Box Score
Baltimore, MD – Messiah College dropped it's fourth-straight game to open the 2013 season, falling 7-3 at Johns Hopkins University. For the third-straight game, the Falcons also fell victim to a big inning by their opponents' bats, this time by way of the Blue Jays' five-run third inning.
Messiah started out with a 1-0 lead in the game, as
Zach Brubaker scored the Falcons first first-inning run this season. He reached on an error to lead off the game and soon stole second base.
Casey Ebersole followed with an infield single, moving Brubaker to third. Now with first and third and no one out, a double-steal brought Brubaker home for a 1-0 advantage.
Messiah was unable to add any more runs in the frame, however, as Ebersole was caught stealing third and
Paul Mellinger and
Jacob Sprengle both struck out swinging.
The Falcons' lead lasted just one inning, as Johns Hopkins tied the game in the bottom of the second.
Jon Lapp allowed a leadoff double, with Mike Denlinger following with a single through the right side. With the runner holding at third, the ball was mishandled by
Ben Sollenberger leading to the run scoring unearned.
Messiah escaped further damage later in the inning as centerfielder
Jon Heisey threw Denlinger at home on an attempted sac fly.
The teams stayed tied through Messiah's at-bat in the third, and then things fell apart for Lapp and the Falcons. He allowed two straight single to lead off the frame, and then threw a wild pitch to move both runners into scoring position. Another single brought in a run, with a groundout scoring another.
With the Blue Jays now leading 3-1 and with runners on first and second, two more singles loaded the bases with one out. Denlinger was at the plate again and he came through again, this time with a two-run single up the middle to make it 5-1. Another base hit followed—the Blue Jays' seventh single of the inning—to again load the bases. Lapp induced a sac fly to allow a run, and then recorded a fly out to finally end the inning.
When the third out was record, it was 6-1 in favor of Johns Hopkins. They tacked on another run in the next inning on an RBI double by Jeff Lynch.
Lapp completed four innings for Messiah and, in uncharacteristic fashion, allowed eleven hits and six earned runs. He struck out three batters and walked another.
Messiah scored a single run in each the sixth and seventh innings, with
Derek Drake (double) and Sprengle (single) picking up RBI hits.
Similarly to Thursday's loss at Catholic, the Messiah bullpen provided a highlight as
Adam Marshall and
Evan Young combined for four scoreless innings in relief. Marshall has now appeared in all four games for Messiah this season.
The 7-3 loss surely stings mostly because of a big inning by Johns Hopkins. Messiah has now relented at least four runs in a single inning three times this season; Bridgewater had a four-run third inning, Catholic a five-run second inning, and the aforementioned Johns Hopkins a five-run third inning.
The slow start for the Falcons (0-4) is, unfortunately, not too all uncommon. In 2011 the team started 1-4, and last year began the season 1-5. In both years, Messiah righted the ship as the weather warmed.
Warmer weather, however, is still a week away for the Falcons. They will hope to get their first win of the season on Tuesday when they travel to nearby Dickinson College for a 3:30 game. Following that contest, Messiah will travel to Ft. Pierce, Fla., to begin their four-game spring break trip.
