Grantham, PA - Messiah baseball scored early and often and took advantage of five Mountie errors as they defeated Mount Aloysius College 10-4 on Monday afternoon.
Tyler Mitcheltree started for Messiah and went four innings, giving up three runs on four hits while striking out two.
Chase Peiffer relieved him and got the win, going two strong innings without allowing a baserunner.
Austin Pletcher went 2-5 with his first career home run in the sixth inning, and nine other Falcons recorded one hit on the day.
The Mounties got on the board first, with a Kyle Droz RBI single to go up 1-0. Messiah answered right back in the bottom of the first inning, scoring four runs on three hits and two errors. The Falcons loaded the bases to lead off the inning with a single, hit-by-pitch, and a bunt single.
Kyle Schoen then hit a routine grounder to short, but Matthew McCourt bobbled it and everybody was safe on the play, tying the game at one. Another run came across on a wild pitch before
Mark Lauria notched a two-RBI single through the right side to put Messiah up 4-1.
After a scoreless second, Mount Aloysius came back with two in the top of the third to make it a one-run ballgame. The Falcons got one back as
Jon Mullin and
Ben Wilson executed the double steal of second base and home to perfection, increasing the lead to 5-3.
In the bottom of the sixth, JJ Robinson led off with a walk, and was able to jog home as
Austin Pletcher crushed his home run. Later in the inning,
Adam Janney reached on an error by the third baseman, before
Ryan Adamus and
Ben Wilson hit back-to-back RBI doubles to give Messiah a 9-3 advantage.
Quinton Kuntz entered the game in the seventh and struck out the side, two swinging and the final looking. The Falcons tacked on one more run in the bottom of the inning on JJ Robinson's line drive over the bag at third for a double that scored
Nick Godwin.
Mount Aloysius scored an unearned run in the top of the ninth, but it was not nearly enough as the Falcons took the 10-4 victory.
Messiah improves to 12-21 on the year, while Mount Aloysius falls to 12-23.
The Falcons are back in action on Wednesday as they host the number one team in the country, the Shenandoah University Hornets, at 3:30 p.m.
