Harrisonburg, VA – Drew Betz managed to escape a bases-loaded, two-out jam in the bottom of the ninth and Messiah baseball won their season opener over Eastern Mennonite University in thrilling fashion by a score of 4-3. Freshman Hunter Brindle came through with what proved to be the winning hit in the top of the eighth, scoring two runs on a two-out, pinch-hit single.
 
Messiah won despite getting outhit by the EMU 10-7 and committed four errors compared to one for the Royals. Colin Fry had a great game at the plate on his 21st birthday, going 2-3 with a walk, double, and an RBI. Adam Janney also went 2-4 from the designated hitter spot. Jordan Nichols (1-0) got the win with a scoreless fifth inning, and Betz was credited with the save.
 
The Falcons got on the board early, as Dan Wiederrecht led off the first inning with a single to shortstop and scored on a two-out grounder off the bat of Jon Mullin that was booted by the Royal shortstop. Adam Janney followed with a single to center to put runners on first and third, but a strikeout of Kyle Wickenheiser ended the potential rally for Messiah.
 
In the bottom of the inning, starter Quinton Kuntz got the first batter to line out to left, but then walked the next Royal and gave up a single to put runners on first and third with one out. He managed to escape the mini-jam by way of a flyout to shallow right field and a strikeout for out number three.
 
Both teams put runners on base in the second inning, but could not spark any run-scoring rallies.  The Falcons went down quietly in the top of the third, but in the bottom of the inning Kuntz gave up a two-on, two-out single to cleanup hitter Ryan Hedrick that tied the game at one run apiece.
 
Kuntz and EMU starter Tyler Campbell each recorded 1-2-3 innings in the fourth. Campbell mowed down three more Falcons in the top of the fifth, before Jordan Nichols came into the game in relief of Kuntz in the bottom of the inning. After an error, a single, and a wild pitch, the Royals had runners on second and third with only one out. However, Nichols was able to strike the next batter out swinging and get the aforementioned Hedrick to line out to center field to eliminate the threat.
 
After a rocky first inning, Campbell had cruised relatively unscathed until the top of the sixth. With one out, Josh Hayner reached on a walk, and then scored on a double to deep right off the bat of Colin Fry to put the Falcons up 2-1. Messiah put runners on first and second with two outs a few batters later, but Wickenheiser struck out swinging to end the inning.
 
Brandon Shirk relieved Nichols in the bottom of the sixth and got into some trouble early, walking two hitters with just one out. He was able to settle in, though, striking out the next batter looking and getting the third out on a fly ball to center.
 
The Falcons went down in order in the top of the seventh, and Tyler Mitcheltree came in to pitch the bottom of the inning, giving up a leadoff walk but stranding the runner on third. In the eighth, Wiederrecht was hit by a pitch to lead off the inning, and then promptly stole second. Hayner advanced Wiederrecht to third on a groundout to first, and then Fry walked to put runners on first and third with one out. Fry then stole second and Austin Pletcher walked to load the bases. Janney hit into a fielder's choice to third that got Wiederrecht thrown out at the plate, setting the stage for freshman pinch-hitter Hunter Brindle with two outs. Brindle came through in the clutch with his first collegiate hit, singling to right to score two runs and give Messiah a 4-2 lead.
 
However, in the bottom of the inning, EMU's Ian Norris belted an RBI triple, and came around to score on the play on a throwing error by shortstop Austin Mellinger to cut the Messiah lead to 4-3. After a single to left, Falcon closer Drew Betz was called in to pitch. Betz allowed a single to the Royals' Griffin Stanley that moved the other runner to third, but then caught Stanley breaking early for second to end the inning.
 
Bailey Hall came in to pitch the top of the ninth for EMU, and retired the Falcons in order. Looking for the four-out save, Betz got Royals to line out to second and ground out to short for two quick outs. EMU's Hedrick then reach first on a fielding error by right fielder Pletcher, followed by consecutive singles by Kyle Mathews and Damon Frazier to load the bases with two outs. With the game on the line, Betz got David Meehan to ground to second for the fielder's choice, giving Messiah a nail-biting 4-3 victory.
 
The Falcons will head back down to Virginia on Saturday when they travel to Bridgewater College for a doubleheader beginning at 12:00 p.m.