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Rhoads Dominates #25 Gustavus; Messiah Heads To Nat'l. Semis
Posted: 5/16/2009
Box Score | More Softball news
When she wasn't striking out the Gusties, freshman pitcher Jessica Rhoads was making big plays both in the field and at the plate.

Montclair, NJ – Freshman pitching sensation Jessica Rhoads sat down at Saturday’s 2009 NCAA Division III Softball Championship post-game press conference, bags of ice wrapped around her torso in plastic.

It seems that carrying a team to the national semi-finals is tough work.

Rhoads did just that in Messiah’s second contest of the Division III World Series at Montclair State University, limiting 25th-ranked Gustavus Adolphus College to just two hits while blasting the game’s only RBI to help the Falcons to a 2-0 win. Messiah (41-4) now moves into Sunday’s national semi-final, to face 17th-ranked Coe College (40-11) at 5 p.m.

It’s new territory for Messiah from here on out, as the program dropped its first game in its previous two World Series appearances – the 1998 and 1999 seasons – before winning another and then bowing out in the second game of the loser’s bracket both times.

On Saturday however, with Rhoads (26-1) commanding the pitcher’s circle, losing was simply not an option.

“I didn’t hit today, but I spoke with our kids and we felt that she was the best we’ve faced this year,” said Gustavus Adolphus head coach Jeff Annis. “She did it all. She shut us down, and my old coach used to tell me, ‘If you don’t score, you’re not going to win.’ We couldn’t push one across, and we didn’t get too many runners on to make things happen. You’ve got to tip your hat to Jess Rhoads.”

Rhoads was absolutely dominant in her 26th pitching win of the season, striking out 12 Gusties while allowing just two hits and no walks – her 21st game of the season delivering at least 10 Ks. On top of her pitching performance was a clutch, one-out single in the bottom of the first inning, pushing across the contest’s only scores.

After freshman Abi Buchler led off the inning with a single down the right field line, sophomore Rebekkah Funk reached base on a perfectly-executed bunt. Freshman Jaclyn Merkel then sacrificially bunted Buchler to third and Funk to second, paving the opportunity for Rhoads the batter.

The Dillsburg, Pa. native ripped a shot to the opposite field, easily bringing home Buchler and Funk.

“We had two runners on, and Coach always says to hit the ball to the opposite side the runners are on to advance them,” Rhoads would later say. “That’s what I tried to do and it worked.”

What also worked was Rhoads’ devastating array of pitches, as Gustavus Adolphus (40-8) placed just one runner on base through its first six innings of work. Messiah, meanwhile, stranded a total of six, leaving runners on first and second in the home halves of both the fourth and sixth innings.

Fortunately for a growing contingent of Messiah fans in Montclair, it wouldn’t matter.

Gustavus All-American shortstop Rachael Click placed a one-out single to reach base for the second time of the afternoon in the seventh inning, but the drama was short-lived. Rhoads forced the Gusties’ Emily Wendorff to ground into a 5-4 fielder’s choice for the second out, while the designated visitors’ Andrea Brown hit a slow roller back to Rhoads to finish the game off.

A repeat of Friday’s ulcer-inducing bottom of the seventh against fourth-ranked Ohio Northern University, this was not.

“I actually felt pretty comfortable (going into the bottom of the seventh),” said Amy Weaver, Messiah head coach. “Some days, certain pitchers just have a team’s number, and Jess [Rhoads] seemed to have their number today. I felt pretty confident going into that inning. It’s never over until it’s over, and we’re fighting hard the whole way, but I felt pretty good.”

Rhoads’ decision was her 16th shut-out of the season and just the second of the World Series to date; her 12 strikeouts the most of any pitcher thus far in the ’09 National Championships.

During the press conference, members of the media asked Weaver if she was surprised no member of her team was named an NFCA All-Amerian, including Rhoads – who led the nation in three statistical pitching categories through the regular-season.

Her answer embodied the team’s spirit at this weekend’s national championships.

“We felt we should have had some selections, but it is what it is,” she said. “We’re just here to play our absolute best and show what we can do. Before the game, we talked about taking it one inning at a time, one pitch at a time, one at bat at a time and just focusing in on the moment. That’s what we did. We jumped out and strung some hits together in the first inning, and Jess just pitched a dominating game from there. We’re capable of hitting the ball better. We didn’t hit our best today, but they had a good pitcher who changed speeds and kept us off balance. I still think we can hit a little better, but we’re playing pretty well.”

Messiah will look to continue that high-caliber of play Sunday afternoon against Coe College, as the Kohawks handed Tufts University only its second loss of the season in Saturday’s night cap. Coe scored the game’s only run in the top of the third inning, utilizing a lead-off walk and a follow-up single to win a game that saw a total of just seven hits.

“It goes back to taking it one game at a time,” Weaver said during the post-game press conference, unaware at the time of who Messiah’s next opponent would be. “I said it yesterday, but every team here is outstanding. It’s going to be a battle no matter who we’re playing.”

Messiah and Coe will meet for the right to advance to Monday’s national championship game Sunday at 5 p.m. Gustavus Adolphus and Salisbury University will play at 12 p.m. while Tufts and the University of Texas-Tyler will meet at 2:30 p.m. Sunday. The winners of those two games will then meet at 7:30 p.m. to advance to Monday’s national championship.

All 2009 NCAA Division III Softball Championships games are taking place on the campus of Montclair State University at the Montclair State University Softball Stadium. Fans can follow all the action from the eight-team, double-elimination tournament at the official website of the 2009 NCAA Division III Softball Championship. Live Stats and Live Video Casts are also available.