Grantham, PA - The Falcons rallied to score five in the ninth, but proved to be too little as Eastern University escaped with a narrow 13-12 win. Jon Heisey had the big day for Messiah as he hit the second grand slam of his career. Heisey finished 1-3 on the afternoon, knocking in four as well as scoring twice himself.
 
In the top of the first the Eagles threatened to tally the first run of the game. Eastern used a two-out rally to load the bases thanks to two singles and a walk, but a groundball back to the mound stranded three runners and got the Falcons out of the inning unscathed.
 
In the bottom of the first the Falcons scored the first run of the game on a bases loaded walk with two outs. After a scoreless second for the Eagles, Messiah scored four times on one swing of the bat from Jon Heisey. With two outs, Adam Janney doubled before back-to-back walks loaded the bases for Messiah. Heisey then stepped to the plate and crushed a fastball to straight away center for his second career grand slam and gave the Falcons a 5-0 lead.
 
 The Eagles would erase the five-run deficient in the top of the fourth using four hits and two Messiah errors to score five runs and tie the game at 5-5.
 
The Falcons took the lead back in the bottom of the fourth when Joseph Saufley tripled to left center and scored Zach Brubaker from first.
 
The triple was Saufley's sixth of the season and it extended his hitting streak to 15 games. The 15 game streak is a new Messiah record for a hitting streak in a single season and it ties the all-time mark set by Greg Hostetter. During that streak Saufley has hit .475 (28/59) with nine doubles, four triples, four home runs, 18 runs scored, and 18 RBI.
 
With Messiah leading 6-5 heading to the fifth the Eagles scored to tie the game with two-outs on a single to right. Derek Drake limited the damage as he threw out a second Eagle trying to score on the play and ended the inning.
 
Messiah then took the lead back in the bottom of the sixth on a safety squeeze by Adam Janney that scored Brubaker from third and gave the Falcons a 7-6 advantage.
 
Eastern evened the score in the top of the eighth when a wild throw, after a single to right, ended up out of play; awarding an Eagle base runner home.
 
As the ninth inning began the Falcons and Eagles were tied 7-7, but the two teams combined for 11 runs on eight hits and four errors. In the top half of the frame, six Eagles came around to score. Highlighting the inning was a two-run triple to left center by Craig Stanley and a two-run error on a pickoff attempt by the Falcons.
 
With the Falcons trailing by six they began their rally, loading the bases with one-out. A walk and two consecutive singles brought home four and the Falcons were within two. Adam Janney then collected a sacrifice fly that scored Jon Mullin and brought the Falcons within one. Unfortunately for the falcons a fly out to left ended the game stranding two runners on base and gave the Eagles a 13-12 victory.
 
With the loss the Falcons fall to 14-15 on the season, and they will play again tomorrow afternoon when Penn State-Abbington travels to Grantham, first pitch is scheduled for 4:00 p.m.