By Cody Swartz, GoMessiah.com reporter
Grantham, PA — Call it the grand theorem of baseball.
Less than 48 hours after Messiah knocked out Susquehanna University by a 14-12 score in the biggest slugfest of the year, the Falcons and visiting Alvernia University engaged in a pitchers' duel Friday afternoon — the Commonwealth Conference-leading Crusaders coming away with a closer-than-the-score-indicated, 3-0 win.
Perhaps the weather had something to do with it. After temperatures reached the upper 80's during Tuesday's scorefest with Susquehanna, cloudy skies and a brisk wind kept things ice cold Friday, as temps barely crept into the 50's. Alvernia (19-5, 7-3) made the most of a strong wind blowing in to hold the Falcons' bats to just seven hits on the day, winning its seventh consecutive game in the process.
“Hats off to Alvernia,” said Bryan Engle, Messiah head baseball coach. “They're a solid team and they took advantage of pitching, hitting and fielding.”
Sophomore Tory Arnesen (2-2) took the mound for Messiah (9-12, 2-5), allowing just three runs without walking a single batter through a solid, eight and one-third innings of work.
“Tory Arnesen did a great job for us today,” Engle said. “He did what pitchers are supposed to do, and that is to keep us in the game. He was around the plate with his pitches. It was a great overall matchup with both teams getting strong performances from their starters.”
For the first four innings of the game, neither team scored. In the fifth, the Crusaders pushed across a run against Arnesen on a double and a wild pitch.
The Falcons threatened to score in the sixth inning, as freshman Matt Turman led off the inning with a double. However, Turman was picked off on what appeared to be a questionable call, negating the scoring opportunity for the Falcons.
Still a one-run game entering the bottom of the seventh inning, Falcons' senior right fielder Dan Etter led off the frame with a single. He was sacrificed to second base and moved to third on a ground ball, but the Falcons still trailed by one when sophomore catcher David Adams struck out to end the inning.
The Crusaders picked up a run in both the eighth and the ninth innings against Arnesen to make it a three-run game, collecting four of their total 12 hits in those stanzas.
In the Falcons' last chance in the ninth, freshman Paul Mellinger kept the slim hopes alive with a two-out single, but senior Adam Ranck's ground out to the first baseman ended the game with minimal drama.
“It's tough to win games when you don't score a run,” Engle said. “It's unfortunate because Tory threw a terrific game for us.”
Alvernia's Andrew Kirk (4-1) earned the win for the day, pitching seven and two-thirds innings without allowing a run. Ranck and Etter recorded multiple-hit outings for the Falcons, each finishing 2-4 from the plate. Turman's sixth-inning double was Messiah's only extra-base hit of the day.
The Falcons get another chance at the Crusaders – two more, in fact – as the will complete the three-game league series tomorrow in Reading, Pa. Game time for the first of two is set for 12 p.m.
“I am excited for tomorrow's games,” Engle said. “We just have to play well and get some timely hits. The more opportunities we give ourselves, the better chance that we score runs.”
