Box Score 

MAHWAH, N.J. – Second-seeded William Paterson (34-8) suffered its first loss of the double-elimination NCAA Softball Tournament Mahwah Regional, falling 4-2 to top-seeded Messiah (38-4) May 9 at Ramapo College.

The Pioneers, ranked 16th in this week's National Fastpitch Coaches Association (NFCA) Top 25 Poll, will play the winner of a 4:00 p.m. elimination game today between sixth-seeded Farmingdale State and third-seeded Rowan on Sunday, May 10, at 12:00 p.m. Should the Pioneers win that game, they will play top-seeded Messiah in the finals series at 2:00 p.m. on Sunday.

If Messiah wins the 2:00 p.m. game, the Falcons will win the Mahwah Regional and advance to the NCAA Division III Softball Championship Finals May 15-19 at the Montclair State University Softball in Montclair, N.J. If William Paterson wins the 2:00 p.m. game, the two teams will meet again at 10:00 a.m. on Monday, May 11, to decide the championship.

Game scores and the bracket match-ups will be updated at http://www.ramapoathletics.com/sports/2009/4/29/SB_0429092652.aspx.

The Pioneers took advantage of an erratic first inning by Messiah pitcher Jessica Rhoads to score twice. Senior Meghan Reilly (Middlesex, N.J./Middlesex) walked to start the frame, and during a later steal of second, the ball got away and the New Jersey Athletic Conference (NJAC) Player of the Year scampered to third. Junior Christina Zippler (Blackwood, N.J./Washington Twp.) drew a walk and alertly took second base as the Falcon fielders weren't watching, bringing the Pioneers' leading hitter in sophomore Lindsey Nadolny (Belford, N.J./Middletown North) to the plate. With first base open, Messiah elected to intentionally walk Nadolny and struck out the next batter to record the inning's first out, but a passed ball to start sophomore Nicole Jimmerson's (North Bergen, N.J./High Tech) at-bat was enough to score Reilly. Jimmerson followed with a hard-hit grounder through the left side of the infield to plat Zippler, giving William Paterson a 2-0 edge.

Messiah got those two runs back during the top of the third. A one-out single was followed by a strikeout and then a short grounder hit by slap-hitter Rebekkah Funk that Reilly could not get out of her glove cleanly, putting two runners on with two outs. Jaclyn Merkel dropped a single into shallow center field to score Ashley Lehman from second, and Rhoads hit a grounder back up the middle that WP shortstop Lacey Santone (South Plainfield, N.J./South Plainfield) bobbled but tried to flip to Nadolny at second base in time for the force. However, the umpire signaled the runner was safe and Funk came around and scored during the confusion to knot the score at 2-2.

The Falcons threatened to add a run during the top of the fourth with a runner on third and one out when Lauren Seneca hit a ball to center field, but Zippler made the grab and then fired the ball home to Jimmerson, who made the tag at the plate for the final out of the inning.

Rhoads did help her own cause during the top of the sixth when she led off the frame with a solo home run to right-center field, staking the Falcons to a 3-2 lead. Messiah tacked on another run during the seventh with a single, sacrifice and two more base hits, for a 4-2 score.

Jimmerson accounted for two of the Pioneers' three hits, as William Paterson saw its six-game win streak come to an end. Freshman Michele Graham (Hawthorne, N.J./Hawthorne) fell to 16-5, allowing four runs (two earned) on eight hits, striking out five.

Funk and Merkel each had two hits for the Falcons, while Rhoads hit a home run and improved to 22-1 inside the circle with 7.0 innings of three-hit ball, walking three and striking out 10 Pioneers.