Season Opens With Pair Of Heartbreaking Defeats For Falcons
Senior Lana Trotter did her part Saturday, safely reaching base in six out of eight opportunities.

Fredericksburg, VA — With a pair of season-opening contests at the University of Mary Washington on Saturday afternoon, things were going quite well for the Messiah College softball team.

That was, until the sixth inning of each game.

Messiah (0-2, 0-0) dropped a 7-10 and 5-7 decision to the host Eagles after leading by 4-0 and 5-2 scores in the contests, showing strong signs of promise while coming up just short in the win column. Mary Washington scored 15 of its 17 runs on the day in the final three innings of both tilts, leaving Messiah head coach Amy Weaver fixated on what might have been.

“These were two tough, late-inning losses for us this weekend,” she said. “We did some really good things, especially considering this was our first time being outside, but we really would have liked to come away with a couple of wins.”

Weaver’s team opened the year with an isolated explosion at the outset of Saturday’s activities, scoring three runs in the team’s first at-bat to get ahead early in the first game. A double from freshman Rebecca Stackhouse started the onslaught, while a single from senior Lana Trotter drove in the Falcons’ first earned run of the game. A follow-up double from sophomore Abby Bergakker drove home Trotter, and Messiah was off on the right foot.

The Falcons scored another run in the third inning off an RBI single from junior Amy Bowie, while sophomore Megan Rice had things under control in the pitcher’s circle, holding Mary Washington (2-0, 0-0) scoreless through the first three innings.

The hosts got on the board for three runs in the bottom of the fourth, but that was rebutted by a one-run fifth and two-run sixth inning from Messiah, highlighted by a solo homerun from Bergakker in the fifth.

Now leading 7-3, things turned hairy for the Falcons in the bottom of the sixth. A double pitching change could not slow down a seven-run, five-hit stanza from the hosts, as freshman Jessica Climenhaga (0-1) relieved Rice with one out and one run across the plate. Climenhaga lasted just four batters, however, giving way to a reappearance from Rice after giving up four runs.

When the smoke cleared, Mary Washington possessed a 10-7 lead heading into the top of the seventh. Sophomore Nicole Adams reached second base in the final inning via a single and a subsequent throwing error by the Eagles, but the offense stagnated with a strikeout and ground out to end the contest.

Bergakker finished 2-4 in the game with two RBI, while Stackhouse tallied a 2-3 performance at the plate with two runs scored and two driven home. Trotter finished 2-3 with an RBI, while Bowie also knocked in a run off a 1-4 effort.

Perhaps still smarting from the Game 1 loss, Messiah somehow began the second game in similar fashion to the first, scoring the contest’s first run in the opening inning. After three straight issued walks to open things, Bowie singled to centerfield, driving in Stackhouse.

Mary Washington responded with single runs in the bottom of the first and second innings, however, as junior Jenna Batchelor took a moment to calm before tossing a solid six innings in the pitcher’s circle (four earned runs off of nine hits and three strikeouts). Messiah regained and built on a lead in the fifth and sixth innings, again highlighted by the long ball: Both Trotter and Bergakker blasted solo shots in the top of the fifth inning, helping Messiah to a 5-2 lead heading into the bottom of the sixth.

Again, however, the Eagles would respond.

A triple and a pair of doubles in the bottom of the sixth inning helped the hosts tie the score at 5-5, and after a double play ended the offensive half of the seventh inning for Messiah, Mary Washington would come up with the clutch plays again in the bottom of the stanza. Freshman Corinn Eby (0-1) took the pitching controls for the first time as a collegian in the seventh inning, though the work was quick: Following a lead-off single, Mary Washington’s Katherine Matusik homered, ending the game in the 7-5 final.

Trotter again was big for Messiah offensively, going 1-2 with her home run. Bowie finished 2-3 from the plate with an RBI, while Bergakker’s long ball equated to a 1-4 performance from the plate. Stackhouse finished 1-2 with two runs scored and an RBI.

“Lana Trotter had a tremendous outing today for us,” Weaver said. “She reached base six out of eight times and made several diving catches for us. She put up a valiant effort for us, and we couldn’t ask for anything more from our senior centerfield captain. We’ll learn from today, get back to practice and look to finish stronger in our next games.”

Messiah will next take part in a Virginia Beach Tournament next Friday and Saturday, facing Moravian College, Neumann College, Averett University and Kean University over a two-day stretch. Game times have yet to be announced.