OWINGS MILLS, Md. - The Stevenson Mustangs scored five times in the bottom of the sixth inning to turn a 4-3 Messiah lead into an 8-4 Stevenson advantage. After adding an insurance run in the eighth, Stevenson claimed a 9-4 victory over the Messiah baseball team to open a three-game set on Friday afternoon.
Messiah fell into an early hole when the Mustangs scored a run in the first and two more in the second. The Falcons tied the game with three runs on three hits in the top fo the third and then took the lead on a two-out
Josh Hayner triple in the fifth. Hayner's extra-base hit chased
Trent Culver home and Messiah led 4-3 in the middle of the fifth.
Stevenson did the majority of their damage in the sixth, scoring five runs on three hits to take the lead before eventually claiming the 9-4 victory.
The Mustangs will travel to Grantham to complete the three-game series. Messiah and Stevenson will play a doubleheader beginning at 12:00 p.m.
Early Hole
After threatening with two runners on base in the top of the first, Messiah fell behind in the bottom half of the frame when the Mustangs scored on an RBI groundout. After the first two Mustangs reached with leadoff walks in the bottom of the second, Zachary DeLong ripped a double down the left-field line to plate the pair and give the Mustangs the 3-0 lead.
Messiah Takes the Lead
The Falcons quickly responded with three runs in the top of the third to tie the game at 3-3.
Jimmy Kustra walked to lead off the inning and
Trent Culver followed with a single to put two Falcons on base. A
Jarod Bingaman single to left field scored Kustra from second to get Messiah on the board. An RBI groundout by
Josh Hayner made it a one-run game and
Ryan Hentschel tied it up with a single to left to bring home Bingaman.
After a scoreless fourth, Messiah took the lead in the fifth with Hayner driving home his second run of the day with a triple to right field. The extra-base hit brought Culver in from second who walked earlier in the inning and and stole second for his 21 stole base of the season. Culver's run gave Messiah a 4-3 lead and the Falcons held that lead into the bottom of the sixth.
Big Sixth and Insurance for the Mustangs
In the sixth inning, the Mustangs took advantage of three walks, a hit by pitch, and a passed ball to plate five runs and take the lead back at 8-4. The big blow in the inning came on a two-out, two-run double from Matt Luterman that extended the lead to 7-4 before a wild pitch made it an 8-4 game moments later.
Luterman added another insurance run in the bottom of the eighth with an RBI double to give the Mustangs their winning margin of 9-4.
What's Up Next
The Falcons and Mustangs will be back in action on Saturday afternoon when they finish their three-game series in Grantham beginning at 12:00 p.m.
