GRANTHAM, Pa. – The top-seeded Messiah softball team is gearing up for postseason play after finishing the 2022 campaign with an impressive overall record of 25-13 (11-5 MAC Commonwealth). The Falcons secured the No. 1 seed for the upcoming MAC Commonwealth to be held this week, May 5-7, at Alvernia University in Reading, Pa, and will seek their 10th conference championship in program history.
Messiah will play the winner of No. 5 Eastern vs. No. 4 Stevenson at 2:00 p.m. this Thursday, May 5.
Read below for a recap of the regular season and a preview of the tournament field:
Season Recap
Messiah began the season on the road as its first 20 contests of the campaign were away contests before coming home. In those 20 games, the Falcons went 12-8, including an impressive Spring Break trip in Clermont, Fla., in which Messiah won five of its eight contests. The Falcons battled tough teams down south in the warmer weather, showing grit by going 3-1 in games that went to extra innings.
The Falcons jumped out to a fine start in their MAC Commonwealth schedule, sweeping Eastern in an away doubleheader on Mar. 26. Messiah had its home-opener on Saturday, Apr. 2, sweeping Lebanon Valley, 5-4 and 7-4 in a doubleheader. Game One of the doubleheader was an exciting 10-inning affair as senior pitcher
Madison Walter tossed 10 complete innings, earning the win behind a 121-pitch effort.
Messiah continued to cruise through its conference slate, splitting a doubleheader with Widener (Apr. 15) and sweeping visiting Albright (Apr. 20), outscoring the Lions 16-0 between the two contests. With an 8-2 record in the conference, the Falcons closed out the season 3-3 in MAC Commonwealth contests, clinching the top seed.
Walter, with 122.0 innings pitched, has been one of the top pitchers in the conference. The senior pitcher leads the MAC Commonwealth in strikeouts (126), ERA (0.98), and opposing batting average (.184). Walter has a 12-6 record as sophomore
Lydia Collison has had a good season in the circle as well, starting 18 games for the Falcons, totaling 100 strikeouts in 107.2 innings pitched.
Offensively,
Alexa Burger leads the Falcons with a .290 batting average.
McKenzie Shannon and
Maggie Chinnadurai each launched two home runs as Shannon,
Hannah Dyer, and
Olivia Denmark all contributed 16 RBI. Dyer, the Falcons' first-year shortstop, has a team-leading 31 hits.
Tournament History
Last season, the Falcons made a run as the fourth-seed in the MAC Commonwealth Tournament, falling to York College (Pa.) in the Championship round. Messiah is looking to win its first conference crown since the 2018 season and its 10th in program history.
The Falcons hold an all-time record of 45-26 in conference postseason action. Messiah, in early rounds through the semifinals, hold an impressive record of 35-17. Head coach
Amy Weaver, with a conference championship this season, will accumulate her eighth crown, a program-best achievement.
