GRANTHAM, Pa. – The Messiah baseball team enters the 2024 MAC Commonwealth Tournament as the top-seed after the most successful regular season in program history. The Falcons finished the regular season with a 32-8 overall record and a 19-2 mark in the conference. They have been hot of late, winning 21 of their final 23 games in the regular season.
The Falcons are scheduled to host the fourth-seeded York Spartans in a three-game semifinal series on Friday and Saturday with the winner advancing to the MAC Commonwealth Championship Series next weekend. The second-seeded Alvernia Golden Wolves will take on the third-seeded Hood Blazers in the other semifinal series.
Messiah and York are scheduled for a doubleheader on Friday afternoon, beginning at 12:00 p.m. with an if necessary Game Three at some point on Saturday if the rain holds off.
The Falcons are seeking their sixth Conference Championship in program history and their first since the 2012 season. Messiah previously claimed titles in 2003, 2005, 2008, 2011, and 2012. This is just the third time the Falcons have ever held the top seed in the Conference Tournament (2004 and 2005).
Fans should note that since this is a MAC Commonwealth Tournament, tickets are required for all games this weekend. Tickets to each day can be purchased at the gate for the following prices: Adults - $8, Seniors (65+) - $6, Youth (7-17) - $6, MAC Students w/ ID – Free, 6 and under w/ adult – Free.
See below for a quick preview of this weekend's MAC Commonwealth Semifinals:
No. 1 Messiah Falcons – 32-8 overall, 19-2 conference
The Falcons have put together the most successful regular season in program history, doing so in a wide variety of ways. The Falcons can certainly hit the long ball, setting a new program record for home runs in a single season, currently sitting at 40 as a team. Eleven different players have contributed to the total with
Evan Wagaman's 11 leading the way. As a team, Messiah is slashing .320/.432/.503 and averaging 8.45 runs per game. Offensively the Falcons are led by
Isaiah Parido (.371/.511/.720, 9 HR, 21 SB, 38 RBI),
Joshua Ammons (.400/.505/.587, 4 HR, 10 SB, 34 RBI),
Evan Wagaman (.373/.469/.732, 11 HR, 8 SB, 41 RBI), and
Drew Hurst (.363/.443/.525, 4 HR, 6 SB, 35 RBI) in an extremely deep line-up that features six regulars hitting north of .300.
On the mound, the Falcons hold a 3.86 ERA and allow just 4.35 total runs per game. Led by
Nathan Stein (2.70 ERA, 8-1 record, 68 K, 63.1 IP) and
Jason Long (2.98 ERA, 7-1 record, 43 K, 66.1 IP) the Falcons have two of the best starters in the conference. Noah Barall (4 saves, 1.90 ERA, 34 K, 23.2 IP) and
Christian Foltz (2 saves, 2.95 ERA, 23 K, 18.1 IP) help anchor a bullpen that has been lights out for the Falcons all season long.
And the fielding has been too shabby either. The Falcons hold a .973 fielding percentage, the highest mark in a single season in program history.
No. 4 York Spartans – 20-18 overall, 11-10 conference
The Spartans started the season off hot, winning a series against Lynchburg and taking a game against Misericordia all before the middle of March. That strong start continued through the end of March as the Spartans held a 16-4 record heading into April. A loss to No. 4 Salisbury started a 4-14 month of April for the Spartans. York earned their spot in the MAC Commonwealth Tournament by winning their final series of the season against Alvernia, finishing the year with an 11-10 mark in the conference.
The stats don't show the Spartans as a .500 team. With a .328 batting average as a team, the Spartans are led by Chris Betler's .435 average and his nine home runs, amounting to 44 RBI on the year. Seven regulars are hitting over .300, but the pitching staff has been a little shaky. As a unit, they hold a 5.18 ERA with opponents hitting .290 against them. The top of the rotation is highlighted by Evan Hughes (3.28) and Brandon Purdy (3.91 ERA).
When They Met
The Falcons were shutout for the only time of the season against the Spartans in Game One of their series back on Apr. 13. Messiah lost that game 7-0, but rebounded with victories of 9-2 and 11-5 to take the series 2-1. In their 11-5 win at York, Messiah hit four home runs with blasts off the bat of
Isaiah Parido,
Drew Hurst,
Joshua Ammons, and
Evan Wagaman.
