GRANTHAM, Pa. – An eight-run second inning was the difference in a 9-5 setback for the Messiah baseball team on Saturday afternoon against the No. 24 Randolph-Macon Yellow Jackets. A day after Messiah earned a 6-4 victory over Randolph-Macon, it was the Yellow Jackets that jumped out in front early on Saturday, plating eight runs in the second inning. The Falcons hung around, scoring three in the fifth on a Luke Ott single and a two-run knock from Isaiah Parido and two more in the eighth on a two-run homer from Joshua Ammons.
 
In the end, the late runs were not enough as the Yellow Jackets held on for the 9-5 victory, splitting the two-game set with the Falcons.
 
Saturday was originally scheduled as a doubleheader, but rain in Virginia forced one of the games to be canceled.
 
With the 1-1 record on the weekend, Messiah moves to 5-3 on the season and will be back in action on Tuesday when they head to Gettysburg to take on the Bullets at 2:30 p.m.
 
How It Happened
The Yellow Jackets sent 14 men to the plate in the bottom of the second inning, scoring eight runs on five hits and taking an 8-0 lead.
 
The lead remained 8-0 until the top of the fifth inning when the Falcons dented the scoreboard for the first time on Saturday. Evan Wagaman led off the frame with a single to left field. After he advanced to second on a groundout, Luke Ott poked a single up the middle to chase Wagaman home for the Falcons first run. After a strikeout and a pair of walks loaded the bases with two outs, Isaiah Parido drove home a pair of runs with a single to left field, cutting the lead to five at 8-3.
 
A sacrifice fly for the Yellow Jackets in the bottom of the fifth, quicky got one of those runs back and the Falcons trailed 9-3.
 
In the eight, Messiah plated a pair of runs on a Joshua Ammons home run to left field. Isaiah Parido led off the inning with a triple to the left-centerfield gap and two batters later he was able to trot home on Ammons' second homer of the year. That was the last offense Messiah was able to generate as the next five Falcons went down in order and Randolph-Macon earned the 9-5 victory.
 
Jadyn Martin tossed the final two frames for the Falcons, retiring all six Yellow Jackets he faced. Martin was the lone Messiah pitcher to record at least six outs in the game.
 
What's Up Next
The Falcons will be back in action on Tuesday when they head to Gettysburg to take on the Bullets for a single game at 2:30 p.m. Messiah are slated to host their home opener on Saturday, Mar. 9 against the Houghton Highlanders at noon in a doubleheader.