Box Score 1 | Box Score 2 Softball
#14 Lebanon Valley 4, Messiah 0
Messiah 3, Lebanon Valley 0

GRANTHAM, Pa. - #14 Lebanon Valley battled Messiah to a split on Wednesday, staying in first place in a meeting of the Commonwealth Conference's top two teams.

The Dutchmen (22-2, 11-1 CC) won the opener 4-0 behind another gem from Sam Derr, but were shut down by Messiah (19-7, 8-2 CC) ace Claressa Mees in a 3-0 game two decision. With the split, LVC remains a game ahead of Messiah in the conference standings with four games left to play.

Katie Deardorff tied the program record for runs scored with the 94th and 95th of her career in game one, with Mary Readinger driving in three runs while Sammy Bost and Jordyn Miller each had multi-hit games. LVC was frustrated in game two, with Allie Hartman's sixth-inning single the only hit of the game for the Dutchmen.

Game One
Sam Derr improved to 13-0 this season, scattering five hits and striking out nine in a dominant outing for LVC in the opener.

Lebanon Valley wasted no time taking the lead, with Tessa Deardorff reaching on an error to start the game and scoring thanks to Bost's triple on the next at-bat. Katie Deardorff singled and scored on Mary Readinger's grounder in the second to go up 2-0, and Readinger drove in two more runs in the fourth plating Miller and Katie Deardorff.

That was all the offense LVC needed as Derr allowed only two baserunners to second. She extended her Commonwealth Conference scoreless streak to 35.1 innings with the shutout, her eighth of the season and 18th of her career.

Mallory Rutledge (10-5) allowed only one earned run off three Falcon errors while striking out three.

Game Two
LVC's offense was stymied by Mees in the second game as she carried a no-hitter into the sixth in a duel with Haley Neff.

Messiah threatened in the second and fourth, but LVC's defense played out jams both times. In the fourth, Courtney Allen was thrown out at the plate by Jorey Aumiller with no outs, and Readinger turned a liner into a double play to end the threat.

The Falcon breakthrough came in the sixth when a lead-off error put a runner on, and three straight hits with two outs scored three unearned runs.

LVC stranded baserunners on walks in each of the first three innings, and Hartman's sixth-inning two-out single was their only hit.

Neff (8-3) did not allow an earned run as she struck out two in the complete-game effort. Meees (8-2) struck out three.

Next Time
LVC turns around and heads to Arcadia Thursday for a Commonwealth Conference doubleheader.