FREDERICK, Md. – The Messiah baseball team swept a road doubleheader at York College on Saturday afternoon, earning the first game in thrilling fashion, 7-6, and completing the sweep with an 8-2 decision in Game Two.
Kasey Caras led the Falcons in both games, crushing the game-winning home run in the first contest, while going 3-4 in the second game, adding another home run and two RBI.
Josh Monturo pitched a career game in Game Two, striking out a career-high eight batters, earning his first-career collegiate win.
Game One
The Falcons looked to continue their success from yesterday, stealing a 5-4 victory in a wild finish in game two of their home doubleheader opposite the Blazers. Messiah got on the board early, 1-0, as
Bingaman scored on a fielder's choice in the top of the first inning. The Blazers threatened in the bottom half of the inning, but the inning ended when Falcon catcher
Billy Davis caught Steven
Sommer stealing.
Bingaman launched his third home run of the season in the top of the third inning, a two-run shot to give Messiah a 3-0 lead. The Blazers answered in the bottom half of the frame, plating a run on a
Sommer sacrifice fly to cut their deficit to 3-1. Hood tacked on another run in the bottom of the fourth from another sacrifice fly, before Kasey
Caras knocked in his 15th RBI of the season on a double in the top of the sixth inning, scoring
Clayton Roberts to increase the Messiah lead to 5-2. The Falcons went up, 6-2, after
Caras scored on a wild pitch.
The Falcons escaped danger in the bottom of the sixth inning as Hood put runners on second and third with just one out. Senior pitcher
Ben Stewart worked out of the jam, getting two-straight outs to end the frame. Stewart induced a
popout to first baseman
Karas, as Andrew Perkins grounded out to
Bingaman in the shortstop hole as Messiah took its 6-2 advantage to the seventh and final inning of Game One.
The wheels fell off in the bottom of the seventh for the Falcons, as Hood scored four runs on four hits. The game, originally scheduled for seven innings, was headed to extras.
The Falcons answered promptly in the top of the eighth behind arguably the biggest hit of the season. With two outs on the board,
Caras launched a go-ahead solo home run to give the Falcons a 7-6 lead.
Trent Culver came on in relief for the bottom half of the eighth, shutting the door on the Blazers by striking out the side.
Luke Luckenbaugh made the start for Messiah, tossing 4.2 innings while allowing one run on three hits, striking out two batters.
Josh Nielsen threw an inning in relief, his third inning in as many games. The freshman earned his second win of the weekend, as Culver earned the save with a dominant inning to close out the game.
Game Two
Looking for three-consecutive victories, Messiah jumped all over the Blazers' pitching in Game Two. The Falcons scored five runs in the top of the first inning behind three hits. Bingaman and Roberts worked back-to-back walks to begin the game before Caras picked up where he left off, singling in Bingaman for his 17th RBI of the season. A
Joshua Ammons double to right field scored two, increasing the Messiah lead to 3-0, as
Sam Zercher knocked in two more runs after lacing his third double of the season.
Hood had no answer as Monturo turned in a phenomenal pitching performance for the Falcons. The junior had his best outing of the season, pitching all seven innings, allowing just two runs on five hits while striking out a career-high eight batters. Monturo earned the win, the first win of his pitching career as a Falcon.
Messiah tacked on insurance runs in the second, fourth, and six innings, increasing its lead, 8-0. Caras crushed his second homer of the doubleheader in the second inning, a solo shot for the Falcons' fifth run of the game. Roberts worked a bases-loaded walk in the fourth inning as a two-run double from Culver in the sixth inning gave Messiah its 8-0 lead.
Hood scored two runs in the bottom of the seventh inning, but it was not enough, as the Falcons cruised to their third-straight victory. Caras was the star of the day for Messiah, combining for a 5-8 performance at the dish between the two games, crushing two homeruns and knocking in four RBI. During Messiah's three-game win streak, Caras has batted in six runs, hitting .723 (8-11).
The doubleheader sweep of Hood improves Messiah's record to 6-9-1 (4-9-1 MAC Commonwealth) as the Falcons had a total of 18 hits on the day.
What's Next
Messiah returns to Starry Baseball Field on Tuesday, Apr. 6, when they host Lebanon Valley College for a doubleheader, set to begin at 1:00 p.m.
