Owings Mills, MD – The Messiah baseball team carried a seven-game winning streak into the weekend against the Stevenson Mustangs. That streak was snapped on Saturday in the first game of a doubleheader when the Mustangs came away with the 3-2 victory. Messiah shook off the one run loss and came back to take Game Two 1-0 behind a gem by Messiah starter Steven Ridings.

All five runs in Game One came in the third inning. Messiah took a 2-0 lead on an RBI single by Kyle Schoen and a sacrifice fly by Austin Pletcher.
 
The Mustangs countered with three runs in the bottom half of the inning to take a 3-2 lead. After taking a lead the Mustangs retired 12 of the final 13 batters, including the final nine in order to come away with the victory.

In Game Two Steven Ridings went the distance and scattered just three hits to pick up the complete game shutout. Messiah scored their only run on a throwing error by the Mustangs in the fifth.
 
Game One: Stevenson 3, Messiah 2
 
In Game One, it looked like the Falcons were in great shape when Ben Sollenberger led off the game with a double down the left-field line. Later in the inning Joseph Saufley walked to put two on with one out. Unfortunately for the Falcons they were unable to get the big hit and the two runners were stranded after a fielder's choice and a ground out.
 
After a quiet first for the Mustangs, the Falcons looked to have something going again in the second. Jon Mullin and Austin Mellinger both singled with one away to put runners on the corners. On a strikeout swinging, Mellinger was ruled out at second in an attempt to steal due to batter interference. For the second straight inning the Falcons stranded a runner in scoring position.
 
Another quick inning in the bottom of the second kept the game scoreless into the third. In the third Messiah finally capitalized on their opprotunities. A hit by pitch and a walk put runners on first and second with one away. Kyle Schoen came up with the on-out knock driving a ball to center that scored Sollenberger from second. After a walk, Messiah had the bases loaded with one away. Austin Pletcher flew out to center and Saufley scored from third before a fly out to right ended the inning for the Falcons.
 
In the bottom of the third the Mustangs scored three times to take their first lead of the game. Stevenson started the inning with double down the left field line. The second batter then reached as the Falcons tried to cut down the runner at third but they were unsuccessful. A single to right brought home the first run and put runners at the corners with no outs. The second run came in to tie the game on an errant throw on a steal attempt. On the very next batter the Mustangs took advantage of another Messiah error to take a 3-2 lead. Messiah got out of the inning on a strikeout and a fielder's choice to strand two runners on base.
 
In the fourth Ben Sollenberger doubled to right center with two down, but Messiah was again unable to come up with the clutch, two-out hit and Sollenberger was stranded on second base.
 
Sollenberger was the final baserunner for the Falcons as the final nine batters were turned away in order by Mustang's starter Christopher Perez. Perez went the distance allowing five hits, three walks, and the two earned runs over seven innings while striking out six batters. He picked up his fourth win of the season against two losses.
 
For Messiah, John Griffitts took the tough-luck loss. He pitched five innigns while allowing six hits and three runs (two earned) while striking out six.
 
Game Two: Messiah 1, Stevenson 0
 
Game Two featured just one unearned run on five hits between the two teams. In a classic pitcher's dual, Steven Ridings and the Messiah Falcons came out on top. Ridings threw all seven innings to pick up his fifth win of the season. Ridings allowed three hits and four walks while striking out nine in his first shutout and third complete game.
 
Messiah scored their lone run in the fifth inning off a throwing error by the third baseman that would have ended the inning. Kyle Wickenheiser singled to lead off the inning and after a fly out and a strikeout Sam Stewart was hit by a pitch to put runners on first and second. Austin Mellinger then hit a ground ball to the third baseman, who's throw was off the mark and Wickenheiser came around to score.
 
With a 1-0 lead, Ridings turned the Mustangs away in order in each of the next three innings before running into a jam in the seventh.
 
After a leadoff walk, Ridings induced a fly out to left and a ground out to short. Another walk put runners on first and second before a pop out to short ended the inning and gave Messiah the 1-0 victory.
 
Each of the three games in the weekend series were decided by one run. The last times that Falcons played in a conference series where all three games were decided by one run was a three-game set against the Lebanon Valley Dutchmen on Apr. 2-4, 2011. Messiah won that series as well with 5-4 and 3-2 victories and a 4-3 loss.
 
Messiah will next take the field on Tuesday when they travel to take on former MAC Commonwealth foe, Elizabethtown in a single game beginning at 4:00 p.m.