to six runs. The play-of-the-day came late in the inning when
Courtney Allen hit a bomb to right center for her first career grand slam.
With the dominant win,
Claressa Mees moves to 13-3 on the season. She gave up only one run on three hits, despite walking three.
