GRANTHAM, Pa. – The Messiah baseball earned a doubleheader sweep of the Stevenson Mustangs on Saturday afternoon, claiming victories by scores of 12-5 and 6-1. Tied 1-1 in the third inning of Game One, Messiah plated four runs in the third to take a 5-1 lead. Seven more insurance runs scored across the next two frames as the Falcons earned the 12-5 victory to clinch the series.
Game Two belonged to Josh Neilsen, who tossed seven innings of one-run baseball, allowing just five hits, walking three, and striking out six in a 6-1 victory. Messiah scored two runs in each of the fourth, sixth, and eighth to earn the victory.
Luke Ott drove home five runs on the day, including a three-run home run in Game One to highlight the offensive effort for the Falcons.
With the victories, Messiah improves to 27-8 on the season and is just one win shy of the program record for victories in a single season. The Falcons are now 16-2 in the conference and will be back in action on Wednesday when they host Eastern Mennonite for a non-conference game at 3:30 p.m.
Game One – Messiah defeats Stevenson, 12-5
The Mustangs were first on the board in the top of the first, scoring without the use of a hit. A leadoff walk came around to score on a well-executed first and third play that allowed both runners to move up on stolen bases. Messiah responded with a double down the left field line by
Isaiah Parido and a sacrifice fly by
Drew Hurst. After an inning of play, things stood even at 1-1.
After a scoreless second for both teams, Messiah hung a four-spot on the board in the third with five hits.
Nick Moyer delivered the big hit in the frame with a two-run double to left center that got caught up in the wind.
David Martinez and
Ryan Friend also collected RBI singles in the inning as Messiah took a 5-1 lead.
A frame later, Stevenson got a run back on a throwing error on an attempted steal of third. The throw sailed into left field and allowed an unearned run to cross the plate. Messiah boosted their lead up to 9-2 thanks in large part to a three-run, line-drive home run that
Luke Ott crushed to right field. The ball barely looked like it would get over the second baseman's head and ended up clearing the wall in right for a three-run round tripper. Later in the inning,
Isaiah Parido popped a single to third base that gave Messiah their fourth run of the frame.
After a Mustangs' solo homer in the fifth, Messiah tacked on three more runs to take a 12-3 lead.
David Martinez,
Ryan Friend, and
Nick Moyer all drove home runs in the inning. While Stevenson scored a pair of runs in the sixth, Messiah earned the comfortable victory to clinch the series.
On the hill,
Nathan Stein went five innings, allowing three runs on three hits and three walks while striking out seven batters.
Brody Martin tossed an inning of scoreless relief with a hit and a strikeout to cap off the win.
Game Two – Messiah defeats Stevenson, 6-1
Like Game One, the second game of the doubleheader started off with a single run coming across the plate in the top of the first by the Mustangs. A sacrifice fly plated the run after a leadoff walk allowed Graham Sears to reach.
However, unlike Game One, Messiah was unable to respond quickly, waiting until the bottom of the fourth to get on the board. Messiah's first trip through the line-up resulted in no base runners. The second time through the order started with three-straight hits for
Isaiah Parido,
Drew Hurst, and
Joshua Ammons. After infield singles from Parido and Hurst, Ammons lined a double to the left center first gap that allowed Hurst and Parido to score.
Two more runs crossed the plate for the Falcons in the fourth with
Dylan Beard and
Luke Ott brining home a teammate each to give Messiah a 4-1 lead.
Two innings later, Messiah added some much-needed insurance with a base-loaded hit-by-pitch to
Luke Ott and a sacrifice fly by
Dustin Isanogle to push the Falcons lead to 6-1.
After a stellar outing on the mound by Josh Neilsen,
Noah Barrall entered the game and slammed the door with a two-inning save. Barrall struck out four batters and allowed one hit. Neilsen earned the win, chucking seven innings of one-run ball. He allowed just five hits while walking three and striking out six.
What's Up Next
The Falcons will play a non-conference game against Eastern Mennonite on Wednesday at 3:30 p.m. at the Starry Baseball Field. With a victory on Wednesday, Messiah would tie the program record for victories in a single season with 28.
