Clermont, FL - In what was their most difficult test so far this season, the Falcons battled through 10 innings of play to eventually beat Aurora University 4-3 Wednesday morning.

Neither team was able to score through the first seven innings, which required a few extra frames to determine the victor.

The Falcons (6-1) went three and out in most innings, but their best chance of scoring came in the top of the seventh when they had runners on second and third with one out. They unfortunately were unable to push a run across the plate, resulting in extra innings.

The Spartans' (2-3) opportunities to score through the first seven were also very limited, thanks to Messiah's ace Courtney Allen. Allen held the Spartans to just three hits through regulation.

Since the score was tied 0-0 at the end of seven, the international tiebreaker rule was initiated to start the eighth inning.

International Tiebreaker defined:
At the start of each extra inning, a runner is placed on second base with the intent of accelerating opportunities to score and bringing the game to a swift conclusion. The runner who starts on second is the last batter to make an out in the previous inning. At least one full inning is played, allowing each team the same chance to score. If the score remains tied, the same process is used in each subsequent inning until a victor emerges.

In the top of the eighth the Falcons took advantage of the tiebreaker situation and scored two runs for the 2-0 lead. With Alyssa Hamilton on second Carrie Fix homered to give Messiah the much-needed go-ahead runs.

The Falcons' advantage was quickly erased, however, when the Spartans equalized things in the bottom of the frame.

The scored remained knotted at 2-2 through the ninth until the Falcons broke the stalemate in the top of the tenth.

This time, Erin Cressman started on second base and moved onto third by way of a sacrifice bunt from Amanda Jones. In the next at-bat, Tina Lehman slapped a pinch-hit single through second base to score Cressman and take the 3-2 lead. The Falcons' offense continued to press Aurora, loading the bases after Fix was hit by a pitch and then Brooke Pompeo drew a walk. With the bases juiced, Allen hit the ball to second, allowing the Falcons' final run to score.

With a 4-2 lead going into the bottom of the tenth, the Falcons needed to hold the Saints to seal the victory. In their final opportunity, the Saints scored one run on one Falcon error to bring the final score to 4-3. Allen faced four batters in the final frame, retiring all but one.

With the extra-inning win, Allen moves to 4-0 on the season.  Allen threw all 10 innings and held the Saints to sevent hits. She struckout three and walked two.

The Falcons' offense was led by Carrie Fix who went 2-for-4 with two RBI and one run scored. Tina Lehman also made a big contribution to the win by making the most of her one at-bat with an RBI single that scored the Falcons' go-ahead run in the top of the tenth.

The Falcons take tomorrow off and then return to action on Friday when they face Thomas More College at 9:00 a.m. and Coe College at 11:15 a.m.