GRANTHAM, Pa. – The Spartan softball team faced Messiah for the MAC Commonwealth championship, Saturday afternoon. The Spartans held a one-game advantage over the Falcons. The Spartans lost in a heartbreaker in game one, going 10 innings. In the winner-takes-all second game, the Falcons walked away with the 12-4 victory.
Game One (10 Inn.)
Runs: York 6 – Messiah 10
Hits: York 11 - Messiah 15
Errors: York 4 – Messiah 1
LOB: York 9 – Messiah 11
WP: Kelli Durbin (16-6);
LP: Natalie Rietema (12-6)
How It Happened
Messiah scored in the top of the first inning on a RBI single.
York quickly tied it up in the bottom half of the inning.
Bri McKeown singled, scoring
Danella Silagy.
The Spartans took the lead in the bottom of the third when
Noelle Smith doubled to right center, scoring
Gretchen Barstad.
Messiah scored three runs in the top of the fourth inning, taking a 4-2 lead.
McKeown tied it up for the Spartans in the bottom of the fifth inning, hitting a two-run home run.
Both teams were held scoreless from there on until the seventh inning.
Messiah scored on a Spartan error in the top half of the seventh.
York responded in the bottom half when Barstad scored on a wild pitch, tying the game 5-5. The Falcons minimized the damage, forcing extra innings.
In the top of the ninth inning, Messiah scored on a RBI double.
In the bottom half, the Spartans responded again when
Alexis McDonaugh scored on a RBI double, off the bat of
Kate Miller.
In the tenth inning, the Falcons scored four runs. Messiah shut down the Spartans in the bottom half, claiming the 10-6 victory and forcing the if necessary match.
Natalie Rietema was in the circle for York. In 10 innings of work, she allowed seven earned runs on 15 hits and three walks. The senior struck out eight Falcons.
Spartan Pitching
Natalie Rietema: 10.0 IP, 15 H, 10 R, 7 ER, 3 BB, 8 K
Game Two
Runs: York 4 – Messiah 12
Hits: York 4 - Messiah 9
Errors: York 2 – Messiah 3
LOB: York 1 – Messiah 8
WP: Fallon Feaser (12-9);
LP: Courtney Freese (6-7)
How it Happened
McKeown kicked things off for the Spartans in the top of the first, hitting a two-run double.
Messiah tied it up in the bottom of the first on two RBI double of their own.
York regained the lead in the top of the second.
Madison Karpovich scored on a Falcon error. Later that inning, Silagy singled to right field, scoring
Devyn McFarland.
The Falcons squared it up again in the bottom half of the second, making it a 4-4 game.
Messiah went on to score eight unanswered, resulting in the 12-4 win to claim the MAC Commonwealth Championship Title.
Spartan Pitching
Courtney Freese: 2.0 IP, 4 H, 6 R, 6 ER, 4 BB
Gretchen Barstad: 0.0 IP, 2 H, 4 R, 3 ER, 2 BB
Natalie Rietema: 2.0 IP, 3 H, 2 R, 1 ER, 3 BB, 2 K
Spartan Notes
The Spartans conclude their season with a 22-17 record overall. This was York's fourth MAC Commonwealth Championship Saturday appearance. The Spartans now have a 5-5 record against the Falcons in the MAC Commonwealth Championship.
