GRANTHAM, Pa. (Apr. 30, 2016) – The Widener University softball team dropped both ends of a doubleheader by scores of 8-1 and 9-4 to 13th-ranked Messiah on Saturday afternoon at Starry Field. Despite coming up short in both contests, the Pride finished the regular season in a tie for second place with Hood in the standings and will enter next weekend's Middle Atlantic Conference Commonwealth Tournament as the second seed.
 
In the nightcap, the Falcons took advantage of a Pride miscue in the infield to score once in the top of the first. Courtney Allen, who reached base by drawing a two-out walk, scored on a bloop single by Jones to make it 1-0.
                          
Widener, however, clawed back and scored twice in the bottom of the first by also capitalizing on a Messiah defensive blunder. Batting with runners on first and second, sophomore Katie Sterling (Middletown, Del.) hit a sharp grounder that was fielded cleanly by Madelyn Yanetti in the circle. The pitcher elected to get sophomore Lauren DelRomano (Broomall, Pa.) on a force at third, but she airmailed her third baseman and allowed DelRomano along with senior Alie Alkins (Aston, Pa.) to score on the play.
 
The contest, which featured three ties and three lead changes, continued to seesaw back and forth through the middle innings. After the Pride added a run on an RBI single by senior Heather Forward (Philadelphia, Pa.) in the bottom of the third, Messiah stormed back to regain the lead in the top of the fourth. Yannetti helped herself out in the circle by clubbing a home run to left center to tie the game at 3-3 before a string of singles was capped by a Becky Notte hit that put the Falcons ahead by one. An unassisted putout by senior catcher Taylor Church (Glen Mills, Pa.) at home following a wild pitch got the Pride out of the inning.
 
Widener found a way to tie the score in its half of the fourth when freshman Olivia Rogers (West Chester, Pa.) scored on an error by the Messiah shortstop, but the Falcons responded with two more big frames to complete the sweep. A two-run double that came off the bat of Amber Bingaman in the sixth frame provided insurance and helped the Falcons earn the five-run win.
 
Messiah's Yannetti picked up the victory and improved to 7-1 in the circle. She surrendered five hits and four runs, including one which was earned, while registering one strikeout. Junior Ally Horvath (Chalfont, Pa.) took the loss and dropped to 11-5 for Widener after giving up four hits and four runs, including three earned, in 2.1 innings of relief.
 
Messiah (34-3, MAC Commonwealth 16-0), which was the visiting team for both games due to the change of location, manufactured the first run of the opener in the top of the second. Notte hit a leadoff single, advanced to second on an infield error, made it to third on a sacrifice bunt by Amanda Jones and then came home on an Amber Bingaman sacrifice fly to center.
 
Even though the Falcons added two more runs in the third and three in the fourth to begin pulling away, Widener did not go down without fighting back. DelRomano blasted a home run off the scoreboard to ignite the offense in the bottom of the fourth, and Alkins kept a potential rally going by drawing a walk. Forward also earned a free pass to first to place runners on first and second with only one out, but Allen got out of trouble by inducing a popup and recording her fourth strikeout of the afternoon.
 
Messiah's Courtney Allen picked up the victory and improved her ledger to 18-0 by allowing just one run and four hits. She also fanned six and issued three walks. Sophomore Katie Rabuck (Hegins, Pa.) suffered just her first loss of the season for Widener and fell to 8-1 on the year. She gave up eight hits and six runs, including three earned, over four frames while striking out two and not issuing a walk.
 
Despite the losses, Widener (29-9, MAC Commonwealth 9-7) will return to Messiah to open postseason play in the Middle Atlantic Conference Commonwealth Tournament against third-seeded Hood on Friday, May 6 at noon. The Pride edged out the Blazers for the second seed by virtue of sweeping fifth-seeded Arcadia earlier in the year.