Falcons Take Down Mary Washington In Pair, 1-0; 3-0
Freshman Jessica Brown provided the big hit in Messiah's first win Tuesday.

Fredericksburg, VA — It was another impressive outing for the Messiah softball team Tuesday, as the Falcons handed a talented University of Mary Washington side 1-0 and 3-0 losses at the Eagles’ Battleground Stadium.

Freshman ace Jessica Rhoads delivered her fourth complete-game no-hitter of the season in the Game One win, while a third-inning, two-RBI double from classmate Jaclyn Merkel gave the Falcons all the offense they’d need in the nightcap.

“We knew going in that Mary Washington would be tough and we knew they had a very good pitcher,” said Amy Weaver, Messiah head coach. “We knew going into the first game that we’d have to put a few hits together and pull out one run to beat them. We knew it’d be that type of game, and it was.”

Eagles’ pitching ace Kirsten Rowell entered with a 13-1 record overall and nearly 200 strikeouts on the young season, pitting Rhoads (9-0, 95 strikeouts coming in) with quality competition in the day’s first contest.

Perhaps a surprise to no one, the game equated to a pitcher’s duel. Rhoads struck out 16 of 25 batters faced and came just a walk and two Messiah errors away from a perfect game, while Rowell fanned 10 of 27 batters faced while allowing five hits.

Four of those came in Messiah’s final three at-bats, as the Falcons slowly began to wear on the Mary Wash ace. A pair of singles nearly got Messiah (16-2) on the board in the seventh inning, but a fly out and a ground out neutralized the threat.

Following three straight Rhoads-induced K’s in the bottom of the seventh inning, the Falcons would get the needed run in the top of the eighth.

With junior Abby Bergakker placed on second to start the extra inning, freshman Lauren Seneca successfully bunted her over to third. Freshman Jessica Brown was then called on to pinch hit, delivering a clutch single — driving in Bergakker.

Rhoads would then record three straight outs to finish things off in the bottom half of the eighth, completing her fourth official no-hitter and fifth no-hit performance of the season. (Rhoads tossed six no-hit innings in a 5-0 win over Babson College before being removed.)

“Rowell came in with some pretty impressive stats, and we’ve faced her before,” Weaver said. ”We told our kids to just try to make contact with the ball, and we got one when we needed it in the eighth inning to score the lone run to win. It was a real test for us. The team had not faced that tough a pitcher before, so it was a test to see if we could find a way to win against a tough pitcher. I was very proud of them for continuing to work hard and finding a way to win. Of course Jess Rhoads’ no-hitter and 16 strikeouts obviously kept us in the game so we could keep working on finding a way to score.”

In the day’s second contest, Messiah jumped on Mary Washington (17-8) at the start, scoring all three of its runs — and collecting six of its seven total hits — in the second and third stanzas. A leadoff single from freshman Ashley Lehman was eventually plated via a passed ball in the second, while third-inning singles from freshman Abi Buchler and sophomore Rebekkah Funk were brought home by Merkel’s seventh double of the season.

That blast was Messiah’s only extra-base hit of the day, as junior Megan Rice (5-1) picked up the pitching win going six and one thirds innings, striking out four and walking just one.

Rhoads (1) came on in the seventh to collect her first save of the year, as a single and a double from the hosts put the tying run at the plate in the final inning. Rhoads then recorded a strikeout and a fly out — sandwiching a hit batter — to finish the game with little drama.

“We went into the second game with a lot of confidence knowing that (starting pitcher Nicole Foster) was nothing like Rowell and knowing that we had good pitching in Megan Rice. We starting hitting right out of the gate and probably would have continued if they didn't bring their ace back in early into the second game, but it turned out not to matter. Megan had their number up until the last inning when they got a few hits and a few runners on. I knew Megan had thrown well, but they were getting on her and it was time to bring in Jess to shut them down.”

Funk and Lehman each registered two singles in the nightcap to serve as the Falcons’ only multiple-hit performers of the entire day. Funk also stole a base — her team-leading eighth of the year.

“The team was pumped because Mary Washington is a very good team,” Weaver said. “We know we can 10-run some of the weaker teams, but is nice to know we can also pull out the wins on the stronger teams as well. We feel good about where we are at and hope to continue playing well.”

Messiah will return to the field Thursday for another non-conference affair at nearby Dickinson College. Game time for the first of two is set for 5 p.m.