FREDERICKSBURG, Va. – Messiah softball continued their strong start to the 2018 season with a double-header sweet at Mary Washington, 8-2 and 10-4. Erin Cressman highlighted the victory with a two-run home run in Game One that pushed her into sole possession of the program's career leaderboard, and both Carrie Fix and Joy Kolakowski picked up wins in the circle.
 
Messiah is now 4-0 on the season, and they'll next play on Friday, March 2 against DePauw as part of the NFCA Leadoff Classic in Tuscon, Ariz.
 
Game One – Messiah 8, Mary Washington 2
Early Fireworks
Messiah wasted little time in getting on the board as Erin Cressman launched a two-out, two-run bomb in the first inning. Her first longball of the season gave her 21 in her career, breaking a tie with Amy Bowie '09 as the program's all-time leader. The two RBI, coupled with another RBI later in the game, gave her 97 total and her for seventh all-time.
 
Carrie Fix worked around a two-out double in the bottom of the first and retired four of her first five batters before the Eagles broke through. In the bottom of the second, with one out, Fix gave up a double to left center and, a batter later, allowed a run-scoring single to right that made it 2-1.
 
Fix got the next better with a flyout, and then had 1-2-3 frames in both the third and fourth. She also worked around a two-out walk in the fifth to keep Messiah ahead.
 
Hits and Runs
One week after registering 32 hits and 24 runs across a doubleheader sweep over Methodist, the Falcons kept the offensive coming with 10 more hits and eight runs in Game One today. They held that 2-1 lead into the fifth where Angie Stephano laced an RBI double to make it 3-1. Samantha Esper scored on the hit, and Erin Cressman then trotted home on a wild pitch to give the Falcons a three-run lead.

Messiah broke the game open in the sixth, and the rally was started with three-straight singles to open the frame and load the bases. Esper's fielder's choice brought in the first run, and a batter later Cressman's sac fly brought home another run. Stephano followed with an RBI single to score Fix, with Esper getting nabbed at home to end the frame.
 
After seven batters and three more runs, Messiah held a 7-1 lead. They added another run in the seventh, and won 8-2.
 
Game Two – Messiah 10, Mary Washington 4
Pair of Three's
Messiah scored first again in Game Two, this time with three runs on three hits and two stolen bases. Esper and Cressmean each had run-scoring singles, and Cressman scored the Falcons' third run with a heads-up streak home on a dropped third strike again Stephano.
 
They took that 3-0 lead into the fourth, and they doubled their lead off five more hits. The big inning started with two outs and runner on third, with Haylee Anders, Ashley Carroll, Fix, and Esper combining for four-straight two-out singles to tally three runs.
 
Broken Open
Messiah took a 6-3 lead into the seventh, and they secured the decision with four more runs. Three of the runs were unearned by way of an error on the Eagles' third baseman, but Cressman Amanda Petersen, and Carroll each picked up hits along the way.
 
Fix, Esper, and Cressman each collected three hits, and with Esper knocking in two runs.
 
Joy(ful) Innings
Messiah's Joy Kolakowski picked up her first career win with 4.1 solid frames. She allowed just three hits and two runs—zero earned—against a single strikeout. Forty-three of her 65 pitches went for strikes.
 
Tiffany White (0.2) and Madelyn Yannetti (2.0) combined for the final 2.2 innings, with each allowing a single earned run.