XML Box Score Grantham, PA - Messiah College scored two runs in the first inning and later led 4-0 after three innings en route to a 5-0 victory over Arcadia University.
Steven Ridings was impressive on the mound as he completed all nine innings and allowed just four hits and a single walk against four strikeouts. He improved to 2-0 with the decision.
Derek Drake and
Jacob Sprengle combined for five hits to lead the Falcons as five different players collected an RBI.
Messiah overcame two quick outs in the bottom of the first and put together a two-out, two-run rally. Drake started the rally with a hit-by-pitch and
Ben Sollenberger chased him home with a booming double to centerfield. Sprengle then singled to bring Sollenberger across the plate and make it 2-0.
In their next at-bat Messiah added a run off the bat of
Jon Lapp as he single to right field to bring Joshua Good home from third base. Good then made it 4-0 in the third inning with an RBI groundout.
As the offense was building their advantage, Ridings was cruising. He sat down the first seven batters of the game for Arcadia and allowed just two hits through the first seven innings. He never allowed a single Knights' player to reach second base. His dominant performance dropped his team-leading earned run average (ERA) to 0.93.
The Falcons improved to 6-6 overall with the win including 4-3 in the Commonwealth. They will travel to Arcadia this Saturday for a double-header that will start at 12:00 p.m.
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