GRANTHAM, Pa. – On Monday afternoon, the Messiah baseball team earned an 8-6 victory over the Juniata Eagles to cap off the regular season slate with a victory. The two-run win gave the Falcons their 32nd victory on the season and improves them to 32-8 on the year. The 2024 season marks the Falcons most successful regular season in program history.
Highlighting the Falcons' offensive effort,
Evan Wagaman finished a double shy of the cycle, ending the regular season with a 3-4 effort at the dish with a home run, triple, walk, and RBI. Wagaman's homer was his 11th of the season, tying the Falcons' single season record that was set last season by
Sam Zercher.
On the mound,
Caeden Schulte earned the victory in his first appearance in the hill this season. Schulte did not have a ball put in play against him, striking out three and walking two in an inning of work.
Luke Ott picked up a save, throwing 1.1 innings of shutout ball, striking out one in the process.
Messiah will be back in action on Friday afternoon when they begin a three-game series against the fourth-seeded York Spartans in the MAC Commonwealth Semifinal Series. Friday's first pitch is scheduled for 3:30 p.m. with a potentially doubleheader scheduled for Saturday in Grantham at noon.
How It Happened
The Eagles jumped in front with a single run in both the first and second innings. The Falcons' starter
Chris Beatty Jr. worked around some base runners to limit the damage to just two runs, stranding four runners across the two frames.
Dylan Beard singlehandedly pulled the Falcons level with a two-run homer in the bottom of the second immediately after
Evan Wagaman walked in front of him. Beard dropped a ball over the wall, just in front of the scoreboard for his second homer of the season.
After a scoreless second inning, Messiah got back on the board in the bottom of the fourth with the Falcons' second homer of the afternoon.
Evan Wagaman drove a long fly ball of the centerfield fence for his 11th homer of the season, bringing him into a tie with
Sam Zercher for the single season program record that Zercher set last season.
In the sixth, it was the Eagles turn to do a bit of yardwork with Dalton Snyder launching a two-run homer over the left-centerfield wall to put Juniata in front 4-3.
In the bottom of the frame, Messiah responded with a pair of two-run doubles by
Dustin Isanogle and
Isaiah Parido. The doubles each brought home a pair of runs with Isanogle driving home
Evan Wagaman and
Luke Ott and Parido chasing home
Nick Moyer and pinch runner
Jake Brown.
Both teams brought home runs in the seventh with the Eagles bring in a run on an RBI double and the Falcons adding their eighth run on a fielder's choice off the bat of
Dylan Beard. Messiah's run was set up by a leadoff triple to the rightfield corner by
Evan Wagaman. Two batters later, Beard chopped a ball to third base. The Eagles' third baseman fielded and threw high to home, allowing Wagaman to slide in safely just below the tag. The run gave Messiah a three-run lead at 8-5.
The Eagles pulled within two with a sacrifice fly in the eighth, but
Luke Ott came in and got a lineout to center to end the frame, stranding a runner on second base.
Messiah left the bases loaded in the bottom of the eighth as they looked for insurance. They were unable to add an extra run, as three Falcons were stranded on the bases.
A stressless, three-up, three-down ninth inning gave Messiah the victory by an 8-6 final, claiming their 32nd victory of the year.
What's Up Next
With the regular season now in the rearview mirror, Messiah will turn their attention to the MAC Commonwealth Tournament and a three-game series with the fourth-seeded York Spartans. The Falcons won two out of three games with the Spartans a couple of weeks ago. This weekend, Messiah will play host for the three-game set, beginning with a single game on Friday afternoon at 3:30 p.m.
