sb022622
2
Messiah MESSIAH 2-1
3
Winner Mary Washington UMW 2-2
Messiah MESSIAH
2-1
2
Final
3
Mary Washington UMW
2-2
Winner
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 R H E
Messiah MESSIAH 0 0 0 0 2 0 0 2 1 0
Mary Washington UMW 0 0 0 1 0 1 1 3 8 2

W: C. Burch (2-1) L: Walter, Madison (1-1)

3
Winner Messiah MESSIAH 3-1
2
Mary Washington UMW 2-3
Winner
Messiah MESSIAH
3-1
3
Final
2
Mary Washington UMW
2-3
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 R H E
Messiah MESSIAH 0 0 3 0 0 0 0 3 4 2
Mary Washington UMW 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 2 9 4

W: Collison, Lydia (2-0) L: S. Folkner (0-2)

Game Recap: Softball |

Softball Splits Doubleheader At Mary Washington

FREDERICKSBURG, Va. – The Messiah softball team split a road doubleheader at the University of Mary Washington on Saturday afternoon, dropping Game One in walk-off fashion, 3-2, and rebounding in Game Two with a 3-2 victory behind a complete game from Lydia Collison.
 
Madison Walter pitched 6.1 stellar innings in Game One, striking out five batters. Collison earned her second win of the season in the second game, striking out five batters as well.
 
Game One
Walter was back in the circle less than 24 hours after issuing a complete effort in Messiah's season opener at Methodist University, tossing seven scoreless innings, allowing just two hits. The senior pitcher got off to a good start in the first inning, striking out two batters, retiring the side. Walter came out in the second inning, recording an identical frame to her opening inning, registering a one-two-three inning behind two strikeouts. After two innings, Walter had retired all six batters, striking out four.
 
Mary Washington pitcher Caitlyn Burch was matching Walter's effort in the circle. Through two innings, Burch had not allowed a Falcon to reach base, fanning four Messiah batters.
 
The game's first hit occurred in the bottom of the third inning, a leadoff single to center field from the Eagles' Grace Drury. After issuing a walk to the next batter, Walter was able to work out of the jam, retiring the next three batters to keep the contest scoreless.
 
The Eagles struck first in the bottom of the fourth inning, taking advantage of an error from the Falcons, allowing the leadoff runner to reach third base. With a runner on third with nobody out, Walter got the two next batters to line out and foul out, setting up the next at-bat to be a pivotal one. Mary Washington's Caroline Bird came through in the clutch, lacing a two-out, run-scoring hit to give the home team a 1-0 edge. Drury got her second hit of the game in the next at-bat, putting two runners, on but Walter escaped the jam with a groundball putout from the next batter. After four innings, the Eagles led Messiah, 1-0.
 
The top of the fifth inning was pivotal for Messiah, scoring the game-tying and go-ahead runs with the help of sloppy defensive play from the Eagles. Lydia Collison was the first to reach base in the inning, working a two-out walk. Madeline Gohn and Elianna Litwin reached base on errors as each of the defensive miscues allowed a Messiah run to score. Late in the game, Messiah took a 2-1 lead.
 
The Eagles tied the game in the bottom of the sixth inning, scoring on a sacrifice fly off the bat of Bird. Entering the final frame of play, the two sides were knotted up at 2-2. The Falcons went down quietly in the top of the seventh inning, giving Mary Washington an opportunity to win the game with a single run. Walter issued a groundout in the first batter of the inning, but Maggie Mrowka was the next and final batter of the game. Mrowka launched a walk-off homer to left field, sinking the Falcons, 3-2.
 
Walter pitched 6.1 impressive innings as Hannah Dyer supplied the Falcons' lone hit of the game.
 
Game Two
Looking to avoid a road doubleheader sweep, Messiah turned to Collison to pitch in Game Two. The Eagles got on the board early in the bottom of the first inning on a one-out RBI single. The Eagles got off to a fast offensive start, recording three hits in the inning, but the Falcons were able to escape with only allowing one run.
 
Trailing, 1-0, Messiah had a breakout inning in the top of the third, scoring three runs to take a 3-1 lead. Tessa Spinosa led off with a walk, and two batters later, Dyer laced a single to put two runners on. Collison was struck by a pitch to load the bases, and the Falcons cashed in back-to-back errors from the Eagles, taking a 3-1 lead. The pivotal play was an error from Mary Washington's center fielder, allowing the game-tying and go-ahead runs to score.
 
Collison preserved the Falcons' two-run lead before the Eagles threatened in the bottom of the sixth inning. The hosts put runners on first and third, and with two outs, Collison got pinch-hitter Kaila Presbitero to ground out to third base to close out the inning.
 
In the bottom of the seventh inning, the Eagles pulled within a one-run deficit on a two-out RBI single from Morgan Gilbert. Mary Washington had the tying run at first and the winning run at the dish. Collison hung in for the Falcons, getting Bird to foul out along the first base line. The Falcons won, 3-2, behind a complete effort from Collison.
 
In Collison's complete game, the sophomore pitcher struck out five batters, her second complete game in as many games. Four Falcons hit safely in the win, including hits from Spinosa, Dyer, Maggie Chinnadurai, and Joy Hedrick.
 
What's Next
Messiah embarks on its Spring Break trip down to Florida next weekend. The Falcons have a week-long slate of competition, beginning with games against Haverford College (9:00 a.m.) and Muskingum University (11:15 a.m.) on Monday, Mar. 7.