ELIZABETHTOWN, Pa. - Messiah baseball's streak of scoring plenty of runs in four-straight wins came to an end on Monday afternoon, as the Falcons were defeated by Elizabethtown College 14-4. The Blue Jays scored at least one run in six of the eight innings that they came up to bat, and had six pitchers combine to hold the Messiah offense in check for most of the game.

Messiah falls to 15-20 on the year, while Elizabethtown improves to 18-16. 

Nine different Falcons combined for 11 Messiah hits, with Josh Hayner and Kyle Wickenheiser providing two apiece. Mark Leach had one hit in two at-bats off the bench, but was able to drive in two runs on that base knock. 

After a scoreless first inning, Elizabethtown notched the first runs of the game in the bottom of the second with four scores on five hits and one Falcon error. The Blue Jay lead grew to 6-0 after four innings, but Messiah began to claw back in the top of the fifth. Hayner recorded a one-out RBi single, and after the Falcons loaded the bases with two away, Ryan Hentschel drew a walk to force across a run and make it 6-2 in favor of the Blue Jays.

Elizabethtown added two runs in the bottom of the inning and another one in the sixth, but really broke it open in the seventh with five runs on just three hits, as two Falcon errors proved to be costly. Facing a 14-2 deficit, Messiah was able to get a couple of runs back in the top of the eighth as Leach came through with a two-out, two-RBI single to score Trent Culver and Aaron Weber. That was all the Falcons were able to get before the game was over, though, as the Blue Jays took the 14-4 victory.

Of note, freshman Zak Muffit came out of the pen for Messiah in the bottom of the eighth to make his first collegiate appearance on the mound, allowing two baserunners but getting the final out on a grounder to second to preserve a scoreless inning. Sophomore Teddy Bender also notched his first collegiate hit on a one-out double in the top of the ninth.

The Falcons will now travel to Gettysburg on Wednesday for another nonconference matchup. First pitch with the Bullets is scheduled for 3:30 p.m.