BRIDGEWATER, Va. - The Messiah baseball team opened the 2020 season with a pair of losses against the Bridgewater Eagles on Saturday afternoon. The Eagles used a big inning in each game to down the Falcons by scores of 5-3 and 7-2.
Jarod Bingaman led the Falcons with three hits on the day, going 3-5 at the dish with a walk.
Reed Wagner drove home a pair of runs in the second game with a single in the top of the fifth.
Messiah will be back in action next weekend when they travel south once again to the University of Mary Washington for a doubleheader beginning at 1:00 p.m. on Feb. 29.
Game One - Bridgewater defeats Messiah - 5-3
The Eagles put traffic on the basepaths in the first two innings of Game One. After a harmless hit-by-pitch in the first, it looked as if the Eagles would be first on the board in the bottom of the second when a fly ball was hit to
Trent Culver in center with a runner on third. Culver cut down the run at the plate and Messiah escaped the inning without any damage.
The Eagles, however would strike first just an inning later. After Messiah starter
Luke Luckenbaugh retired the leadoff man on a ground ball to second base, Bridgewater earned a pair of walks to put runners on second and third. A double by Luke Paczewski chased the first run of the game home to give the Eagles a 1-0 lead.
After scoreless frames in the fourth and fifth, Messiah would level the score in the top of the sixth on a ground out by
Kasey Caras to the shortstop. Culver came home on the groundout after he singled through the left-side to lead off the inning. Culver stole second and moved to third on a base hit from
Jarod Bingaman.
With the game tied 1-1, the Eagles would break things open in the bottom of the sixth with four runs on three hits. Bridgewater took advantage of two free passes, with Matthew LaPrade delivering the big blow in the inning with a two-out, two-run single to left field to make it a 5-1 game.
Messiah rallied in the top of the seventh, but RBI groundouts from
Chris LaRose and
Billy Davis were not enough and the Falcons dropped their season opener by a 5-3 final score.
Game Two - Bridgewater defeats Messiah - 7-2
Like Game One, Bridgewater made one big inning hold up as their claimed the 7-2 victory over the Falcons. This time the big inning came in the second frame when the Eagles scored six runs on five hits. Kevin Navedo knocked a two-run double to right to highlight the big inning for the Eagles.
Messiah registered their first hit of the game in the top of the fourth on a single by Bingaman before plating a pair of runs on a
Reed Wagner single up the middle. Wagner's two-run single, brought home
Dalton Miller and
Chris LaRose, who doubled and singled earlier in the frame, respectively.
Despite Messiah's bullpen holding the Eagles to just one run on three hits after the second inning, the Falcons were unable to claw their way back with the Eagles claiming a 7-2 victory to complete the sweep.
What's Up Next
The Falcons will be back in action next Saturday when they travel to the University of Mary Washington for a doubleheader beginning at 1:00 p.m.
