Box Score
Annville, PA - The old adage for baseball pitchers is that is sometimes best to have a short-term memory. If there was ever a time for the Falcons to apply just that, now might be the time.
The Falcons dropped a lopsided game to Lebanon Valley on Friday, falling behind 26-3 en route to a 30-14 final.
Six pitchers combined to allow the Dutchmen's 30 runs, with 11 runs coming unearned by way of six Messiah errors.
Ben Sollenberger was the seventh pitcher to make an appearance for the Falcons, but he managed to end the eighth inning without having a run charged to his line.
Evan Young (1-3) took the loss for Messiah after completing 2.1 innings and allowing six hits and eight runs (six earned). He walked a pair, with the Falcons walking a total of 10 Lebanon Valley batters on the afternoon.
Trailing 27-7 entering the seventh inning, Messiah rallied for seven runs to make it 27-14. Lebanon Valley added three runs in the bottom of the frame to complete the scoring.
A quick review of the Falcons' record books confirms that the 30 runs allowed are the most by a Messiah team dating back through the 2000 season. A deeper look at the books could suggest a deeper stretch, or perhaps even a program record.
The 30 runs for Lebanon Valley are their most scored since totaling 31 runs against Widener University in 2003. In the third inning alone, the Dutchmen scored 14 runs on nine hits and three errors, leaving two runners on base.
As for the Falcons, they managed to score a season-high 14 runs on 13 hits.
Zach Brubaker (1-3, 3 RBI) was one of four players to collect multi-RBI games, with
Paul Mellinger (3-5, 2 RBI) being the lone Falcon with more than one hit. The Falcons also drew a season-high nine walks of their own, and will hope that their 9.67 runs per game average over their last three contests will continue.
The loss drops Messiah to 3-6 in the Commonwealth, as they will now plan to host Lebanon Valley (3-7) on Saturday for a double-header at 12:00.
