Box Score
by Cody Swartz, GoMessiah.com reporter
York, PA - The Messiah Falcons (5-16) lost their seventh consecutive game Wednesday, falling 8-6 to the York College Spartans (8-12). The Falcons built an early 3-0 lead but a plethora of walks and hit batters helped the Spartans score seven runs in a span of two innings, as they held on for the win.
“I like the fact that we're aggressive at the plate,” Messiah head coach Steve DeRiggs said. “The fact that we had outfielders diving and making plays, infielders hustling, and we played almost errorless ball is encouraging. It just comes to a point now where we have to put up.”
Messiah started the game strong offensively, as senior
Sam Tajiri singled, took two bases on a failed pickoff attempt, and scored on sophomore
Jon Lapp's sacrifice fly. Singles by junior
Paul Mellinger, freshman
Derek Drake, and senior
John Brubaker led to another Falcons run, plating junior
Galen Halteman with a two-run lead before he set foot on the mound.
Junior
Matt Turman followed with a solo home run in the second inning, giving Messiah a quick 3-0 lead over the Spartans.
Halteman – a walk-on at the beginning of the season – made his first collegiate start Wednesday. He pitched into the fourth inning, allowing four earned runs on six hits and two walks. Halteman (1-2) received the loss in the contest.
He was removed in the fourth inning, with the Spartans putting up a three-spot in the third inning and four more in the fourth frame. With an 8-3 lead, the game looked to be going all York's way, although Messiah fought back.
Senior
Ryan Brown blasted a two-run home run in the fifth inning, his third long ball in two days. Brown – who leads the team with five home runs on the season – is hitting .369 with an incredible .738 slugging percentage on the season, a move that recently prompted DeRiggs to move Brown up to the third spot in the lineup.
“We just need to have stability in that hole,” DeRiggs said. “It's a very important spot in the lineup, and with the absence of both Wes (Hollenbach) and Tory (Arnesen), I felt very good about having Ryan there. He has just responded and come through with flying colors. He's blossomed and been a tremendous positive factor for us. He's always been steady behind the plate, his arm is strong, he's picked people off, and right now he's been the driving force in our effort to get things together.”
The Falcons scored another run in the sixth inning when Brown's RBI single scored Tajiri, who had delivered a bunt single and advanced to second on Lapp's single.
Relievers
Drew Mininger,
Davin Okerblom, and
Zach Adams of the Falcons combined to hurl 4.2 scoreless innings, keeping the Falcons in the game. Twice the Falcons escaped bases loaded jams on defense and twice more key double plays helped the Falcons escape the inning.
In the ninth inning, Brown led off with a walk, Brubaker worked a two-out single to put runners on the corners, and senior
Wes Hollenbach came off the bench to pinch-hit. Hollenbach drilled a line drive to center field, but the ball was caught, and the Falcons lost another close one.
“We had seven walks and four hit by pitches today, and that just makes defense a chore,” DeRiggs said. “You want to get into a rhythm, and all the free passes just don't allow that to happen. Instead of being ready to move, you're sitting back because there are so many 3-2 counts and hit batters, and it's just tougher to stay sharp. It affects the overall rhythm and flow of the game. It's something we have to snap out of and be more efficient.”
Brown led the offense with a 2-for-4 day at the plate including a home run and three RBIs, and Turman added a home run of his own. Each of the first four hitters in the Messiah lineup (Tajiri, Lapp, Brown, Mellinger) had multiple hits and each of the first five hitters reached base at least twice, although a 1-for-12 effort from the bottom third of the lineup didn't help.
Messiah has an off day Thursday before traveling to Reading, Pa., to play the Albright College Lions in the first of a three-game weekend conference series.
