Grantham, PA — Despite capturing a 7-4 lead and possessing a two-out, nobody on base situation in its defensive half of the eighth inning, the Messiah College baseball team could not handle prosperity Friday afternoon at home, dropping a 9-7 decision to MAC Commonwealth foe Widener University.
Messiah (20-9, 5-2) led by as many as three runs until the eighth inning, where Widener (19-7, 3-4) scored three to tie the game — all coming with two outs retired.
The Pride then put two more on the board in the top of the ninth, holding Messiah scoreless in its final three offensive halves to win the game in dramatic fashion.
It was an agonizing turn of events for Falcons' head coach Bryan Engle, who watched his team fall for the second time in as many days. It constitutes only the team's second losing streak of the season.
“Man, that's a tough one,” Engle said late Friday. “That's not one that is easy to take. The good thing is that we get to go right back at it, but when you have a 7-4 lead with two outs and nobody on base in the eighth inning, that's just a game you need to finish. We had our top pitcher on the mound and our two best relievers on, and we didn't get the job done. It's inexcusable.”
After trailing York College for the entirety of a 12-9 loss Thursday, Engle's club was able to get on the board first against Widener Friday. Messiah's first three batters reached base via two singles and a hit-by-pitch in the first inning, with sophomore Jordan Zimmerman providing an RBI single to score senior Craig Mease. Senior Ben Jordan then hit into a double play, scoring sophomore Adam Ranck but clearing two of the bags. Junior Ben Kirk struck out to conclude the inning, keeping the Falcons' lead at 2-0.
A solo home run from Widener in the third inning pulled the visitors to a 2-1 count, while another run in the fourth tied the game at 2-2. Messiah put three more runs on the board in the bottom of the fourth, however, highlighted by an RBI triple from Mease and another run-scoring single from Richards.
The clubs then exchanged two-run stanzas in the sixth inning, as Widener belted yet another home run while Messiah capitalized on a two-RBI double from Zimmerman. Leading 7-4, Engle made his first pitching change of the day, inserting Jordan for senior starter Dan Kern. Kern had forced two outs in the eighth before giving up two singles, going seven and two thirds innings while striking out eight and giving up six runs off of 10 hits.
Jordan, making his team-leading 12th appearance of the season on the mound, gave up a home run to Widener's Alex Neiman in his first batter faced.
The game now tied 7-7, Messiah went three up, three down in its half of the eighth.
Needing a stop in the top of the ninth inning, the Falcons' efforts again came up short. Jordan forced a fly out in his first batter faced, but a Messiah error — the team's third of the game — allowed the Pride's first base runner. Engle then inserted junior Kurt Heim (0-3) to pitch, who ended up throwing a pitch that went to the backstop. The Falcons, however, received a fortuitous bounce as the ball bounced off the backstop and back to Kirk, at the plate. Widener's runner, already attempting to come home on the wild pitch, had to slam on his brakes and try to get back to third. Kirk, however, had other plans as he fired to third and nailed the runner for the second out of the inning.
But, with two outs retired — again — Widener would come up clutch. Three straight walks from Heim loaded the bases, while a single from Widener's Colin Keelan brought home two more scores. Heim forced a subsequent fly out next, but the damage had been done. Messiah got its first two batters on base in the ninth inning but could not advance them further, going down by fly out and a pair of strikeouts to end the game in disappointing fashion.
Heim collected the pitching loss, officially going just two thirds of an inning while allowing two runs off the ninth-inning Keelan single. Only one run of Widener's three-run homer in the eight was accredited to Jordan, who also pitched two thirds of an inning. The Pride's three home run day was the most dingers allowed to an opponent in a single game this season by Messiah.
“I thought Dan Kern threw fairly well today,” Engle said. “He had a few up in the zone, but I thought he threw well enough to get a win, or at least good enough to turn it over to the bullpen. Unfortunately we didn't finish.”
Zimmerman paced Messiah's offensive efforts, going 2-5 with three RBI via his well-timed single and double. Mease finished 2-4 with an RBI and three runs scored, while senior Kyle Stuckey finished 2-4. Mease's fourth-inning triple was his third of the year, a team best.
“We need to be more consistent,” Engle said. “When our offense gives us seven runs, that better be enough to win the game. It's now two days in a row that our offense has been there for us but our pitching has let us down. We were the team that was playing with a lead for most of the day today, and that's why this one's so tough. We have to finish games like this at home, especially when things were set up the way they were today.”
The Falcons will conclude their three-game set with Widener Saturday, facing the Pride on their home field for a double-header slated to begin at 1 p.m. The games bear weighty significance on the MAC Commonwealth standings, as Messiah, Widener and Elizabethtown College all stand within two games of one another atop the league.
“We've got an important two on Saturday,” Engle said. “We want to distance ourselves from the pack, and Widener wants to get right back up there down the stretch. It should be an exciting two games, and I hope we can bounce back well.”
