Bridgewater, VA — Despite having yet to practice or play outdoors in the calendar year, the 2008 season got off to a pretty good start for the Messiah College baseball team Saturday, as the Falcons swept Eastern Mennonite University by 5-3 and 3-2 scores.
Playing in sunshine and 45-degree temperatures at nearby Bridgewater College's Jopson Field — EMU's playing surface was in less-than-ideal condition — first-year head coach Bryan Engle made his coaching debut count, as Messiah committed just two errors on the day while picking up timely hits in a pair of come-from-behind victories.
“Overall, I'm very pleased with our performances today, especially considering this was the first time we've played outside or seen live pitching,” Engle said. “I thought the biggest thing was that we made routine plays. We made some very good defensive plays as well, but the big thing was that we didn't hurt ourselves. At this time of the year, that's pretty important.”
Messiah (2-0) exhibited a mid-season-like composure early on Saturday, as Engle's team found itself down 2-0 following two complete innings in the opening contest. A monster, five-run third inning changed the game's complexion entirely, as smart base running began the onslaught. With sophomore Jon-Mike Richards on second base and senior Ben Jordan on first via a single, classmate Craig Mease hit a deep fly ball to center field. After a catch from EMU's Chris Harpine, Jordan bluffed a tag-up at first, yielding a throw from center field.
Richards took off toward third and — following a botched relay at second base — came all the way home for Messiah's first score of the year.
The Falcons' bats then got hot, as three ensuing singles would drive in four more runs in the inning. Sophomores Adam Ranck and Jordan Zimmerman each drove in one following their singles, while junior Ben Kirk finished the scoring in driving in a pair with two outs retired.
With a comfortable 5-2 lead in hand, Engle turned to his bullpen to finish the job. Senior Dan Kern (1-0) went the first four innings in picking up the win, while classmate Chandler Sheaffer sewed up the victory, striking out four in the final three innings to garner the save.
“We received a great pitching performance from both Dan and Chandler in the first game, and I was very pleased with our base running,” Engle said. “We were aggressive on the base paths all day and did a good job of picking up reads from the coaches.”
Six Messiah players recorded singles in the win, as Kirk's two-RBI belt lead the way. Richards, Jordan, Ranck, Zimmerman and sophomore Sheldon Witmer all crossed the plate.
In the day's second contest, Messiah took a brief, 1-0 lead following a series of miscues from the Royals (0-5) in the opening stanza. Ranck reached base after being hit by a pitch, and came all the way home following a single from Witmer and a subsequent throwing error by the EMU defense.
The host Royals were able to tie the score up in the bottom of the first following a double and a single, however, as senior Jeremy Stoltzus took a moment to get settled on the mound. The right hander would give up four more hits and EMU's second run in the fourth inning before being removed in favor of freshman Travis Thome, who would put up a “phenomenal” performance, according to Engle.
Thome (1-0) would eventually pitch four and two-thirds scoreless innings, striking out two and walking none. He would get the needed run support in the seventh inning, as a pair of walks and two singles equated to the tying and go-ahead scores for the Falcons.
After forcing two ground outs in the bottom of the ninth, EMU's Jameson Jarvis reached base on a hard hit down the first base line — drawing a questionable error ruling on Falcons' senior first baseman Kyle Stuckey.
With the tying run on first, Engle went to hard-throwing junior pitcher Kurt Heim (1), who promptly struck out the Royals' Zach Polloni to end the game and collect his first save of the season.
“Travis Thome definitely gets the game ball in the second game, as he was solid in his first collegiate appearance on the mound,” Engle said. “Heim came in at the end and struck out EMU's clean-up hitter to end it, while (Polloni) was 2-4 coming into that at-bat.”
Ranck was the offensive star in the second game, going 3-4 from the plate with two runs scored. Witmer drove in a run on a 2-5 performance, while Richards finished 1-3.
Perhaps Ranck's biggest contribution came while on base, as the sophomore scored the Falcons' go-ahead run off a throwing error by the Royals' Polloni in the top of the seventh inning.
“We scored (the go-ahead run) on a hustle play, and that was good to see,” Engle said. “We got the sweep, which was exactly what we were looking for, but the biggest thing was that we were able to take advantage of opportunities that EMU gave us while at the same time holding them from some bigger innings. They had some chances where they could have possibly driven in some more runs, but we made plays to keep that from happening. Our ability to take advantage of small things turned out to be a big thing in our results.”
Following the final out recorded by Heim, Messiah players jovially pushed on Engle before walking out for the post-game handshakes.
It was clear that the successful start to Engle's coaching career was not lost in the moment.
“The guys teased me about my first two victories as a college head coach but honestly I was more happy for them to get the season started well,” Engle said. “To beat a team that had three games under its belt and had been practicing outside, while this was our first time, we were very happy to get two wins. We obviously are going to take it one game at a time, but this was a good start for us.”
Messiah will return to the practice field — most likely indoors — before heading to perennial national-power University of Mary Washington next Saturday for another double-header. Game time for the first of two is set for 12 p.m.
