ST. DAVIDS, Pa. - A day after splitting a doubleheader with the Eastern Eagles in Grantham, the Falcons and Eagles split a second doubleheader in St. Davids on Saturday. The Eagles used a five-run sixth inning to take Game One 6-3 while Messiah jumped on the back of Christian Woodie in Game Two for the 8-0 victory. Woodie twirled an 8-0 shutout victory for his first victory of the season. Trent Culver and Kasey Caras both homered in Game Two as the Falcons and Eagles each took two games in their four-game set this weekend.

Messiah moves to 9-13-1 on the seaosn and holds a 7-12-1 record in the MAC Commonwealth after Saturday's split. Messiah will be back in action on Tuesday when they travel to Stevenson to take on the Mustangs in a doubleheader beginning at 1:00 p.m.

Game One - Eastern defeats Messiah - 6-3
The Messiah baseball team suffered a 6-3 setback in the opening game of a doubleheader at Eastern on Saturday afternoon. The Falcons held a 3-1 lead heading into the bottom of the sixth, but the Eagles rallied for five runs in the frame to take a three-run lead. After the Falcons went down in order in the bottom of the seventh, Eastern claimed the victory.
 
Messiah was first on the board in the top of the third, scoring two runs on a Kasey Caras single to right field. The Falcons set the table for Caras with a single by Derek Freed and walks to Jarod Bingaman and Jorge Zambrano III. Caras came through for his team-leading 22nd and 23rd RBI of the season with the single to left, but the rally was halted when Messiah bunted into a double play to end the inning.
 
Eastern got one of those two runs back in the bottom of the fourth on an infield single, but the Falcons worked their way out of a jam, stranding two Eagles on the bases to preserve the lead at 2-1.
 
Messiah immediately responded with a run of their own in the fifth when Jorge Zambrano III knocked home Bingaman with a single to left field. Bingaman raced around after reaching first on a single of his own and stealing second earlier in the inning.
 
With Messiah leading 3-1, the Eagles rallied for five runs in the bottom of the sixth on five hits. Jeffrey Williams and Griffin Falco each delivered the big hits, driving home two on singles. Williams' knock down the left field line tied the game before Falco gave the Eagles the lead with a single through the right-side of a drawn in infield. A double by Matt McHale later in the inning gave Eastern their sixth run of the game.
 
Down to their final at bat, Messiah went quietly in the seventh to give Eastern the Game One victory at 6-3.
 
Game Two - Messiah defeats Eastern - 8-0
After a tough loss in Game One, the Falcons wasted little time jumping on top in Game Two. Trent Culver hammered a two-run homer in the top of the first and Messiah never looked back. The Falcons added two runs in the third, three in the fourth, and a Kasey Caras solo homer in the seventh to account for their eight runs in an 8-0 shutout.
 
Christian Woodie was fantastic on the hill, tossing a nine-inning complete game shutout to earn his first victory of the season, moving to 1-1. Woodie finished the stellar outing with seven strikeouts and just one walk while scattering five hits.
 
Trent Culver got the Falcons out to a 2-0 lead with a two-run blast to right field in the top of the first, brining Kasey Caras, who singled before him home as well. Messiah added to that 2-0 lead in the third with two more runs. Jarod Bingaman led off the inning with a double before scoring on a Jorge Zambrano III single. Later in the frame, Zambrano scored on a balk to make it a 4-0 Messiah lead.
 
With Woodie continuing to shut down the Eagles, Messiah tacked on three more in the top of the fourth. Bingaman's second double of the game chased Reed Wagner and Derek Freed around. Later in the frame, Bingaman crossed the plate on a well-executed first and third play, pushing Messiah's advantage to 7-0.
 
Kasey Caras launched a no-doubter to lead off the top the seventh for his eighth home run of the season. The blast gave Messiah an eight-run cushion while also giving Caras the conference lead in home runs this season. He is currently one ahead of York's Jack Barry.
 
Woodie hung three more zeros on the board in the seventh, eighth, and ninth as the Falcons cruised to the 8-0 victory to split the four-game series at two apiece.
 
What's Up Next
The Falcons will turn their attention to the Stevenson Mustangs. Messiah and Stevenson are scheduled for a pair of doubleheaders in the middle of the week with the Falcons heading to Owings Mills on Tuesday and the Mustangs coming to Grantham on Thursday. Bout doubleheaders are scheduled to start at 1:00 p.m.