Glenside, PA – Messiah baseball took a 3-0 lead in the sixth, but Arcadia University broke out for eight of their own in the bottom of the inning and went on to win by a final score of 12-3 on Friday afternoon.
Four Falcon errors on the day contributed to many of the Knights' runs, as Arcadia only registered three more hits (10-7) than Messiah. Nine of those ten hits came in the sixth inning or later for Arcadia.
Through the first five innings, Arcadia right-hander Joseph Warren and Messiah southpaw
Jordan Nichols engaged in a classic pitcher's duel, with neither pitcher surrendering a run and Nichols only allowing one hit. Nichols did have to pitch through a bit of trouble in the first and fifth innings, though, but he escaped with runners stranded at third base both times.
Josh Hayner led off the top of the sixth for the Falcons with a double down the left field line, and then advanced to third on an
Adam Janney flyout to right.
Colin Fry then stepped up and reached on an infield single to first base that allowed Hayner to score for the first run of the game. After an out, Fry stole second and third, followed by a walk to
Ben Wilson who promptly stole second as well to put two Falcons in scoring position with two outs. With the pressure on,
Sam Stewart singled up the middle to drive home both runs and give Messiah a 3-0 lead.
However, Nichols would also run into trouble in the sixth, as he allowed a single, walk, and then another single to score a run for the Knights. After walking the next batter to load the bases with still no outs, Nichols was relieved by
Drew Betz. He didn't fare much better, allowing a pair of two-RBI singles to give Arcadia a 5-3 lead before any outs were recorded. Before the inning was said and done, the Knights would score three more times to take an 8-3 advantage into the seventh.
Arcadia tacked on four more runs in the bottom of the seventh, and went on to win by a score of 12-4.
Nichols' final line read 5+ innings, three hits, four runs (all earned), three walks, and four strikeouts.
Sam Stewart had a great day at the plate, going 3-3 with two RBIs.
Josh Hayner also went 2-4, as Stewart and Hayner combined for five of the Falcons' seven hits on the day.
The Falcons fall to 10-20 overall on the year and 4-12 in the MAC Commonwealth, and they continue the three-game set with Arcadia with a home doubleheader tomorrow at noon.
