GRANTHAM, PA. – The Messiah softball team is set to begin their conference postseason run on Thursday and will look to become back-to-back MAC Champions. The Falcons finished the 2023 campaign with a 28-11 record with a 12-4 conference mark, good enough for the second seed in the upcoming tournament.
The Championships will be held this week, May 4-6, at LVC Softball Park at Lebanon Valley College in Annville, Pa. Messiah will play the York College Spartans on May 4, at 12:00 PM.
Read below for a quick preview of the weekend.
No. 1 Lebanon Valley College Flying Dutchmen, 30-7 (14-1)
Roster Schedule Stats
The Lebanon Valley Dutchmen rolled through their season winning 30 games for the first time since the 2014 season. Suffering only one conference blemish on the season to Messiah in a nine-inning game, the Dutchmen are primed to win the conference on their home field this weekend.
Sam Burns leads the team with a .444 average with 55 hits on the season. In the circle, Jordan Walter has been all sorts of dominant with her 16-2 mark with 99 strikeouts on the season. It gets more impressive than that, as she owns a sparkling 1.02 ERA in 124.0 IP.
No. 2 Messiah University Falcons, 28-11 (12-4)
Roster Schedule Stats
Finishing with a 28-11 record and a 12-4 conference mark, the Falcons earned the No. 2 seed in the upcoming tournament. The four defeats were courtesy of York, Alvernia, Hood and Lebanon Valley. Last season, Messiah won the MAC Championship in a rain shortened formatted weekend, taking down LVC 2-1 to claim their 11th Conference Championship in program history.
Elianna Litwin has lit up opponent pitching all season, batting a team leading .426 with 49 hits.
Lydia Collison owns a 16-3 record with 82 strikeouts to pair with her 2.39 ERA. Collison has thrown 120.1 innings on the year.
The Falcons will face No. 3 York on May 4, at 12:00 PM for their opening game.
No. 3 York College Spartans, 18-18 (11-5)
Roster Schedule Stats
Earning the No. 3 seed in the Tournament, York comes in with an 11-5 mark in the conference to set up a date with the Falcons on Thursday. Currently riding a six-game winning streak, the Spartans have found momentum at the right time. Earlier this season, York split the doubleheader against Messiah back in late March, winning the first game 4-3 but dropping the second 4-5.
Alyssa Harhigh is tied for the team lead in hits with 38 but holds a team best .369 average. In the circle, Amanda Criss topped the century mark in strikeouts with 103 in 115.2 IP to pair with her 1.82 ERA and 9-6 record.
No. 4 Stevenson University Mustangs, 18-15 (10-6)
Roster Schedule Stats
With a 10-6 conference mark, the Mustangs earned the No. 4 seed in the Tournament. Currently on a three-game losing skid, Stevenson will face the No. 5 seeded Eastern Eagles in the opening game of the Tournament. One of those losses in the three-game stretch was to the Eastern Eagles where Stevenson fell 3-12. If they make it out of that game, a daunting task awaits in the powerful Lebanon Valley Dutchmen.
Jillian Haines owns a .415 average with 34 hits on the year. Tossing the ball for the Mustangs has been Larissa Heuer who has lived and died by the strikeout on the season. In 114.1 IP, her 2.33 ERA and 124 strikeouts has paved the way for her 11-6 record.
No. 5 Eastern University Eagles, 21-12 (9-7)
Roster Schedule Stats
Eastern earned the final spot in the Tournament this weekend with their 9-7 conference mark. Losers of five of their last eight games, the Eagles are looking to upset the Mustangs in the opening game of the Tournament.
Mackenzie Laub led the Eagles with a .384 average and had 38 hits. Jania Long earned a 9-5 record in 72.0 IP on the season. She led the team with 44 strikeouts but had a 3.21 ERA.
The Weekend
Full schedule of events can be found on the Tournament Central page on the MAC website. The Tournament will be held at LVC Softball Park at Lebanon Valley College in Annville, Pa.
