GRANTHAM, Pa. - Messiah baseball used a big first inning to defeat Widener University 6-4 in game one of Saturday's doubleheader, but the Pride earned a 7-4 win in game two to earn the split and win the series.
The Falcons are now 5-12 on the year and 2-8 in the MAC Commonwealth, while Widener moves to 11-11 overall and 5-4 in the conference.
Game One
Aside from a four-run third inning,
Brandon Shirk pitched a gem for Messiah on the mound in game one, going the distance while giving up just four hits (all in the top of the fourth) and striking out two. Three Falcons had two hits in the opener, including
Austin Mellinger,
Trent Culver, and
Ryan Hentschel, who also finished with three RBI.
As mentioned, Messiah jumped all over Widener starter Matthew Guarino right away, beginning the game with three-straight singles that culminated in a
Colin Fry RBI line drive into left field to score Mellinger and put the Falcons up 1-0. After
Josh Hayner struck out,
Sam Stewart was hit by a pitch to load the bases for Hentschel with just one away. Hentschel put together an incredible at-bat, working a full count before fouling off six-straight pitches. On pitch number 12, the sophomore poked a sharp grounder through the left side for a base hit that ended up going right through the left-fielder's legs, allowing Hentschel to move to second and all three runners to score. Before
Adam Janney had a chance to knock Hentschel in, Guarino tried to pick him off second base but threw far wide of the bag and into center field. Widener's center fielder fell victim to the same issues his teammate had a play earlier, as the ball got past him and Hentschel was able to scamper all the way home to put Messiah up 5-0.
Leading off the bottom of the second,
Dan Wiederrecht launched a no-doubter over the left-field fence to increase Messiah's lead to 6-0. Widener was able to get their four runs all in the third inning to cut the deficit to two, but Shirk locked the Pride down for the rest of the game, and Messiah took the 6-4 victory.
Game Two
Ethan Hess started the rubber game of the three-game series for the Falcons, but ran into early trouble as Widener was able to plate two runs in the top of the first (one earned) and added another in the top of the third to take a 3-0 lead after three frames.
Widener starter Josh Lafferty was able to face the minimum over those first three innings, as Messiah's only hit and baserunner,
Billy Davis, was erased by a double play. Davis would go on to have a day at the plate, notching three of the Falcons' five hits in the game. After Hess worked out of a bases-loaded jam in the top of the fourth, the Falcons were able to put some pressure on Lafferty as Mellinger scored from second when the Pride third basemen was unable to handle
Colin Fry's hot grounder and booted it into left field.
Zach Luman replaced Hess on the mound in the fifth and retired the side in order in his first inning of work. After Widener scraped together a run in the top of the sixth to take a 4-1 lead, Messiah began a comeback as Culver led off by reaching on an error and Fry singled and advanced to second on the throw to third base to put two runners in scoring position with no outs. In a big spot, sophomore
Hunter Brindle pinch-hit for Hayner and smoked a double to the fence in left field, scoring Culver and Fry and cutting the Widener lead to 4-3. However, the rally would end abruptly, as after coming in to pinch-run for Brindle, JJ Robinson was picked off of second base and the next two batters were retired.
Luman struggled in the top of the seventh, allowing Widener to build their lead back up to four, 7-3. Down to their final three outs, Messiah was unable to get anything going and Widener earned the split on the day and the series win after taking a game yesterday in Chester.
Messiah will enjoy Sunday off tomorrow before returning to Starry Field for a nonconference game against Franklin & Marshall College on Monday at 4:00 p.m.
