By Cody Swartz, GoMessiah.com reporter
Grantham, PA — Messiah defeated Rowan University by a 9-2 score Tuesday afternoon, fighting off both lingering rain and a talented Profs squad that entered the day having won seven of their last eight ballgames.
Backed by junior Travis Thome's stellar pitching performance, the Falcons battled through the cold and the wind in defeating the Profs, who boast a 7-1 mark in the New Jersey Athletic Conference — considered one of the best NCAA Division III leagues in the nation — as well as receiving votes in the latest NCAA Division III ABCA/Collegiate Baseball Poll.
Thome (2-3) turned in arguably his finest outing of the season, holding Rowan (15-8) to no runs in seven innings of work. The right-hander allowed four hits and four walks, striking out eight batters on the day, while battling out of several tough situations.
“Thome had excellent command of his pitches today,” said Bryan Engle, Messiah head coach. “He stayed down in the zone and that was key today. He trusted his defense and did an exceptional job out there on the mound.”
Rowan's Mike Halbach (0-1) turned in a solid day of his own, throwing six innings while allowing three runs, two of them earned. Making his first start of the season, Halbach nearly matched Thome inning for inning but it was a pair of Messiah runs in the second inning and another in the sixth that put Halbach on the losing side of the today's outcome.
For the Falcons, Thome worked himself into trouble on the mound in the first inning, loading the bases on a pair of singles and a walk, but he escaped the inning without allowing a run.
The aforementioned scenario seemed to be a recurring habit for Thome, as the junior worked his way out of numerous jams without allowing so much as a run for the day.
“Thome showed excellent ability to work out of tough situations for us,” Engle said. “Any time you get your opponent to leave runners in scoring position, it picks your team up and demoralizes them.”
In the third inning, the Profs put two men on base on a hit by pitch and a walk with one out, but Thome recorded a fly out and a pop up to exit the inning unscathed.
And in the fourth, Rowan appeared to be on the verge of a big inning, as the visitors loaded the bases on an error, a wild pitch, a stolen base and a pair of walks. But Thome coaxed the Profs' Scott Weaver — a .386 hitter who came into the game leading the Profs in hits — into a harmless ground ball to the senior third baseman Adam Ranck, ending the frame.
Meanwhile, Messiah (11-13) put together two runs in the second inning, staking an early lead that would hold up to be the difference for the majority of the game.
After senior Dan Etter reached on an error to start the frame, classmate Sheldon Witmer walked, and freshman Paul Mellinger sacrificed the runners to second and third base. Ranck then hit a sharp ground ball up the middle that was speared by the Profs' Halbach and flipped to first base for the second out of the inning.
Senior catcher Alex Lentz, making his sixth start of the season, delivered with a big, two-run single to right field. Dating back to last Saturday's doubleheader split with Alvernia University, it was the Falcons' 13th consecutive run scored with two outs.
“Lentz has been swinging the bat really well in practice, and he was able to carry that over to today's game,” Engle said. “He did a really nice job for us both offensively and defensively.”
The Falcons pieced together another run in the sixth inning, as Etter led off with a single. Witmer sacrificed the senior to second base and Etter reached third base on a balk before Mellinger's sacrifice fly to deep right field scored him, plating the hosts with a big three-run lead.
In the seventh inning, Engle's club exploded for six runs against a trio of Rowan relief pitchers, taking a commanding 9-0 lead.
Lentz started the rally with a leadoff double to deep right center field. He was subsequently replaced on the base paths by junior outfielder Jamie Scott. Senior Jon Shenk then skied a fly ball to deep left center field that dropped in between the Profs' left fielder and center fielder.
Scott — who inevitably thought the ball was going to be caught — was only able to make it to third base, but just like that, the Falcons had two men in scoring position with no one out.
Sophomore Sam Tajiri — who leads the Falcons with a .441 batting average — then drilled a two-run single up the middle to give Messiah a five-run lead. After Tajiri advanced to second base on a wild pitch, freshman Matt Turman walked, and the two promptly pulled off a double steal without so much as a throw from the catcher.
Sophomore Wes Hollenbach worked his team-leading 13th walk of the season before Witmer drew a one-out walk, forcing in a run. Sophomore pinch hitter Tory Arnesen then blooped a single into shallow left field, scoring Shenk and giving the Falcons a seven-run lead. Scott, batting for Lentz, came up and took advantage of a bases-loaded, two-out situation, driving a double down the right field line that scored two more Falcons.
In the inning, the Falcons batted a total of 11 times, scoring six runs on five hits and three walks. It was the second straight game that Messiah put up a six-spot in a late frame, complementing a six-run sixth inning in Saturday's nightcap at Alvernia.
Sophomore Davin Okerblom took the mound for the Falcons in the eighth inning and pitched two innings in relief to close out the game, allowing two runs — both coming off a Profs' home run in the ninth inning with one out in the bag.
“This was certainly the right way to start a big week,” Engle said. “There are definitely some things we can do better, but we capitalized when we needed to and we took advantage of our opportunities.”
Messiah will look to build off Tuesday's momentum with another home non-conference match-up tomorrow, as MAC Freedom Conference institution Misericordia University will visit Starry Field. Originally scheduled to play in Florida during the schools' spring break, the Cougars and the Falcons were cancelled due to rain. Wednesday's game will serve as a make-up opportunity for that contest. Game time is set for 3:30 p.m.
