Game 1 Box Score - Game 2 Box Score
By Cody Swartz, GoMessiah.com reporter
Grantham, PA — Sunny skies and temperatures in the 80's made Monday's rescheduled Commonwealth Conference clash between Messiah and Widener University feel like post-season baseball.
And thanks to a split decision, it appears very likely the Falcons are headed there.
A walk-off single from junior Ryan Brown propelled Messiah to a 6-5 win in the opener, taking most of the sting off of a 4-7 defeat in Game Two: The Falcons have now won all four conference series thus far this season, and have all but clinched a spot in the upcoming Commonwealth Conference Tournament.
Coupled with Thursday's 3-1 win at Widener, Monday's split gave Messiah (16-14, 10-2) the series against Widener, the team that knocked the Falcons out of the playoffs last year on the way to winning the conference title. It was the first time Messiah took a majority of the three-game series against the Pride (20-8, 8-4) in a regular-season series since 2008, the last year the Falcons won the league title.
“This was our fourth (Commonwealth) series win out of four, and I am very happy with that,” said Steve DeRiggs, Messiah head coach. “I was pleased with our win in the first game, and I was hoping it would carry over to Game Two, but we'll gladly take any series.”
The Falcons collected just six hits in the first game, but utilized three walks, three hit by pitches, and four Widener errors to come away with a win. Brown's bases-loaded walk-off single propelled Messiah to its 12th win in the last 14 games.
The Falcons entered the bottom of the seventh and final inning tied 5-5. Freshman Jon Lapp started the rally with a leadoff single. Sophomore Paul Mellinger reached on an error to put runners at second and third base. After junior John Brubaker struck out, classmate Wes Hollenbach was intentionally walked to load the bases and set up a force out at every base.
Brown — who was hit by two pitches and scored two runs earlier in the game — came through with an RBI single to center field.
It was the first scoring in the game for the Falcons since the third inning. Messiah, which plated senior Eric Spring with an early four-run lead on the mound, did so with two runs in the first inning on a walk, an error and a pair of hit by pitches — but no hits. In the second inning, Hollenbach's two-run single scored both Mellinger and Brubaker.
The Pride tied the game in the top of the third with four runs in what was a rough inning for the entire Falcons' team. Three errors, four walks and a single erased a four-run Messiah lead and made it a tie game again.
The Falcons added a run in the bottom of the inning to take the lead right back, as Brown was hit by a pitch, advanced to third on sophomore Drew Frankenfield's single and scored on an errant pickoff attempt by Widener pitcher Kevin Culbert.
The 5-4 Falcons' lead stood until the top of the seventh inning, when the Pride rallied for a run against junior pitcher Tory Arnesen. A two-out single tied the game before a fine defensive play by Brubaker sent the game to the bottom of the inning.
From there, it was all Messiah, as the Falcons won on a walk-off bases-loaded single for the second time this season, the other coming courtesy of Mellinger in a 5-4 win against Lebanon Valley College back on Apr 2. Arnesen (4-2) picked up the win on the mound, pitching just one and two-thirds innings.
In the second game, Messiah once again took an early lead, as senior Jordan Snader's two-run homer to right field gave senior starting pitcher Travis Thome a lead to work with on the mound.
Thome, Messiah's workhorse and leader in wins on the mound this season, established new all-time school records in career games started (36) and innings pitched (244). The Schaefferstown, Pa. native — who is also nearing the career record in appearances as a pitcher — allowed six runs, four of them earned, in five innings during Monday's start.
Widener, however, took advantage of a pair of third-inning home runs to take a 4-2 lead, and the Falcons would not regain control of the score again.
“Thome has been tremendous all year,” DeRiggs said. “He missed some spots today and they made him pay, but he'll rebound.”
The Pride scored two more runs in the fifth inning off a plethora of two-out Messiah errors to take a 6-2 lead. The Falcons scored two runs the small ball way in the bottom of the sixth inning, with Snader scoring on a wild pitch and Frankenfield on a groundout to second base, cutting the deficit to 6-4.
Widener tacked on a run in the top of the seventh inning, and the Falcons put the tying run at the plate with two outs in the bottom of the seventh, but couldn't convert, suffering just its second conference loss in four series — a total of 12 games.
Thome (5-4) took the pitching loss for the day.
“We made some defensive miscues in this game,” DeRiggs said. “We need more consistency defensively. We made some mistakes and they made us pay.”
Not to be forgotten in the second game was the play of Frankenfield, the sophomore outfielder for Messiah who rapped out three hits. In all, Frankenfield collected four hits on the day, reached base five times and now leads the Falcons in batting average (.317). He also added a highlight reel catch in the outfield in the second game, crashing into the wall to save a sure extra-base hit.
Snader, a senior captain for the Falcons, also came through with a big game, as his home run was just the third dinger of the season for the Falcons.
At this point, Messiah needs just one more conference win or an LVC loss to officially guarantee a spot in the post-season. The Falcons host rival Elizabethtown College (11-13, 4-5) this Friday in conference action. Game time is set for 3:30 p.m. The teams play again Saturday in a double-header at E'Town, with the first of the two games scheduled to begin at 12 p.m.
“(Elizabethtown) is always a very tough team,” DeRiggs said. “They're a rival, and we always have good games against them. I expect an extremely competitive series.”
