Harrisonburg, VA - The No.16 Messiah College Falcons split a non-conference double header Thursday while on the road at Eastern Mennonite University (24-10).

In Game One, the Falcons (24-3) used three two-run homeruns to beat Eastern Mennonite University 7-2 then turned around to accumulate 13 total hits, but couldn't turn a bases-loaded top of the seventh into runs, resulting in a 6-5 Game Two loss.

Game One - Messiah 7, EMU 2
Erin Cressman launched two homeruns over the centerfield fence in both the second and fourth innings to give the Falcons the 4-0 lead.

Amanda Jones joined the base-clearing party in the sixth when she homered down the left field line, extending Messiah's lead to 7-0. The Falcons also posted a single run in the fifth on a sacrifice fly from Brooke Pompeo that scored Carrie Fix who put herself in scoring postion with a double and stolen base.

The Royals only runs came in the bottom of the seventh, when they tagged reliever Madelyn Yannetti for two runs on two hits and a walk.

Starter Courtney Allen threw six scoreless innings and allowed just five hits to earn her 13th win of the year. She struckout six and walked two.  

Cressman fueled the Falcons' offense with four RBI on two hits. Five other Falcons also picked up hits with RBI going to Pompeo (1) and Jones (2).

Game Two - EMU 6, Messiah 5
The Royals took the early 2-0 lead in the first frame, but the Falcons responded with a three spot in the top of the second to hold a narrow one run lead at 3-2. Becky Notte, Amanda Jones, Erin Cressman, Emily Quatrale, and Carrie Fix each singled in the effort.

The back-and-forth action continued in the bottom half of the second, when the Royals scored the equalizer on three hits.

The Falcons followed with a single run in the top of third, reclaiming the lead 4-3. Notte and Jones hit back-to-back singles, then advanced on a wild pitch by the Royals. With runners in scoring position, Cressman's sacrifice fly to right field knocked in the go-ahead run for the Falcons.

The score remained 4-3 in Messiah's favor until the Royals added three runs on two hits in the bottom of the fourth. After giving up a one-out walk and a single, starter Carrie Fix was replaced by reliever Madelyn Yannetti. The Royals' Mariah Foltz greeted Yannetti with a homerun to left center. The three-run shot was Foltz's first homerun of the season and gave EMU the 6-4 lead.

The Falcons chipped away at their deficit in the top of the fifth when Courtney Allen set things ablaze with a lead-off triple. Allen crossed the plate in the next at-bat on a sacrifice fly from Notte, bringing the score to 6-5 in favor of the Royals.

After giving up the initial homerun in the fourth, Yannetti controlled the Royals' next two offensive halves. In fact, she retired the next six batters and held all nine batters she faced to just one hit.

The Falcons battled until the very end, loading the bases in the top of the seventh. With one out and two runners on the Royals worked around Cressman, who homered twice in Game One, walking her to load the bases. Neither Quatrale nor Jordan McLain could bring in the much-needed runs, resulting in the final two outs of the game and the 6-5 loss.

Fix was charged with the loss and moves to 8-2 on the season. In 3.2 innings of work, she gave up five runs on eight hits and two walks.

The Falcons return to MAC Commonwealth play on Saturday when they travel to Frederick, Maryland for a 1:00 p.m. doubleheader with Hood College.