ARLINGTON, Va. – The Messiah University softball team issued a doubleheader sweep of Marymount University on the road on Thursday afternoon, clinching Game One by a score of 5-3 and completing the sweep in Game Two with a 4-1 victory.
McKenzie Shannon launched two homeruns in the doubleheader sweep, totaling three RBI on the day.
Lydia Collison (4-1) earned the Game One win in the circle, striking out seven batters as
Maggie Chinnadurai (2-3) clinched the Game Two decision with a complete-game performance.
The doubleheader sweep improves Messiah's 2023 overall record to 8-5.
Game One – Messiah 5, Marymount 3
The Falcons took the opening game of the doubleheader behind a five-hit performance and complete game in the circle from Collison. Collison, allowing just two earned runs while striking out seven batters, earned her fourth victory of the season.
The Saints grabbed the first lead of the game in the bottom of the third inning, plating two runs on three hits. Messiah had a quick response, scoring three runs in the top of the third inning to take a 3-2 edge. The Falcons totaled three hits in the inning as Ai Wagner provided the only run-scoring knock, an RBI-single to right field to plate
Hannah Dyer for the go-ahead run.
Messiah tacked on two more runs in the following frame to extend its lead to 5-2. Shannon provided the big hit of the inning, a two-run homerun that sailed over the left field fence. The homerun was a clutch hit, coming with two outs on the board in the inning.
Shannon's two-run dinger in the top of the fifth inning, the second long ball of her season, proved to be the difference in the game. Marymount scored one run in the bottom of the seventh inning to pull within a two-run deficit, but Collison shut the door on the Saints to give the Falcons a 5-3 Game One decision.
Alexa Burger,
Kyley Mellage,
Allie Book, Wagner, and Shannon all hit safely in the win.
Game Two – Messiah 4, Marymount 1
Chinnadurai made the Game Two start, her fourth start of the season and eighth appearance in the circle for Messiah.
The Falcons, looking to complete the doubleheader sweep, fell behind early in the first inning after the Saints grabbed a 1-0 lead. Messiah scored a run in each of the second and third inning to take a 2-1 advantage. Chinnadurai helped her own pitching cause in the top of the second inning, issuing a game-tying RBI-double to left center field to score
Rebekah Wiley. An inning later, Wiley contributed a run-scoring hit, lacing a single to center field to give the Falcons the lead.
Messiah scored an insurance run in the top of the fifth inning after Wiley stole second base, prompting an error from the Marymount defense to plate Dyer. After five frames, Messiah led the Saints, 3-1.
Shannon notched her second long ball of the doubleheader in the top of the seventh inning to provide some cushion to the Falcons' lead. The seventh-inning shot, a solo homer to center field, was Shannon's third RBI of the doubleheader, increasing Messiah's lead to 4-1.
Chinnadurai was able to complete the game with an impressive one-run performance, earning her second victory of the year in the circle. The Falcons totaled eight hits in the Game Two win, including multi-hit performances from both Shannon and Wiley.
What's Next
Messiah 8-5 travels to Albright College (0-0) this Saturday, Mar. 18, to begin MAC Commonwealth conference play with a doubleheader beginning at 1:00 p.m.
