GRANTHAM, PA - Behind strong pitching and timely hitting, the Messiah baseball team completed a three-game sweep of the Albright Lions with a 4-1 victory on Sunday afternoon on Senior Day. Making his final start in a Messiah jersey, Jordan Nichols pitched 7.1 innings allowing five hits and just one run while striking out six. At the dish, Jarod Bingaman and Sam Stewart each drove home a run while Stewart collected a pair of hits.

With the win, Messiah moves to 16-22 overall and finishes the year with an 8-13 conference record. The Falcons will be back in action on Wednesday afternoon when they travel to York for a non-conference game against the Spartans.

Falcons Take Early Lead
Messiah scored a two-out run in the bottom of the first off a single from Sam Stewart. Richie Varona led off the inning with the first hit of his career with a single through the right side. After a throwing error extended the frame, Stewart singled to left field to drive Varona and give Messiah the early 1-0 lead.

Lions Tie It Up
The Falcons and Lions traded zeros for the next three innings and Messiah held a 1-0 lead heading into the top of the fifth. Albright's Jeremy Brubaker doubled down the left-field line to lead off the fifth and moved to third on a groundout before scoring on a single by Will Algard to left field. Algrad's single tied the game at 1-1.

Late Runs Seal Victory
The game remained tie until the bottom of the seventh when the Falcons plated a pair to take a 3-1 lead. Trey Prichard started the inning with a leadoff walk and Jimmy Kustra followed two batters later with a double. An intentional walk to Trent Culver loaded the bases for Jarod Bingaman with one away. A ground ball to short looked like it might be an inning ending double play for the Lions, but Bingaman beat out the relay throw to first and the go ahead run crossed the plate for Messiah.

After taking the lead back, Messiah added some insurance by executing a first and third play. Bingaman left early from first and fell down three steps from first base, looking to draw the attention of the pitcher. After the ball was thrown to first, pinch runner Dalton Miller broke from third for the plate, scoring before Bingaman was tagged out by the short stop. Miller's run gave Messiah a 3-1 lead.

The Falcons scored one more insurance run in the eight when a ground ball by Kasey Caras was misplayed at short allowing Chris LaRose to score, increasing the Messiah lead to 4-1.

On the Mound
Chase Peiffer worked a scoreless ninth for his second save of the season as Messiah claimed the 4-1 victory.

As mentioned, Jordan Nichols tossed a strong 7.1 innings on Saturday afternoon. He earned his fourth win of the season after allowing just one run (earned) on five hits and one walk, while striking out six.

What's Up Next
Messiah will wrap-up the 2019 season on Wednesday afternoon when they travel to York to take on the Spartans for the third time this season at 3:30 p.m. in a non-conference game.