GRANTHAM, Pa. – After a quiet first four innings for both, Messiah earned the Game One victory with a 6-3 decision against Elizabethtown in the first game of their doubleheader. The Falcons scored two in the fourth and added three more in the sixth before Kasey Caras hammered a solo home run to lead off the seventh inning en route to the Game One victory. Dennis Snyder tossed five shutout innings, earning the victory with four strikeouts.

In Game Two, the Blue Jays' pitching shutdown the Falcons' offense, allowing just one Messiah hit as Elizabethtown earned a 4-1 victory.

Messiah will wrap up the regular season this week with five games, beginning with a single game against Stevenson on Tuesday at home. First pitch is scheduled for 3:30 p.m.

Game One - Messiah defeats Elizabethtown, 6-3
Neither team collected a hit through the first three innings of play in Game One on Saturday. After the two teams started knocking around the ballpark, Messiah ended the opener on the right side of a 6-3 decision.
 
Messiah put two on the board in the bottom of the fourth with a sacrifice fly from Evan Wagaman and an RBI single to right center by Dylan Beard. After the Blue Jays cut the lead in half at 2-1 with a run in the top of the sixth, Messiah's Jarrett Gordon knocked a sacrifice fly to left and Reed Wagner followed with a two-run, two-out single through the left side to put the home team up four at 5-1.
 
Those insurance runs were needed as the Blue Jay's Robbie Bertucio hammered a two-run homer to left field in the top of the seventh. Kasey Caras punched back with a no doubt, leadoff homer to right center in the bottom of the inning to put Messiah up three at 6-3.
 
That was the winning score, as Noah Barrall shut down Elizabethtown over the final 2.1 innings to lock down his second save of the season.
 
Dennis Snyder earned the victory, going five scoreless innings while striking out four. Snyder worked around three hits, three walks, and four hit batsmen to claim his second victory of the season.
 
Game Two - Elizabethtown defeats Messiah, 4-1
The Falcons struggled to get the bats going in Game Two, recording just one hit on a
Joshua Ammons single to lead off the fifth inning. It was the Blue Jays that got on the board first, scoring in the top of the fourth on an infield single to third base.
 
Elizabethtown added two more runs in the fifth on a sacrifice fly to left center and a Robbie Bertucio double down the left field line. A fourth and final run game in the seventh with a Ben Watcon single to left.
 
All of this happened while the Falcons were held to just one hit. Messiah's pitching wiggled out of multiple jams, keeping their bats in the game. Most notably, Paul Hansel entered in the top of the seventh with the bases loaded and just one out and induced a double play to end the inning without further damage.
 
Messiah did get on the board in the bottom of the ninth with a pair of walks, a wild pitch, and a ground out bring home Reed Wagner. The late run was not enough as the Falcons fell 4-1 In Game Two.
 
What's Up Next
The Falcons have a busy final week of the regular season with two conference series remaining against Stevenson and Alvernia. The Falcons will host the Stevenson Mustangs on Tuesday to begin the week and then complete the series on Friday at Owings Mills. Additionally, Messiah will host the Eastern Mennonite Royals on Wednesday in a non-conference game before finishing the regular season against Alvernia in a doubleheader at home on Saturday.
 
The Falcons are currently 7-5 in the MAC Commonwealth and are in the thick of the hunt for a spot in the Conference Tournament that begins in early May.