GRANTHAM, Pa. - At one time or another, every collegiate baseball player stood in the backyard as a 10-year old with a wiffleball bat in their hand and played out the situation, bottom of the ninth...bases loaded...down by three, before tossing a ball into the air and imagine what it would be like to launch a walk-off grand slam. On Friday night, Evan Wagaman got the chance to live out that fantasy. With the Falcons trailing the Drew Rangers 7-4 in the bottom of the ninth with one away and the bases loaded, Wagaman walked to the plate. After talking a pair of balls, Wagaman went the other way and launched a walk-off grand slam to give Messiah an 8-4 victory.
 
The Falcons went down early in the contest, trailing 7-0 after the top half of the fourth inning. Messiah began chipping away with single runs in the fourth, fifth, and sixth before a fifth-run inning in the bottom of the ninth. Just before Wagaman's heroics, Sam Zercher walked with the bases loaded to set the stage for one of the more memorable moments in Messiah baseball history.
 
With the victory, Messiah moves back to .500 on the season at 17-17-1 and will be back in action on Tuesday when they host the Wilson College Phoenix at 3:30 p.m.
 
How It Happened
The Falcons fell into an early 7-0 hole after the Rangers scored two in the top of the second on a two-run homer to left field and five runs in the top of the fourth. Drew collected six hits in the fourth while scoring their five runs to take the 7-0 lead. All six of their hits in the frame were singles.
 
Messiah began working their way back with a single run in the fourth, fifth, and sixth innings to make it a 7-3 game after six innings. Sam Zercher knocked a towering solo home run to left field that was gone the moment it hit the bat to get the Falcons on the board in the fourth. In the fifth, Dustin Isanogle singled to third base to bring home David Martinez to trim the lead to five at 7-2. A frame later, Ryan Friend smoked a pinch hit double down the left-field line to score the Falcons' third run.
 
While the Falcons' bats were cutting the lead down, their bullpen was keeping the Rangers off the board. Adam Dressler, Christian Woodie, and Noah Barrall combined for 5.2 innings of scoreless baseball, allowing just two hits and striking out six batters with no walks. The Falcons did not issue a walk across the entirety of the game.
 
Thanks to five-straight zeros on the board for the Rangers, the Falcons trailed by just four runs entering the bottom of the ninth. A David Martinez single and a Dustin Isanogle double to left center put runners on second and third with one out. Joshua Ammons walked on a full count to bring the tying run to the plate. The Rangers wanted nothing to do with Sam Zercher, who went 3-4 on the day with three extra-base hits, walked the Messiah senior on five pitches. That brough home a run and brought the winning run to the plate.
 
Evan Wagaman watched a pair of balls before lifting a long fly by to right-centerfield that cleared the fence just to the left of the scoreboard for a memorable walk-off grand slam and an 8-7 Messiah victory.
 
What's Up Next
The non-conference victory moves Messiah to 17-17-1 on the season and the Falcons will be back in action on Tuesday when they host the Wilson Phoenix at 3:30 p.m.