Box Score
By Cody Swartz, GoMessiah.com reporter
Grantham, PA — Messiah dropped a close contest to Shenandoah University Wednesday afternoon at Starry Field, falling by a 5-2 score to a Hornets team currently ranked atop both the NCBWA/D3Baseball.com Top 25 and the Collegiate Baseball Top 25 Polls. The loss was the first home loss the Falcons had suffered this season, and just the second overall in the last 11 games for a Messiah team that has been red-hot as of late.
A solid pitching performance from freshman Paul Broomell wasn't enough to overshadow a quiet day at the plate for the Falcons' bats, as the offense mustered just seven hits and two runs on the day. Messiah (14-13) batted just .071 (1-for-14) with runners on base in the game, stranding six runners.
Meanwhile, the Hornets were methodical on offense, scoring a run in five of the nine innings, including four straight frames in the middle of the game. Shenandoah (23-2) — which jumped on the board with a run in the top of the second inning — never trailed in the game.
Broomell, who was making just his third start for the Falcons, was very respectable, pitching six strong innings. Broomell gave up four runs on six hits and two walks, keeping the Hornets — a team that entered the day averaging about 10 runs per game — in check for most of the game.
Messiah's bullpen was dependable as well, as junior Davin Okerblom, senior Josh Hershberger and freshman Mitch McClure pitched the final three innings in relief. The trio allowed just one run combined, pitching the seventh, eighth and ninth innings, respectively.
“I thought all four pitchers for us today threw exceptionally well,” said Steve DeRiggs, Messiah head coach. “Paul, in the third outing of his collegiate career, showed excellent composure and good movement, something that certainly bodes extremely well for the rest of the year and next year. The bullpen got some work in and pitched well as well.”
Tory Arnesen was the lone bright spot at the plate for the Falcons, as the junior collected three hits, including a long home run to right field. Arnesen's dinger, which put the Falcons down by just one in the fourth inning, was just the second homer by a Messiah hitter this season.
Conversely, Shenandoah entered the game with 32 home runs on the year.
Messiah will have less time to prepare for its next contest than originally thought, as the team will travel to Chester, Pa. tomorrow to play Widener University in a 3:30 p.m. game. The contest — which was moved forward a day due to strong forecasts of rain Friday ' begins a three-day Commonwealth Conference series with the team that ended Messiah's season a year ago.
“We're going to need to bunch our heads together for this weekend,” DeRiggs said. “We're in a close conference race and we need to pull off a win. All conference games are important, but this one is tremendously significant.”
