GRANTHAM, Pa. - The Hood College softball team made it to a third game in the Middle Atlantic Conference Commonwealth Championships after eliminatingĀ Alvernia 5-4 but fell to host Messiah 8-0 in sixĀ innings.Ā
At the PlateĀ
Hailey Shaffer (Eldersburg, Md./Liberty) finished the first game 1-3 with two RBIs.Ā
Lizzie McConnell (Stevensville, Md./Kent Island) went 1-3 with a double and an RBI in game one.Ā
Rebecca Gottleib (Linthicum, Md./North County) drove in two runs against the Golden Wolves.Ā
Hanna Janke (Calgary, Alberta, Can./Bishop Carroll) did not record a hit but drew two walks in the first game, making it around the bases both times.Ā
In the CircleĀ
Gottleib allowed just one run and struck out three batters in a relief appearance win versus Alvernia.Ā
Hood 5, Alvernia 4Ā
After a scoreless first inning,Ā Sydney Weaver (Landisville, Pa./Hempfield) got into trouble in the second with the bases loaded after a fielder's choice throw did not get to second in time. With two outs though, she got the next batter to pop out in foul territory to holdĀ the Golden Wolves off the board.Ā
The Blazers built off that momentum in the bottom half of the inning, with
Kara Heidlauf (Mount Joy, Pa./Donegal High School) leading the inning off with a double. Janke filled the open first base with a walk, and after a bad bounce in the infield allowed Weaver to load the bases, a Shaffer dart down the right field line scored both runners and put Hood ahead early.Ā
Alvernia answered right back in the top of the third, though, starting a two-out rally and pushing three runners across to jump into the lead.Ā
Although the Blazers could not answer immediately in the bottom of the third, they chose not to wait any longer to get back into it, as
Lizzie McConnell (Stevensville, Md./Kent Island) smacked a double to tie the game at 3-3. With two runners in scoring position, Gottleib picked the perfect time to get her first hit of the postseason, sending a two-RBI single to right field and take the lead back for Hood.Ā
Neither team touched home plate in the sixth, but the Golden Wolves started another rally and made it a one-run game in the top of the seventh with two outs and two runners still on base. The next batter sent a hard line drive to left field that was headed to the wall to tie the game, but a leaping McConnell snatched it out of the air to end the game and seal the Blazers' first postseason win since 2017.Ā
Ā
Messiah 8, Hood 0Ā
The Blazers were able to get out of a jam in the second inning, but the Falcons came back with a vengeance in the third, putting up five runs while keeping Hood off the board.Ā
It looked like the Blazers' luck may have changed in the top of the fourth inning when some untimely miscues by Messiah allowed Pfleiger and Sammy McIntosh (Frederick, Md./Gov. Thomas Johnson) to get on base, but neither were able to cross home plate.Ā
The Falcons added another run in the fourth, and while Hood got multiple baserunners once again in the fifth, it could not add any runs of its own.Ā
Messiah would score a run in the bottom of the fifth and sixth to force the eight-run mercy rule and send the Blazers to the offseason.Ā
NotesĀ
Hood endsĀ its season 23-18 (8-6), finishing above .500 for the first time since 2017.Ā
Up NextĀ
The Blazers will return to the field for the 2026 season.Ā
