Grantham, PA — With four of its previous eight games being decided by a single run, Messiah head baseball coach Bryan Engle had a hunch that Wednesday's home-opener with Susquehanna University would follow suit.
It did, and — for just the second time of the year — the Falcons were on the right end of the hairline equation.
A ninth-inning, walk off single from sophomore Sheldon Witmer drove in the winning run following a near-catastrophic top of the inning for Messiah (4-5), as the Falcons edged the visiting Crusaders by a 4-3 score. The win came just 24 hours after the squad watched a six-run lead dissipate in a 7-6 loss at the Catholic University of America, and precedes an upcoming swing south in the most ideal of circumstances: Messiah flies out of Baltimore International Airport Thursday afternoon for a nine-day stretch in Florida, opening the trip Friday against Ramapo College.
“I told our guys that if we keep playing games like this, I'm going to look old and gray before you know it,” the 26-year-old Engle said. “It is good to finally get on the positive side of one of these games, though. I thought today's game was really well played by both teams. There were no errors, both pitchers threw strikes and there were minimal free passes. I thought this was the most focused and well prepared we've been in quite some time. To be going into our spring break off a game like this is much better than the alternative.”
That 'alternative' occurred just a day earlier, as Engle chided his team for a loss to Catholic that he said “should not have happened.” Perhaps heeding Engle's words more than anyone on Wednesday was freshman pitcher Travis Thome, who looked the part of a seasoned veteran in his first collegiate start on the mound. Thome threw a shut out while allowing just three hits in the first five innings, allowing just five base runners during that time.
Susquehanna eventually broke through in the sixth inning, pushing the game's first run across following one of Thome's four walks on the afternoon.
Messiah would respond in the bottom of the seventh, however, as singles from sophomore Jon-Mike Richards, senior Kyle Stuckey and junior Ben Kirk loaded the bases. A sharp single from senior Ben Snyder through the left side brought two runs home, and the Falcons led 2-1.
Engle's squad tacked on an insurance run in the eighth inning, as a lead-off walk from senior Craig Mease was driven home on a single from Richards. As the team headed to the top of the ninth with a 3-1 lead, it seemed Messiah's stretch of nail-biting games had come to an end.
But, of course, that would be too easy for Engle to stomach.
The Crusaders put together a remarkable top of the ninth inning at the plate, opening the stanza with a single and walk. With Thome still going strong on the mound — he would eventually throw eight and two-thirds innings — Engle did not make a move. Thome registered his fourth strikeout of the afternoon against the next Susquehanna batter, and when the Crusaders' Brian Ahearn hit a medium-paced ground ball back to Thome, it looked like the game would end on a 1-6-3 double play.
Instead, Thome bobbled the grounder, being relegated into a force-out at first.
With two outs retired, Susquehanna's next batter laced a double into left field, driving in two scores to tie the game at 3-3.
“(Ahearn's groundball) was a play that Travis makes 99 times out of 100,” Engle said.
With Susquehanna's dugout now rocking, Engle pulled Thome in favor of senior Ben Jordan, who promptly forced the Crusaders' Jason Gaccione into a groundout to end the inning.
Almost surprisingly — given the team's recent last-moment losses — Engle said his club stayed positive in preparing to bat in the bottom of the stanza.
Playing at home for the first time may have had something to do with it.
“There really wasn't a sense of concern at all,” Engle said of the final switch. “I think we had guys that were disappointed that we didn't finish things in the top of the ninth, but we were just happy to have last cracks. When they were coming off the field, someone said, and I'm not sure who, 'we'll get a walk off to end it.'”
Whoever said it was precisely right.
Following a lead off strikeout from Kirk, Snyder laced a double to left field, a shot that many in the stands thought would exit the ballpark entirely. Another strikeout from freshman Jordan Snader followed, setting the stage for Witmer's two-out dramatics. The left-handed sophomore from Lancaster pulled a shot down the first base line, driving in Snyder to end the game in jubilant fashion.
Jordan (1-0) finished the game with the pitching win, though Thome may have deserved most of the credit. Offensively, the day belonged to Snyder, who finished 3-4 with two RBI and the winning run scored. He entered the game with just one hit to his credit, a statistic he registered in Tuesday's loss at Catholic.
“Travis Thome pitched absolutely great for us today in his first collegiate start,” Engle said. “A pitcher's job is to keep his team in it, and he did exactly what we needed him to do. Ben Snyder was also great for us today, and he really responded. I challenged our seniors yesterday, and today he led. He had a pair of shots that went to the warning track, and on a less-windy day both probably are homers.”
Winds of 25 to 30 miles per hour may have put the only damper on an otherwise sunny and cool afternoon for Engle and crew.
The team now looks forward to over a week in the Florida sun.
“We'll take the win, but just because you win doesn't mean you can ignore the little things you haven't done well recently,” Engle said. “That's probably what made this win so much more special, the fact that we did it with good focus and a sharp mental approach. It's a good one to head to Florida on.”
Messiah will face Ramapo at McCracken Field in Orlando Friday. Game time is set for 11 a.m.
