GRANTHAM, Pa. – The Messiah University softball team swept the Pride of Widener University on Saturday afternoon to earn the second seed in the MAC Commonwealth Tournament. In game one, the Falcons scored a run in third to break the scoreless tie. The Falcons then added a run in the bottom of the fifth to take a 2-0 lead. The Falcons then poured on six runs in the bottom of the sixth to earn a walk-off run rule 8-0 win. Lydia Collison pitched six shutout innings, allowing one hit, two walks, and struck out six Pride batters. Kandice Schlabach led the Falcons with three hits and three RBIs. McKenzie Shannon tallied two hits and three RBIs. Hannah Dyer, Allie Book, Brielle Rosario, and Paige Eakes each tallied two hits.
 
In game two, the Falcons started the game off strong with two runs in the bottom of the first. After a scoreless second, the Falcons added two more runs in the bottom of the third to take a 4-0 lead. The Falcons added another run in the bottom of the fifth to lead by five. The Pride scored two runs in the top of the sixth but could not add any more runs and the Falcons earned the 5-2 win. Fallon Feaser pitched a complete game, allowing two earned runs, on six hits, one walk, and a strikeout. Kandice Schlabach and McKenzie Shannon led the Falcons with two hits. Hannah Dyer, Ali Wagner, and Paige Eakes each added a hit.
 
Up next, the Falcons host the Dutchmen of Lebanon Valley College for a doubleheader on Monday, April 29 starting at 3:00 p.m.

Game One – Messiah 8, Widener 0 – 6 Innings
After two scoreless innings to open the game, the Falcons looked to break the scoreless tie in the bottom of the third. Hannah Dyer led off the inning with a single and then stole second. After a flyout to right field advanced Dyer to third, Kandice Schlabach hit an RBI double to give the Falcons a 1-0 lead.
 
After a scoreless fourth, the Falcons looked to add some insurance to their 1-0 lead in the bottom of the fifth. Alexa Burger led off the inning with a walk and then advanced to second on a wild pitch. Kandice Schlabach then hit an RBI single to extend the Falcons lead to 2-0.
 
After another scoreless inning in the top of the sixth from Lydia Collison, the Falcons looked to extend their lead once again in the bottom half. Paige Eakes led off the inning with a single and then Hannah Dyer singled to put runners on first and second. Alexa Burger reached on an error to load the bases and then Kandice Schlabach hit a sacrifice fly to extend the Falcons lead to three. After Jaden Keister drew a walk to load the bases, Allie Book hit an RBI single to push the Falcons lead to four. Then McKenzie Shannon cleared the bases with a three RBI double to push the Falcons lead to 7-0. Brielle Rosario then hit an RBI single to give the Falcons an 8-0 walk off run rule win in game one.
 
Lydia Collison pitched six shutout innings, allowing one hit, two walks, and struck out six Pride batters. Kandice Schlabach led the Falcons with three hits and three RBIs. McKenzie Shannon tallied two hits and three RBIs. Hannah Dyer, Allie Book, Brielle Rosario, and Paige Eakes each tallied two hits.
 
Game Two – Messiah 5, Widener 2
In game two, the Falcons looked to start the scoring early. Hannah Dyer led off the bottom of the first with a triple. Alexa Burger then grounded out to second, scoring Dyer and giving the Falcons a 1-0 lead. Kandice Schlabach and McKenzie Shannon then hit back-to-back singles, with the two Falcons advancing to second and third on the throw. Allie Book hit a sacrifice fly to score a runner, but the final out was made on the tag up to third, but the Falcons took a 2-0 lead.
 
After a scoreless second, the Falcons looked to extend their lead in the bottom of the third. Paige Eakes led off the inning with a double to center field. After a flyout moved Eakes to third, Alexa Burger walked to put runners on the corners with one out. Burger stole second and then after a strikeout, McKenzie Shannon hit a two RBI single to push the Falcons lead to 4-0.
 
Both teams could not score in the fourth, but the Falcons offense looked to add another run before the end of the game in bottom of the fifth. Hannah Dyer reached first after a wild pitch on a strikeout and then Alexa Burger moved Dyer to second on a sacrifice bunt. After Dyer advanced to third on a wild pitch, Kandice Schlabach hit an RBI single to give the Falcons a 5-0 lead.
 
The Pride scored their first runs on the day with two runs on three hits and a walk in the top of the sixth to make the score 5-2.
 
The Falcons did not add any more runs, but Fallon Feaser closed the game and her complete game performance, putting the Pride down in order in the top of the seventh.
 
Fallon Feaser pitched a complete game, allowing two earned runs, on six hits, one walk, and a strikeout. Kandice Schlabach and McKenzie Shannon led the Falcons with two hits. Hannah Dyer, Ali Wagner, and Paige Eakes each added a hit.
 
Next
The Falcons host the Dutchmen of Lebanon Valley College for a doubleheader on Monday, April 29 starting at 3:00 p.m.