GRANTHAM, Pa. (Apr. 25, 2015) – The Widener softball team closed out league play at Starry Field in Grantham, Pa., dropping a pair of games to conference-leader Messiah on Saturday afternoon. The Falcons won the opener 13-0 in the five-inning shortened game, and followed with a 6-5 walk-off win in 10 innings in the nightcap.
With the sweep, the Falcons improve to 30-7 on the year, while the Pride dip to 22-6 overall.
In the commencing contest, Messiah opened the scoring in the second inning with an RBI single to right field. That proved to be the only scoring it would need as Claressa Mees held Widener scoreless in her four innings of work while surrendering just five hits and one walk to improve to 15-3 in the circle. The home squad went on to add eight runs in the third and four more in the fourth, causing the contest to end after four and one-half innings due to the mercy rule.
Junior shortstop
Alie Alkins (Aston, Pa.) totaled three of the Pride's six runs in the matinee.
Game Two proved to be a different type of contest as it took 10 innings to find a winner. Messiah once again opened the scoring, starting with a three-run third inning. The blue and gold chipped away at the lead with an RBI base hit to left field by senior first baseman
Carissa Harris (Douglassville, Pa.) that plated Alkins. They then took the lead two frames later with a three-run effort. Junior right fielder
Heather Forward (Philadelphia, Pa.) knocked in the first two runs of the inning with a double to left center, and junior catcher
Taylor Church (Glen Mills, Pa.) followed with a single to center bringing home Forward. The Widener advantage did not hold long as a miscue in the bottom half of the frame knotted the score at 4-4.
With neither side able to push a run across over the next three innings, the top of the 10
th started international tie-breaker with a runner being placed on second to start the inning. Freshman second baseman
Lauren DelRomano (Broomall, Pa.) began on second and advanced to third on a fielder's choice bunt that allowed sophomore third baseman
Angela Hood (Mullica Twp., N.J.) to advance to second. After a strike out and a walk that loaded the bases, Harris came to the dish and knocked in DelRomano on a sacrifice fly to center field.
The home squad also had its first run of the inning cross the plate via a sacrifice fly with one out, but Messiah won the game on a walk-off homer to left center by Carrie Fix.
Alkins and Forward each recorded multi-hit games, with Alkins finishing the twinbill 5-for-6 with two runs scored.
The Pride will finish up their regular season on Tuesday, Apr 28 when they host Cabrini at 4:15 p.m. with the seniors being honored before the start of the doubleheader.
