GRANTHAM, Pa. - The Messiah baseball team found a way to win on Friday afternoon, thanks in large part to a three-run blast off the bat of Isaiah Parido in the bottom of the eighth inning that turned a 9-7 deficit into a 10-9 Messiah lead. Playing with a chance to clinch the top seed in the upcoming MAC Commonwealth Tournament, the Falcons built a 6-0 lead after five innings of play, but the Widener Pride rallied for nine runs across the sixth and seventh frames to pull ahead 9-6.
 
The Falcons plated a run in the seventh on an RBI double from Joshua Ammons before Isaiah Parido played hero in the bottom of the eighth. The Falcons worked a pair of walks, putting runners on first and second with two outs. Messiah's leadoff hitter did the rest, unloading a three-run home run to centerfield for his ninth big fly of the season. It was the most important one so far, lifting the Falcons on top 10-9.
 
Noah Barrall worked a scoreless ninth, picking up a double play to end the game and give Messiah their 29th victory of the season. With their 29 wins, Messiah sets a new program record for victories in a single season, moving ahead of both the 2005 and 2008 squads who finished with 28 triumphs. The Falcons also earned top-seed honors in the upcoming MAC Commonwealth Tournament that will begin with a three-game semifinals next weekend against the fourth-seeded team that will be determined by the end of the weekend. All three games will take place in Grantham, with a single game on Friday afternoon and a potential doubleheader next Saturday.
 
How It Happened
Dustin Isanogle was the story of the first three frames, as the Falcons' backstop threw out three would-be base stealers in the first four innings of play. Isanogle's right arm helped get Jason Long and the Falcons off the field without giving up a run in the early going. Messiah dented the board in the bottom of the second with a sacrifice fly by Luke Ott that scored Evan Wagaman who doubled earlier in the inning.
 
The Falcons added some more in the bottom of the fourth with three runs on four hits, including back-to-back-to-back extra-base knocks from Joshua Ammons, Evan Wagaman, and Dylan Beard. Luke Ott flied out to deep left center before Dustin Isanogle joined the party with a ground-rule double to center. The result was a 4-0 Messiah lead.
 
Two more in the fifth off a Drew Hurst single up the middle and Messiah held a 6-0 lead.
 
The lead looked comfortable for the Falcons, but a five-run frame from the Pride in the sixth, quickly cut the cushion to just one at 6-5. Widener used three-straight doubles, much like the Falcons in the fourth, to do the bulk of their damage.
 
After the Falcons left a pair on base in the bottom of the stanza, Widener went back to work, scoring four more and taking a 9-6 lead in the top of the seventh. A bases loaded walk brought home the first run before a three-run double from Sean Burke cleared the bags and staked the Pride to a three-run advantage.
 
Messiah got one back in the bottom of the frame with Joshua Ammons doubling home a run after a walk and a hit-by-pitch put runners on in front of him. The Falcons tried for more, but a runner was cut down at the plate trying to tag on a fly ball to right.
 
Noah Barrall tossed a three-up, three-down eighth and Messiah came to bat trailing 9-7. Dustin Isanogle worked a one-out walk and two batters later, Nick Moyer walked as well to bring the go-ahead run to the plate with two outs. Messiah's Isaiah Parido stepped to the plate and drove a 2-1 pitch over the centerfield fence for a game-changing, go ahead three-run homer. The long ball was Parido's ninth of the season, just one shy of Evan Wagaman's 10 for the team lead.
 
Parido circled the bases, stepping on home as the Falcons 10th run of the game, giving them the 10-9 lead.
 
In the ninth, Noah Barrall looked to cap off the game and in the process clinch both the top seed in the MAC Commonwealth Tournament and the most victories in a single season in program history. Barrall worked around a leadoff single, getting a strikeout and inducing a double-play ball to the shortstop Nick Moyer. After a successful relay throw from Dylan Beard to Joshua Ammons, Messiah earned their 29th victory of the season by a 10-9 final score.
 
What's Up Next
With the win, Messiah improves to 29-8 on the season and holds a 17-2 record in MAC Commonwealth play. The Falcons and Pride will be back in action on Saturday when they complete their series with a doubleheader in Chester tomorrow afternoon, beginning at 12:00 p.m.