Game 1 Box Score - Game 2 Box Score
By Cody Swartz, GoMessiah.com reporter
Carlisle, PA — Things got no easier for a road-weary Messiah team Saturday, as the Falcons lost both games of a Saturday double-header at Dickinson College, dropping the opener by a 4-6 score and the nightcap by a 2-3 count.
It was Messiah's fourth straight double-header on the road to open the 2011 season, and the results have been consistent with a squad yearning for home, as the Falcons have been swept in two of them and split the other two.
With Tuesday's scheduled home game against Franklin & Marshall College being postponed indefinitely due to unplayable field conditions, it will be until at least Mar. 21 before Messiah steps foot on its own turf.
Not that it makes any difference to head coach Steve DeRiggs.
“There's a fine difference between winning and losing, and today we just couldn't find a way to win,” he said. “It doesn't matter where we're playing. We need to do that.”
Offense has been the team's primary struggle thus far, but Saturday's initial game seemed to start in the Falcons' favor.
Junior Sam Tajiri led off with a hit by pitch and with two outs, juniors Ryan Brown, Tory Arnesen, John Brubaker and freshman Jacob Sprengle all had big hits, with Brown blasting a triple and Arnesen hitting a double. When the half inning ended, the Falcons held a 3-0 lead for senior pitcher Travis Thome.
Thome (1-3), who hurled a complete game three-hitter in his previous start, took a shutout into the fifth inning against a Red Devils' team that came into the game batting .351 as a team. He added seven strikeouts, raising his season total to a team-high 21.
Dickinson (5-1) scored five runs in the fifth to take a 5-3 lead, and an apparent Falcons' rally in the sixth fell just short. With two outs and no one on base, Arnesen, Brubaker and Sprengle each singled to cut the deficit to one run.
Senior Jamie Scott walked to load the bases, and freshman Jon Lapp crushed a ball to deep right field that died several feet shy of the fence.
The Falcons went down one-two-three in the seventh inning, however, as Dickinson's Evan Fitzpatrick picked up the win.
In Game Two, junior Tory Arnesen threw a stellar outing, lasting five innings while allowing just one earned run. He gave up only three hits and didn't walk any, while recording four strikeouts.
“Tory had an excellent day,” DeRiggs said. “He gave up only one earned run, and also went 2-3 at the plate in our first game. I was very pleased with him.”
Unfortunately, the Falcons could muster just two runs of offense for their pitcher, courtesy of an RBI single by sophomore designated hitter Tyler Deshong and a sacrifice fly by Sprengle.
“In the first game, we did a pretty good job hitting, but it wasn't our best effort in the second game,” DeRiggs said.
For the day, Arnesen, Brubaker and Sprengle each registered multiple hits.
“We just need to close games better,” DeRiggs said. “Florida will be a perfect time for us to do that. We need to keep teams from scoring late and shore up additional weaknesses. Florida will have good weather and we should be seeing better baseball.”
With its home postponement, Messiah will resume play in its upcoming seven-game Florida road series, beginning on Friday, Mar. 11 during the institution's spring recess. The Falcons will open play against Salem State College in Babson Park, Florida, next Friday. Game time is set for 12 p.m.
