GRANTHAM, Pa. – The Messiah University softball team swept the visiting Arcadia University Knights at Starry Softball Field on Thursday afternoon. The Falcons dominated in a six-inning contest in Game One, besting the Knights 11-3, and completed the sweep in Game Two by blanking Arcadia by a score of 8-0 in five innings. The doubleheader sweep improves Messiah's overall record to 15-8 (3-1 MAC Commonwealth).
Lydia Collison earned the Game One win in the circle to improve her record to 9-1 while contributing three hits at the plate.
Elianna Litwin provided the big hit of the day, a sixth-inning grand slam to seal the win for Messiah.
Alexa Burger,
Hannah Dyer, and
Brielle Rosario all recorded multi-hit performances in the Game Two win. Burger had an impressive day at the dish, combining for five hits across the two games, highlighted by three hits in the opening contest.
Game One – Messiah 11, Arcadia 3 (6 inn.)
Collison, making her 12th start of the season, allowed two homeruns in the top of the first inning as the Knights jumped ahead to a 2-0 lead. After the first inning, Collison was able to settle in, blanking the Arcadia lineup for the next four frames. Messiah was able to break the game open in the bottom of the second inning, taking the lead on a costly error from the Arcadia center fielder. The Falcons plated three runs on the play to take a 5-2 lead after Burger tied the game with an RBI-single to second base.
Collison allowed a third home run to sail over the fence in the top of the sixth inning, but Messiah answered with a momentous six-run inning in the bottom half of the frame. The Falcons totaled four hits in the inning with the big hit being a walk-off grand slam off the bat of Litwin. Earlier in the inning,
Kyley Mellage made contributions, singling to second base as
Joy Hedrick scored on a throwing error.
Litwin's walk-off grand slam was the first long ball of the season, increasing her team-leading RBI total to 23. Collison pitched a great game, allowing just three runs to score while striking out six batters. Heading into Game Two, Messiah had all of the momentum.
Game Two – Messiah 8, Arcadia 0 (5 inn.)
The Falcons completed the doubleheader sweep in Game Two by blanking the Arcadia offense.
Maggie Chinnadurai pitched all five innings of the shortened contest, allowing just three hits while matching Collison's strikeout total (6) from Game One. Chinnadurai's six strikeouts matched her season-high mark from her outing at Dickinson on Feb. 21.
The Messiah offense erupted for nine hits across the five-inning contest as the first five batters in the Falcons' order hit safely. The Falcons got going early, using run-scoring plays off the bats of both
McKenzie Shannon and Litwin to grab a 2-0 lead. Messiah tacked on runs in the bottom of the second and third innings as Burger and Rosario made RBI contributions.
The game broke open in the bottom of the fourth inning as Messiah scored four runs on three hits. Dyer had the big hit of the inning, a two-run single to plate Burger and Shannon. The Falcons were able to cruise to a comfortable 8-0 win behind timely hitting and a strong pitching performance from Chinnadurai. The sophomore pitcher earned her fourth win of the season.
What's Next
The Falcons travel to Widener University this Saturday, Apr. 1, to take on the pride in a conference doubleheader beginning at 1:00 p.m.
