Grantham, PA - In a pivotal matchup with playoff implications, the Falcons topped the Widener Pride by a score of 10-4.
Joseph Saufley entered the game in the bottom of the fourth as a pinch-hitter and delivered a huge three-run homer down the right field line to put Messiah up 7-3.
Steven Ridings pitched eight innings of five hit ball, allowing just one earned run against a Widener team that is currently second in the Commonwealth standings to earn his fourth win of the season.
In the top of the first, Ridings sat the Pride down in order with three straight strikeouts. In the bottom half of the frame,
Jon Mullin would deliver a two-out single to score
Derek Drake and
John Griffitts and give the Falcons an early 2-0 lead.
The second inning would not go as smoothly for Ridings as the first did. A pair of singles and a walk loaded the bases with one away, but consecutive groundouts limited the damage to just a single run.
The Falcons backed up their starter with a pair of second inning runs increasing their lead to 4-1.
Adam Janney singled home Collin Fry from third and a misplayed ball by the center field allowed
Zach Brubaker to cross the plate.
After a scoreless third the Pride closed the gap in the fourth with two unearned runs.
Messiah would immediately respond in the bottom of the fourth scoring three runs to take a 7-3 lead. With two on and one out, Falcons' head coach
Pat Lightle elected to bring the Falcons' hottest hitter off the bench to pinch-hit. Joseph Sauflely stepped to the plate on an impressive 16-game hit streak. Saufley pulled a long fly ball down the right field line that cleared the fence in fair territory and gave the Falcons a 7-3 lead.
With a more comfortable four run lead, Ridings allowed just one hit and one unearned run across his final four frames.
In the bottom of the seventh the Falcons added three insurance runs thanks to a
John Griffitts double down the left field line that unloaded the bases and gave Messiah a 10-3 lead.
In a non-save situation
Billy Bendig came in and shut the door to give Messiah a 10-4 victory over Widener.
Derek Drake went 4-5 on the day, all singles. It was his 10th multi-hit game of the season and he becomes just the third Falcon to collect four hits in a single game on the year.
With the win the Falcons improve to 11-8 in the conference and are now tied with Arcadia for the fourth seed in the Commonwealth playoffs.
Tomorrow the Falcons travel to Chester to complete their three-game set against the Pride on the final day of the regular season. If the Falcons can sweep the double-header tomorrow at Widener they will earn a spot in the playoff. If they drop a game they need help in the form of wins from Alvernia (playing Arcadia) and Albright (playing Stevenson) in order to claim a spot in the tournament.
Be sure to follow GoMessiah.com and @MessiahSports for updates and Commonwealth playoff news.
