WILLIAMSPORT, Pa. – The Messiah softball team split a road doubleheader at Lycoming College on Monday afternoon, dropping the first contest, 5-1, and coming back to win the second game, 12-6.
Madison Walter, named MAC Commonwealth Pitcher of the Week earlier today, tossed six innings in the Game One loss, allowing just one earned run, striking out eight batters.
Olivia Denmark led the offense for the Falcons in Game Two, racking in a career-high four RBI. Messiah's 21 hits were the most in a single game since the 2014 season.
Game One
The two sides were locked in a stalemate for the opening three frames of the game behind excellent pitching from both Walter and Lycoming's Angie King. The Falcons threatened in the top of the second inning as
Isabel Seise represented the game's first baserunner after ripping a double to left field. King worked herself out of the jam, getting
Olivia Denmark to line out to left field and
McKenzie Shannon to ground out to third base for the final two outs of the inning.
Walter retired the first 12 batters, fanning seven Warriors.
The Falcons got on the board in the top of the fourth inning, taking advantage of defensive mishaps from the Warriors. Seise got aboard for the second time of the day on a throwing error, and advanced to second and third base on a passed ball and wild pitch. Shannon singled in Seise for her ninth RBI of the season, giving Messiah a 1-0 edge.
Lycoming had its first baserunner in the bottom of the fifth inning after Morgan Wetzel doubled to left center to lead off the inning. Wetzel advanced to third on an infield single, scoring on the next play, a fielder's choice to level the game at 1-1. The Warriors plated four more runs in the inning behind a combination of hits and Falcon fielding errors to take a 5-1 advantage. Walter pitched the whole inning, allowing five runs on four hits as Messiah committed three errors.
Despite putting runners on second and third in the top of the seventh inning, the Warriors prevailed, 5-1. King tossed a complete game for Lycoming, striking out seven Falcons.
The reigning MAC Commonwealth Pitcher of the Week pitched a strong outing, upping her season strikeout total to 52.
Elianna Litwin,
Olivia Denmark, and
Karlee Stocksdale joined Seise and Shannon in hitting safely for the Falcons.
Game Two
The second game of the doubleheader began on a different pace than the opener as Messiah got on the board early.
Alexa Burger ripped a leadoff double to get things going, as Seise came to the dish later on in the inning, with Burger and
Paige Eakes in scoring position. The senior knocked both runners in on a two-run single, giving the Falcons a 2-0 lead. The Warriors had a prompt answer in the bottom half of the frame, loading the bases for Morgan Klosko. Klosko delivered the long ball, a grand slam to left field to give Lycoming a 4-2 edge. The grand slam was the first of Klosko's career, and the first home run that Peters has allowed this season.
The runs continued to pile on for both sides, as each team plated runs in the second inning. Messiah's run-scoring play was provided by an RBI single from Shannon, the catcher's second run-scoring hit of the day.
Messiah trailed Lycoming entering the third inning, 6-3, before Denmark launched her first-career homerun. The game-tying three-run shot right center scored
Brynne Baker and Seise.
Baker entered the game in relief during the second inning, the sophomore pitcher's sixth outing of the season. Baker turned in a complete game, six-strikeout performance on Saturday's win over visiting Lycoming (5-1), and pitched phenomenally in relief of Peters this afternoon. Striking out six batters, Baker pitched 5.2 innings, allowing just four hits.
The Falcons broke the 6-6 deadlock in the top of the fifth inning when
Elena Rosas laced a two-out triple to right field, scoring Litwin to give Messiah a 7-6 lead. Insurance runs came in the sixth and seventh innings, as Seise picked up her third RBI of the game on a sacrifice fly. Denmark added to her RBI tally, knocking in her fourth run of the game with a run-scoring single to center field, increasing the lead to 9-6 in the sixth inning. Eakes notched her third RBI of the season in the top of the seventh with a double to score Burger, before a Baker two-run shot ballooned the Falcons' lead to 12-6.
The Warriors began the fourth and fifth innings with leadoff extra base hits, only to be halted by Baker. Lycoming went down in order in the bottom of the seventh, sealing the 12-6 decision.
Entering Game Two, Denmark had just four career RBI. The sophomore outfielder had a career performance, matching her career RBI total by going 3-for-4 at the dish. In total, the Falcons had nine different players hit safely. Three different players had three-hit games, as seven different players had at least two hits. Messiah's 20 hits were a season-high effort, topping two nine-hit games in its season-opening doubleheader at Stevenson University (Mar. 12).
The offensive outburst was the most hits the Falcons have had in a game since Mar. 22, 2014, a 17-3 road win at Lycoming. With the doubleheader split, Messiah's overall record stands at 7-7 (4-6 MAC Commonwealth).
What's Next
Messiah (7-7) returns home to Starry Softball Field to host Albright College (0-12) in a conference doubleheader on Saturday, Apr. 10, at 1:00/3:00 p.m.
