ANNVILLE, Pa. - Madison Walter picked up a victory in Game One, tossing a complete game while allowing just one run. In Game Two she came on in relief to earn the save as the Messiah softball team swept the Lebanon Valley Dutchmen on Tuesday afternoon by scores of 2-1 and 4-2. Messiah scored a pair of runs early in Game One while Game Two the Falcons tacked on three key insurance runs in the top of the seventh to claim the 4-2 victory.

With the victories, the Falcons clinch the fourth seed in the upcoming MAC Commonwealth Tournament. The Falcons will host the fifth-seeded Eastern Eagles on on Saturday for the first two games in a best-of-three game series over the weekend in the MAC Commonwealth Quarterfinals. Messiah finishes the regular season with an overall record of 12-9 and an 8-6 record in the conference.

Game One - Messiah defeats Lebanon Valley - 2-1
The Messiah softball team earned a tight 2-1 victory in Game One of a doubleheader over the Lebanon Valley Dutchmen on Tuesday afternoon. The Falcons scored two runs early and despite a Dutchmen run in the bottom of the sixth, Messiah earned the one-run victory.
 
Isabel Seise and Elianna Litwin each drove home a run in the opening innings with Seise singling home Alexa Burger in the first and Litwin brining home Olivia Denmark on a groundout in the second.
 
Madison Walter continued her strong season in the circle, tossing a complete game while allowing one run on three hits and one walk while striking out a half dozen.
 
As mentioned, the Falcon got on the board first with Alexa Burger reaching on a one-out bunt single. She moved to second on a wild pitch before Isabel Seise knocked her home with a single to right center.
 
In the second, Messiah put their first two runners in the frame on with a single by Olivia Denmark and a fielding error by the Dutchmen. After Karlee Stocksdale stole second, Messiah had two in scoring position. Elianna Litwin grounded out to shortstop, but Denmark broke for the plate, scoring to make it a 2-0 Falcons' lead.
 
That two-run lead held until the bottom of the sixth when the Dutchmen drew a leadoff walk, Walter's only free pass of the game, and later scored on a two-out infield single. The run got the Dutchmen on the board and made it a 2-1 game.
 
After the Falcons went down in order in the seventh, Lebanon Valley put a runner on with a bunt with one away, but back-to-back groundouts to second ended the game, giving Messiah the 2-1 victory.
 
With the win, Messiah clinches the fourth seed in the upcoming MAC Commonwealth Tournament.
 
Game Two - Messiah defeats Lebanon Valley - 4-2
Baserunners in the first four innings of Game Two were tough to come by with neither the Falcons nor Dutchmen getting many opportunities in the early going. The lone quality chance came in the bottom of the second when Lebanon Valley put two runners on with a single and an error. Messiah was able to elude the jam with a pop up to second ending the frame.
 
Messiah finally breaking through in the top of the fifth with a single by the Falcons' starting pitcher, Brynne Baker. Olivia Denmark got the inning started for the Falcons with a single through the left side before stealing second and advancing to third on a wild pitch. With Denmark on third she was able to trot home with the first run of the game when Brynne Baker singled to right field. Messiah threatened for more with Elena Rosas singling up the middle later in the frame to put two runners on. The frame ended with the next two batters retiring on a fly out and a line out to lead a pair on the bases.
 
The Dutchmen attempted to swiftly counter with back-to-back singles in the bottom of the fifth with two away, but Brynne Baker picked up her second strikeout of the game to keep Messiah in front 1-0.
 
The Falcons added three insurance runs in the top of the seventh thanks to four hits, including three of the extra-base variety. Karlee Stocksdale started the rally by ripping a one-out triple to right center. After a groundout, back-to-back doubles from Sarah Lippin and McKenzie Shannon followed to drive home the first two runs of the frame. An Alexa Burger single up the middle, plated Shannon and gave the Falcons a 4-0 lead heading to the bottom of the seventh.
 
The Dutchmen knocked three-straight hits to begin the bottom half of the seventh with two singles sandwiched around a double to cut the lead in half at 4-2. The Falcons brought on the Game One winning pitcher, Madison Walter to record the save. Walter retired all three batters she faced in order to give the Falcons the 4-2 victory.
 
Messiah locks up the fourth seed in the upcoming MAC Commonwealth Tournament that will take place over the next three weekends. The Falcons will host the first two games of a best-of-three series on Saturday against the fifth-seeded Eastern Eagles. The doubleheader begins at 1:00 p.m. on Saturday in Grantham.