Grantham, PA - The Messiah baseball team moved back to .500 on the season with an 11-6 victory over the Eastern Mennonite Royals on Wednesday afternoon. Messiah took a 5-0 lead after the third with runs in each of the first three innings. After the Royals closed the gap to 5-3, Messiah responded with a pair of runs in the sixth, seventh, and eighth to take an 11-3 lead. Three unearned runs in the ninth brought the Royals to within five, but a fly out to left ended the game and gave Messiah their sixteenth victory of the season.
 
After Messiah starter Quinton Kuntz turned the Royals away in order in the top of the first Falcons struck for a run in the bottom of the inning to take an early 1-0 lead. Kyle Schoen delivered that run for the Falcons with an RBI single to centerfield that scored Adam Janney, who had been hit by a pitch earlier in the inning.
 
After another scoreless frame by Kuntz, the Falcons were back at it again with a run in the second, this one came around to score on a sacrifice fly by Ryan Adamus to right center.
 
Leading 2-0 heading into the bottom of the third, the Falcons added to their lead with three runs on four hits in the third to take a 5-0 lead. Josh Good knocked a sacrifice fly down the left field line to make it 3-0. Austin Plecher then delivered an RBI-single and Sam Stewart doubled to chase home Plecher and Messiah held a 5-0 lead through three frames.
 
Back-to-back doubles for the Royals scored their first run in the fourth. Eastern Mennonite then scored two runs in the fifth with a pair of two-out singles in the top of the fifth. The two-out RBI cut the Messiah lead to 5-3.
 
Messiah got those two runs back in the sixth when Ben Sollenberger singled to left field. The ball got past the left field and Sollenberger came around to score on the play as well as Austin Mellinger who singled in front of Sollenberger. Even though Sollenberger scored on the play, he was awarded a single with a three-base error being charged to the Royals' left fielder.
 
In the seventh, the Falcons hit a more traditional home run when Joseph Saufley touched them all after a big fly down the right field line to lead off the inning. Messiah scored another run later in the inning when Stewart grounded out to third and Josh Good came around to score.
 
Messiah scored two more runs in the eighth on a sacrifice fly by Adam Janney and an error by the Royals' third baseman to give the Falcons an 11-3 lead.
 
The Royals scored three unearned runs in the ninth but it wasn't enough as the Falcons came away with the 11-6 victory.
 
Quinton Kuntz earned the win pitching five innings while allowing just one earned run (three total runs) on six hits and six strikeouts. Tyler Moody, Matt Wright, and Brandon Shirk each pitched one scoreless inning; each allowing one base runner in their inning of work. Drew Betz pitched the ninth allowing three runs on four hits.
 
Messiah will next take the field on Friday when they host Stevenson at 3:30 p.m. to begin an important three-game MAC Commonwealth series against the Mustangs.