Game 1 Box Score - Game 2 Box Score
By Cody Swartz, GoMessiah.com reporter
Philadelphia, PA — Messiah took advantage of two solid pitching performances and its finest offensive outburst of the season to sweep Arcadia University in Saturday's double-header at the Knights' Erny Field.
The Falcons needed extra innings to take a 7-3 decision in Game One and jumped on the board early in Game Two to hold on for a 10-3 win. The wins gave Messiah (10-11, 6-0) a three-for-three showing in its weekend Commonwealth Conference series with the Knights, extending the club's winning streak to six games while keeping the team's unblemished conference record in tact.
“We ran the ball today, we executed well, and as a result, we've won six in a row now,” said Messiah head baseball coach Steve DeRiggs. “We've gotten a lot of confidence and it's been great to sweep each of our first two conference series.”
Saturday's weather was just as cold as it was in Friday's 6-2 win over the Knights, but the Falcons — who seem to have found their groove at this point in the season — struck early and often, totaling 17 runs and 20 hits on the day.
Three runs in the top of the first inning gave Falcons' Game One senior starting pitcher Eric Spring a seemingly secure lead before he ever set foot on the mound. Messiah's offense then recorded just a single hit for the rest of regulation, while Arcadia (1-14, 0-6) scored three runs in the fourth — two of them unearned — to knot the game at 3-3.
“(Aaron Benusis) of the Knights shut us down for awhile early on and frustrated some of our hitters, but patience and our hitters' ability to make adjustments paid off,” said Danny Etter, Messiah hitting coach.
Spring bore down and held the Knights scoreless in both the fifth and sixth innings, before handing the game over to the bullpen.
“I thought Eric did a good job battling not only a tough Arcadia lineup, but also the cold weather. He gave us a quality start,” said Messiah pitching coach Elliot Thomas.
The Falcons couldn't score in their half of the seventh before putting together a four-run rally in the eighth that all began with two outs and no one on base.
Junior Wes Hollenbach started it all with a walk. Classmate Ryan Brown smashed an RBI double to deep left field that brought Hollenbach home, proving to be the eventual winning run in the game. Sophomore Paul Mellinger delivered an RBI single to provide the Falcons with an insurance run, and when junior Tory Arnesen doubled and senior Jordan Snader reached on a two-base error that scored two more, the Falcons held a 7-3 lead just three outs away from victory.
“Our resiliency with two outs really came through there,” Etter said of his team's four-run rally. “We came ready to hit. A lot of our guys looked really comfortable at the plate despite the cold.”
Freshman Jon Lapp (1-1) — who came into the game in relief of Spring in the bottom of the seventh — retired six straight hitters to pick up the win.
Following a dramatic victory in the team's first extra-inning win of the season, the Falcons didn't let up in Game Two, taking an early lead once again. Smart base running from juniors Sam Tajiri and Hollenbach gave senior Travis Thome a two-run lead as he first set foot on the mound.
Two more runs in the second inning, four in the third, and two again in the fourth gave the Falcons and Thome a 10-spot just four frames into the game.
Meanwhile, Thome (4-3) commanded the game well on the mound, going wire to wire in his third consecutive start. The senior allowed just two earned runs, struck out 11, and walked only one batter.
“Thome was his usual, dependable, bulldog self,” DeRiggs said. “He was certainly efficient, and pitched as he needed to. He is a dedicated team leader out there on the mound.”
Thome, who is posting a strikeout-to-walk ratio of nearly six-to-one at this point in the season, lowered his season ERA to 2.79. Three times he escaped jams with multiple runners on base.
“I give credit to Travis for not becoming complacent today,” Thomas said. “It is easy to let your guard down when your offense gives you a huge cushion, but he kept his head straight and barreled through another complete game. His ability to go the distance every five or six days speaks volumes about his work ethic.”
Highlighting the Falcons' offensive outburst were Mellinger (four hits, two RBI), Tajiri (three hits, two runs, two steals), and senior Jamie Scott (three hits, two runs), all of whom helped Messiah score a single-game high 10 runs in the nightcap.
Other key contributors to the offensive explosion included Hollenbach, who added three runs scored, while freshman David Sletta drove in three at the plate while scoring twice. Senior Sean Hart had two hits, including a two-run double, and Lapp had two RBI.
Junior catcher Ryan Brown made a splash both offensively and defensively, driving in the go-ahead run in the first game with a clutch double, reaching base five times for the day, and handling the pitchers well behind the plate.
“Brown had the big hit in Game One that plated the game-winning run for us, and he hit the ball well today,” DeRiggs said. “Brown plays the game with passion and commitment every day. It is a coach's dream to have a player of his caliber with that kind of mentality. He is an excellent handler of the pitchers and receives the ball extremely well behind the plate.”
At this point in the season, Messiah's 10-11 record is putting them back near the .500 mark. The team's biggest strength has been its starting pitching, as the Falcons' openers have allowed two earned runs or fewer in 15 of the 21 games this season.
Messiah will next take a hiatus from Commonwealth Conference play and will host top-ranked Johns Hopkins University Monday and travel to The College of New Jersey Tuesday. Game time for Monday's contest with the Blue Jays is slated for 3:30 p.m.
