Bridgewater, VA — The Messiah College baseball team had its comeback streak come to an end Saturday at Bridgewater College, as the squad dropped 1-4 and 11-12 decisions to the host Eagles.
Traveling to the state of Virginia for the third straight weekend, it appeared as if Messiah (3-3) had found a home away from home in the Cavalier state: Following a pair of rallying wins against Eastern Mennonite University and a split to the University of Mary Washington, the Falcons had a 3-1 record with a legitimate chance at a 4-0 mark.
Facing last year's Old Dominion Athletic Conference Champions proved to be another test Saturday afternoon, however, as Messiah committed more errors on the day — five — than it had in the season to date (four).
“It was not a good day for us to face the best team we've yet to see and play our worst baseball of the season,” said Bryan Engle, Messiah head coach. “We've constantly preached the little things, trying to be the aggressor and not hurt ourselves. We've been the benefactor of that in our early wins, but today we had the tables completely turned on us.”
A lack of offense did not help matters in Saturday's first contest, as senior Dan Kern (2-1) recorded the loss on the mound after giving up 11 hits in four and one-third innings pitched. The right-hander allowed just two runs in the first three innings to the Eagles, however, and Messiah — considering its penchant for comeback wins — was sitting well within range.
A single from sophomore Jon-Mike Richards put a pair of runners on base following an error by Bridgewater in the top of the fifth, while a fielder's choice allowed freshman Jamie Scott to reach base and drive in a run.
Trailing by just a 2-1 score heading into the bottom half of the inning, Kern made his most costly mistake, giving up the squad's second home run of the year that plated an additional two runs for the Eagles.
Messiah could generate just one hit in its final two appearances at the plate, settling for the 4-1 loss. The Falcons recorded just four singles in the game, as Richards, Scott and sophomores Jordan Zimmerman and Adam Ranck each had one.
“(Bridgewater) had a very good pitcher in the first game and we really struggled at the plate,” Engle said. “Combine that with some mistakes in the field that eventually led to an unearned run, and it wasn't a good combination.”
The mistakes compounded early in the second game, as sophomore Sheldon Witmer started on the mound and gave up seven runs — five of which were earned — in the first three innings.
Engle's squad then regrouped to score a season-high seven runs in the top of the fourth, tying the game in dramatic fashion. A no-out double from Zimmerman began the onslaught in driving in a run, while a pair of errors and some wild pitching from the hosts kept the Falcon base runners moving.
When the dust settled, Messiah had scored seven runs off of just three hits — two of which were singles — and had a sense of new life.
Again, however, Bridgewater would respond with the long ball.
A two-out, three-run shot from the Eagles' Mitchell Edwards quickly drained any momentum that Messiah had collected, and Engle's team had again lost ground as quickly as it was made up.
“It's a golden rule in baseball,” Engle said. “If you put together a big offensive inning, you have to hold your opponent in their next at-bat. We failed to do that on two occasions today.”
Messiah would put together a pair of runs in the sixth inning to pull within a run, as a home run from senior Craig Mease plated two scores. Bridgewater responded again with two runs in the bottom of the seventh, however, recapturing a three-run lead.
The Falcons' best opportunity at a comeback occurred in the eighth inning, where more erratic play from the Eagles helped Messiah to a pair of runs off of just one hit. After a pair of walks eventually led to a run scored on a ground out from Ranck, Zimmerman singled to centerfield to drive in another score.
The stanza would conclude without further damage, however, and Messiah went three up, three down in the top of the ninth after junior pitcher Kurt Heim came on in the eighth and gave up just one hit while recording a strikeout, a ground out and a fly out to the Bridgewater battery.
Zimmerman finished 3-5 in the second contest with a pair of RBI and a double. Ranck finished 2-5 with two RBI and two runs scored, while Mease's homerun drove in two. He also scored three times.
Senior Chandler Sheaffer (0-1) was saddled with the loss on the mound, coming on in the fourth inning and lasting just that stanza. Senior Ben Jordan combined with Heim to toss the final four innings of work, with the tandem putting up the best pitching numbers of the day for Messiah: No earned runs and four strikeouts, 19 batters faced.
“It could have been very easy for our guys to pack it in during Game 2 after we got down 7-0, but we didn't,” Engle said. “Even after we battled back, however, we had some mental mistakes that ultimately ended up deciding a game that we were initially out of. We haven't hit the ball well yet this year, and what's won games for us has been our pitching and our defense. Today that wasn't the case. I told the guys that I can deal with the physical mistakes, but it's the mental errors that will cost you. We had too many of those today.”
Messiah will not get much reprieve from the schedule next, as the team is slated to travel to Johns Hopkins University on Tuesday — a team ranked seventh in the latest D3Baseball.com Top 25 Poll. A single, nine-inning game time is scheduled for 3 p.m.
