GRANTHAM, Pa. - While Messiah baseball had a decent day offensively on Friday afternoon, Widener University enjoyed an even better one as the Pride defeated the Falcons 14-7.
Widener only put runs on the board in four of the eight innings they came up to bat, but two of those innings saw five or more runners cross the plate. The Pride collected 20 hits in the game, which along with their 14 runs was a season-best. On the flip side, Messiah knocked around 15 hits of their own, their second-highest output of the year.
Austin Mellinger batted in the leadoff spot in the game, and had quite the day with four hits in five at-bats, including a double and two RBI.
Ryan Hentschel also impressed at the plate, going 3-4 with a double, an RBI, and three runs scored. Two other Falcons had three-hit games,
Sam Stewart (3-4, 3 RBI) and Dan Wiederrect (3-4, 1 RS).
The Falcons fall to 4-11 overall and 1-7 in the MAC Commonwealth, while Widener improves to 10-10 on the year and 4-3 in the conference.
Widener jumped on Messiah starter
Quinton Kuntz early, as the Pride scored five runs (three earned) on five hits in the bottom of the first. After the Pride added another score in the second to go up 6-0, the Falcons came alive in the next two innings to score three runs and cut the deficit in half. In the top of the third, Mellinger ripped a double to center to score Wiederrecht, and in the top of the fourth, Hentschel and
Colin Fry both scored on a Stewart two-out single.
However, that would be as close as the Falcons would come, as Widener added six runs in the bottom of the fourth and two more in the bottom of the fifth to take a 14-3 lead after five frames. Messiah managed to score four runs over the final four frames, but it would not be enough as Widener came away with the seven-run victory.
Despite the setback Friday, Messiah can still grab a series win with a sweep of Saturday's home doubleheader against the Pride. First pitch of game one at Starry Field is set for noon.
