READING, Pa., Saturday, May 7, 2011-- After a solid pitching perfomance in a tough 1-0 loss to Messiah on Friday, junior Kelsey Roberts completed a seven inning no-hitter and sophomore Marissa Perez led a strong team effort at the plate going 2-3 with two RBIs and one scored as No. 3 Arcadia University Softball stays alive in the Commonwealth Conference Championship Tournament with a 4-1victory over No. 4 Lycoming College this morning at Alvernia University's Angelica Park. The loss ends the Warriors season at 14-16. Arcadia (23-11) went 4-1 against the Warriors this season, including the doubleheader sweep in the league match up back on April 19.   

Arcadia needed a win today to keep their championship quest going following a tough 1-0 loss to the number two seed (13th nationally) Messiah College yesterday. Arcadia's only base runner against Messiah was senior Ashley McCarthy, who registered the only hit against the Falcons on single in third inning.  Roberts took the loss to Messiah, allowing five hits while striking out three in her dual against sophomore Jocelyn Hickey, who is 10-2 on the year with a 1.51 ERA. So it was a chance at redemption today for Roberts, who got coach Linda Detra's nod as today's starter. Already with two wins against Lycoming this season, one over spring break and one in conference play, the junior saved her best performance against the Warriors for this morning.  

The Knights would face Lycoming sophomore pitcher Holly Lansberry, who entered today's win or go home game with a 10-7 record against the 11-6 Roberts. Arcadia worked Lansberry for 11 hits and four runs while Roberts allowed not one single hit and just one unearned run to improve to 12-6 overall. Along with Perez, Arcadia got offensive support from the top of their lineup as juniors Lindsey Henchinski and Erin Wojciesyzn both went 2-3. Henchinski added two runs scored. Sophomore Brandee Zablotsky went 1-2 with 1 run and an RBI. Roberts added two strikeouts and walked the sixth and seventh innings.

After Roberts' sent the Warriors down in three in the top of the first her Knights went right to work against Lansberry, started by a pair of hits from Henchinski and  Wojciesyzn. Senior Virginia Buechel would reach on a fielder's choice, moving Henchinski to third. Wojciesyzn was out at second on the play. Batting in the five-hole, Perez connected on a single to short, allowing Henchinski to cross home for the 1-0 Arcadia lead. The Knights stranded two to end the inning. 

Arcadia put a runner in scoring position in the bottom of the second. Senior Ashley McCarthy reached on a fielder's choice and stole second with two outs down but her team couldn't bring her in. So instead, they waited for their next opportunity, which came in the bottom of the third, this time it would be Zablotsky in scoring position after she singled to short and stole second. And then it was Perez again, with a deep single to right field that brought in Zablotsky for the 2-0 Arcadia lead, however, an error on Lycoming's Bethany Garnand in right-field allowed the Knight's coaching staff to keep Perez moving around the bases until she made it back to home plate safely for a 3-0 lead for Arcadia. The Warriors used the top of four to mount some offense and it began when Roberts walked Amy Cline followed by an error at short that allowed Taylor Lesser to reach first, moving Cline to third. Another walk pitched to Janelle Poorman loaded the bases. Another infield error allowed Shauna Starr to reach first, moving Cline to home plate on the unearned run, and although Roberts was still working her no-hitter, her shutout was erased as the score was 3-1 Lycoming. With the bases still loaded and no outs recorded, Roberts got her self out of jam with three straight outs to end the inning with her team in front by two.

The Knights tacked on their final score in the bottom of the fifth, again using the top of their batting order to do so. A single to right field from Henchinski opened the inning. A drive down the left field line turned into a double from Wojciesyzn that moved Henchinski to third with no outs. Zablotsky connected on a SAC fly that scored Henchinski for a 4-1 Knights lead. Wojciesyzn was out at third on the play and the inning eventually ended after Buechel tried unsuccessfully to stretch her single to right field into a double.

Roberts tossed another 1-2-3 inning Lycoming's way in the top of the sixth and the Knights continued to be the aggressor in the bottom of the frame. After Lansberry hit first-year Jess Wood, first-year Katie Resh entered to pinch run. Right field was calling the Knights' name this morning, as junior Amy Johnson drilled a single there putting Resh in scoring position. First-year Leanda Helms followed with another single to right and Resh was directed around third and nearly scored on the play but for an exceptional throw from Garnand to Poorman behind the dish who caught Resh out. In the seventh, Lycoming was able to generate a runner in scoring position when Roberts walked Samantha Gonzalez, who would advance to second on a pop-up, but Roberts would not rattle and got Cline to pop up to Henchinski at short who made the final out of the game.

In the Friday nightcap, Messiah defeated the number one seed Lebanon Valley 2-0. Lebanon Valley and Arcadia meet in the 11 a.m. game today to decide who will play Messiah for the league title later this afternoon. Live Stats