wing, NJ — Tuesday afternoon at The College of New Jersey, it appeared the Falcons' six-game losing skid would come to an end in mundane fashion.
But where's the fun in that?
Instead, Messiah utilized some quality pitching and outstanding defense to hang on for a 5-4 win after leading by a 5-1 difference heading into the bottom of the eighth inning — utilizing a strikeout and double play to get out of a two-on, no-out situation in the bottom of the ninth in ulcer-inducing fashion.
Just another day at the ballpark.
“First of all, it's certainly good to get back on the winning side of things,” said Bryan Engle, Messiah head coach. “But more importantly, it's good to see us play up to our ability and caliber. That's what we've been talking about all year, really. It's not about trying to win, but rather playing really good baseball. If we do that, the wins take care of themselves. Today, I thought we did a lot of things really well.”
Messiah (8-16-1) started the afternoon by scoring runs well, as the team put all five of its markers on the board in four of the first five innings of play. A lead-off walk from freshman Jon Brubaker and an ensuing single from junior Adam Ranck were plated in the first, while a lead-off double from freshman Sam Tajiri was eventually brought home in the second inning.
Following a scoreless third, the Falcons made landed lead-off batters again in the fourth and fifth innings, while both of those runners would score.
And while Messiah was busy at work building a 5-1 lead through seven and a half innings of work — TCNJ scored a lone run in the bottom of the fourth — freshman starting pitcher Thor Arnesen was doing a job on the mound, limiting the Lions to just three hits and one run. The Falcons' defense was also back to expected form, turning double plays in the first and second innings while committing no errors.
That was, until the eighth inning.
TCNJ (10-11-1) made some noise to start the stanza, as the Lions' first two batters singled — bringing Arensen's day to an end. Junior Derek Sipe came on in relief, but a Lions' double and a Messiah error would eventually lead to three runs scored, putting the pressure back on the Falcons.
The drama would only intensify in the bottom of the ninth.
After Messiah went down with relative ease in its half of the final inning — senior Ben Kirk was the lone batter to reach base via walk — TCNJ opened the bottom of the stanza with a single off of junior closer Elliot Thomas. The Lions' base runner then advanced to second following a passed ball, and TCNJ's Chris James laid down a sacrifice bunt to give the hosts runners at first and third with no outs.
That play brought Engle out of the dugout, as it appeared that Messiah had gunned down the Lions' lead runner at third base.
He was called safe.
“Ranck has the spike marks on his wrist to prove (he was tagged out),” Engle laughed. “Once they got runners on first and third, I brought the infield in (to the mound) and said, 'Okay. This is where it gets fun.' To our guys' credit, they were able to bare down get us out of a jam.”
Thomas came up huge against TCNJ's next batter, striking out the Lions' Matthew Baumann swinging. Engle's club then turned its third double play of the afternoon, as TCNJ's Jared Tramutola grounded into a 4-6-3 roll-up to end things.
As the Lions' tying run crossed the plate, it was too late.
“As a manager, that's not a lot of fun to sit through, knowing the tying run is just 90 feet away,” Engle said. “But credit Elliot and our defense. They made the plays when they had to.”
Arnesen (2-2) picked up the pitching win in his third collegiate start, while Thomas (1) recorded his first save of the season thanks to his ninth-inning perseverance. At the plate, Messiah was led by Tajiri (2-3, one run scored) and Witmer (1-5, one RBI), who both doubled. Brubaker, Kirk, and junior Jon Shenk all provided RBI, with Brubaker's coming in spectacular fashion: With Tajiri on third in the second inning, the freshman shortstop laid down a perfect sacrifice bunt, executing the first suicide squeeze play in Engle's year and a half at the helm.
“I thought Thor threw really well in his third collegiate start and is continuing to learn what it takes to pitch at the college level,” Engle said. “Our defense played very well behind our pitchers except for that error in the eighth. A team the quality of TCNJ is going to use an opportunity like that to make it interesting, and they did.
“It was good to play with a lead, as that enabled us to be a bit more aggressive on the base paths and helped our pitchers to throw with a little more confidence,” he continued. “You can still find things to work on when you win. This shows how much better we can still be.”
Messiah is scheduled to face Johns Hopkins University tomorrow at home, but with wet weather pending, check the schedule page for the latest updates. The Falcons are scheduled to resume MAC Commonwealth play this weekend, hosting Arcadia University in a single, nine-inning game at 3:30 p.m. Friday.
