Newport News, VA - With runners on the corners and two outs in the bottom of the seventh, a wild pitch to Becky Notte on a 2-2 count allowed Madelyn Yannetti to race home from third base in a thrilling 5-4 win for the Falcons. The win was No. 11 Messiah's second on the day over No. 10 Christopher Newport, and it sent the Falcons through the weekend and into the NCAA Division III Super Regionals.

The Falcons will play the winner of Salisbury and Haverford, the two of which will play tomorrow to determine a winner in their Regional bracket.

Four Falcons were named to the Newport Regional All-Tournament Team: catcher Becky Notte, shortstop Amanda Jones, third baseman Brooke Pompeo, pitcher Courtney Allen, and Tournament MOP first baseman Erin Cressman.

Game One - No. 11 Messiah 6, No. 10 Christopher Newport 1
Erin Cressman and Amber Bingaman each hit home runs and Courtney Allen didn't break over seven innings to help No. 11 Messiah College to a 6-1 win over No. 10 Christopher Newport University in the NCAA Regional. The Falcons scored five of their runs in the third inning, with Cressman's opposite field, two-run drive capping the rally.

Bingaman added her solo shot to left field in the sixth inning to make it 6-1. Allen pitched all seven innings and allowed just five hits. She walked four, but made enough big pitches to stay out of trouble.
 
Messiah went down 1-0 in the second inning, but not after first running themselves out of their own scoring opportunity in their first at-bat. A one-out triple by Brooke Pompeo was followed by a bunt single by Courtney Allen, and Becky Notte came up with first-and-third. On the second pitch Allen broke for second base to draw the throw, and when the throw came Pompeo went home. The return throw beat Pompeo by five feet, and Allen ended up at second base. A flyout by Notte ended the threat.
 
In the second inning the Captains scored a single run via a sac fly. They were poised by more, but their own base-running miscue benefitted Messiah: with first and second and on one out, Tori Clarke's single to center should have scored Rachael Payne easily, but she hesitated rounding third and got caught in a rundown. The Captains were able to get runners to second and third, and a sac fly brought home their only run.
 
In the third inning Messiah rallied for five runs but, true to the story, it wasn't without another questionable base-running decision. The rally started with one out and Carrie Fix reaching base by way of a dropped third-strike. Pompeo followed with a hard single to centerfield, and Allen then singled off the third baseman's glove to load the bases. Notte moved all the runners up with a groundout to second, making it 1-1.
 
Now, with two outs and two runners in scoring position, Amanda Jones laced a single down the left field line. Pompeo came home easily, but Allen made too big a turn at third and seemed stuck with the throw came in behind. She stuttered in the rundown before drawing the throw home, and appeared out on the catcher's tag before getting to home plate. But the home umpire ruled the tag missed Allen, and her run counted for a 3-1 lead. The Captains argued the call to no avail, even as the umpires came together to confirm the decision.
 
Erin Cressman then stepped up and added the big blow, a laser home run to right field on an 0-1 count. The home run was her 11th of the season and it gave her 48 RBI, both best on the team.
 
The final innings passed without much conflict, even though Allen labored to throw 99 total pitches. She on threw just 51 strikes, and it was the first time all season she allowed more walks (4) than strikeouts (3) in a game. Even still, the Captains did not capitalize as she moved to 24-0.
 
Bingaman's long home run to left in the sixth completed the scoring. It was fourth dinger of the year, and her first since Mar. 17. It also put a positive spin on an otherwise frustrating inning as Cressman and Jones each made outs on the bases a moment earlier.
 
Jones and Cressman each finished 3-3 at the plate, with both Pompeo and Allen had two hits apiece.

Game Two - No. 11 Messiah 5, No. 10 Christopher Newport 4
As metioned above, Messiah won Game Two on a wild pitch to Becky Notte with Courtney Allen (first) and Madelyn Yannetti (third) on the corners with one out. Yannetti raced home uncontested to start the celebration and send Messiah to the Super Regionals.

The wild pitch was, undoubtedly, partly influenced by the rain that had started to fall a few minutes earlier. Pitcher Hannah Marshall was routinely exchanging balls throughout the frame, though the game was never in threat of a delay.

Yannetti also earned the win in relief of Courtney Allen. The first-year hurler pitched the final 1.1 innings and allowed just a single hit. She came into the game with two outs in the sixth, just after CNU rallied to score two runs off Allen and tie the game at 4-4. An infield single to Jones at shortstop could've been ruled an error, but nevertheless it loaded the bases. Two pitches later Jones scooped up another groundball and fired across for the final out to leave the bases loaded.

In the top of the sixth inning Yannetti hit the Captains' best hitter, Scoop Simon, to lead off the frame. Consecutive groundouts moved her to third base, and drive by Tori Clarke to right field seemed destined to put CNU up by a run. But Amber Bingaman, who had earlier moved to right field when Yannetti came in to pitch, made a spectacular diving grab to leave Simon stranded at third. Bingaman's dive was forward, and she rolled over and hung onto the catch in dramatic fasion.

That tremendous play, also made in the rain, set-up Messiah's game-winning rally in the bottom of the seventh.

Messiah's win came after they took leads on the Captains on two separate occassions. Their first two runs came in the very first inning when Notte and Jones knocked back-to-back run-scoring hits with one out. Erin Cressman reached on an infield single a moment later, but Notte was thrown out trying to score and the Falcons soon settled for the 2-0 lead.

In the top of the third a two-run home run by Hannah Cook tied the game at 2-2. Allen got two outs to answer, but then allowed back-to-back singles before finally ending the top of the third. Thankfully, Messiah responded right away with single runs in the third and fourth, the first of those coming on an RBI single by Jones; a wild pitch allowed Bingaman to score from third base in the fourth.

Working her second game of the day, Allen was finally matched by the Captains in the sixth. With one out, a single and a walk put two runners on, and a hard single to center then made it 4-3. After snagging a chopper back to the mound and going to third for the force out, Allen gave up another game-tying hit to Cook-- this one two-out single up the middle that made it 4-4. Yannetti then came in and, as mentioned, got out of the frame without anymore damage.

Allen went 5.2 innings and gave up nine hits against two walks and zero strikeouts. She threw 81 pitches after tossing 99 in the first game.

Messiah collected just five hits in the second game, with Pompeo getting two of them. Jones (2) and Notte had the only RBI, with the other two runs scoring on wild pitches.

Meagan Jones, Leah Andrews, and Cook each had two hits for the Captains in the loss.