HARRISONBURG, Va. –
Drew Hurst collected his biggest hit as a Falcon with a bases-clearing double in the top of the ninth inning to push across the eventual winning run in an 8-7 victory over Eastern Mennonite on Tuesday afternoon. With two outs in the top of the ninth, Hurst stepped to the plate with the Falcons trailing 7-5 and the bases loaded. Hurst lined a 3-1 pitch to right-center field that brought home all three runs to put the Falcons in front.
In the bottom of the frame,
Noah Barrall worked about a bases loaded jam to close out the game and earn his third save of the season.
Eastern Mennonite took a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the first, but Messiah took a 4-1 advantage heading into the bottom of the seventh after two runs in the fourth and single runs in the sixth and seventh frames. The Royals exploded for six runs on five hits in the seventh to take a 7-4 advantage. Messiah got a run back in the eighth before Hurst's big hit flipped the game.
With the victory, Messiah moves to 9-3 on the season. The Falcons will face a tough test on Wednesday when they head to Salisbury to take on the No. 4-ranked Sea Gulls at 2:30 p.m. in a non-conference game.
How It Happened
The Royals struck first in the bottom of the first inning, scoring on a fielding error to make it 1-0. Messiah trailed by one until the top of the fourth when
Jarrett Gordon lifted a sacrifice fly and
Nick Moyer singled to center to give Messiah a 2-1 advantage.
Another sacrifice fly, this time from
Isaiah Parido, in the sixth added a little extra cushion to Messiah's lead. In the seventh,
Evan Wagaman doubled down the left field line to make it a 4-1 Falcons' advantage.
In the bottom of the seventh, Eastern Mennonite pushed six runs across the plate. The first five batters all reached base with three singles and a pair of walks, cutting Messiah's lead to one at 4-3. The big blows in the inning came later, with a two-run double and a two-run single giving the Royals the lead at 7-4.
Nick Moyer collected his second RBI of the day in the top of the eighth with a single bringing home
Jarrett Gordon. After the Falcons kept the Royals off the board in the bottom of the eighth, Messiah headed to the ninth trailing 7-5.
David Martinez led off the frame with a single through the left side of the infield. After a fielder's choice,
Joshua Ammons stood on first base with one away. A walk to
Evan Wagaman and a pitch hit
Dylan Beard the bases were loaded with just one out. After a groundout, Messiah was down to their finale out with
Drew Hurst stepping to the dish. In a favorable, 3-1 count, Hurst lined a three-run double to right-center field that cleared the bases and gave Messiah an 8-7 lead.
Noah Barrall came in to close the door in the ninth and struck out two of the first three batters he faced, with a walk sandwiched in between. A single and a walk followed, loading the bases for the Royals. Barrall induced a ground ball to short and the Falcons held on for the 8-7 victory.
What's Up Next
Messiah will be back in action on Wednesday afternoon when they head to Salisbury to take on the No. 4 Sea Gulls at 2:30 p.m.
