Box Score Game 1 -
Box Score Game 2
Grantham, PA - With the chance to finish a three-game sweep of Elizabethtown College and keep the Blue Jays out of the upcoming playoffs, the Messiah Falcons (16-23, 9-9 CC) fell short. The Falcons lost 2-1 and 15-1 decisions in Saturday's home doubleheader, meaning Messiah will enter the Commonwealth Conference playoffs as the fourth seed.
“We were guaranteed the playoffs before today started but we couldn't capitalize on our opportunity to be the second seed,” Messiah head coach Steve DeRiggs said. “We had plenty of chances, especially in the second game, and we fell apart. It was a like a snowball going down a hill that kept on getting bigger.”
Messiah locked into a pitching duel with Elizabethtown in the first game, with Falcons senior
Zach Adams going against Matt Ruth of the Blue Jays. Adams (2-3) gave the Falcons a career-high six strong innings, allowing just one earned run on four hits, also setting the single-season school record with his 21
st appearance on the mound. He walked one and struck out four, but received the loss when the Falcons' offense was baffled for seven frames.
“Zach has been tremendous as both a starting pitcher and out of the bullpen,” DeRiggs said. “We have had numerous injuries and he has been dependable and done very well. He has given us every opportunity to win each time he goes out on the mound.”
The Blue Jays picked up a run in the top of the first inning and another in the sixth inning before a late Messiah rally nearly tied the game.
Senior
Ryan Brown began the rally with a single, then junior
Paul Mellinger hit into a fielder's choice and senior
Wes Hollenbach fouled off a handful of pitches before hitting a sharp line drive to left field for the second out.
Freshman
Derek Drake came through with a blast to left field, scoring Mellinger from second on the double. Sophomore
Jacob Sprengle struck out though and the Falcons dropped a close one, 2-1.
Game Two
Messiah again locked into an early pitching duel with the Blue Jays, with Hollenbach on the mound for this one. The Jays again jumped on the board first but Messiah knotted the game at one run apiece in the home half of the third inning when junior
Matt Turman doubled, advanced to third on a passed ball, and scored on Brown's RBI single.
E-Town scored another run in the top of the fourth to make it a 2-1 lead; the damage could have been much worse but Hollenbach escaped a slew of jams, stranding six Jays hitters in his four innings, including a bases-loaded situation in the second inning.
The Blue Jays put the game away in the fifth inning, scoring eight runs on five hits and three walks, and added two more runs in the sixth inning and three in the seventh to make it a 15-1 laugher when the dust settled. Five Falcon relievers combined to give up 12 runs in just three innings of work, spoiling what had been a fine day by Hollenbach.
Messiah picked up just six hits, scored only once, and committed three errors in the field. Quite simply, it was a game to forget for the Falcons, who are fortunate to have clinched the playoffs before Saturday's doubleheader debacle started.
After scoring 10 runs in the first game of the series, Messiah scored just twice in 14 innings on Saturday, hitting .211 with only one walk.
The Falcons will have four days off before the official Commonwealth Conference playoffs begin. Messiah is set to play at number-one seeded Alvernia on Thursday afternoon at 4:00 p.m. The Falcons will be trying to rebound from a tough series sweep at the hands of the Crusaders during the regular season.
“We play Alvernia, a very fine team, in the first round of the playoffs,” DeRiggs said. “We just have to limit the mistakes we make on the field and get good outings from our pitchers. We need seven or eight innings from our starters, especially considering we could play four or five games in just three days.”
