GRANTHAM, Pa. – Playing in a winner-take-all Game Three of the MAC Commonwealth Semifinal Series, the top-seeded Messiah baseball team clinched a spot in the MAC Commonwealth Championship Series with a 9-2 victory over the York Spartans. The Falcons jumped out to a 4-0 lead after four innings of play and never looked back, adding insurance runs late to claim their second straight victory and earn a spot in the Conference Championship Series for the first time since 2016.
 
Messiah got on the board with a pair of runs in the second inning before Isaiah Parido launched a solo home run onto the tennis courts behind the right-field wall in the third. Another run in the fourth bumped Messiah's lead up to 4-0. York chipped away with runs in the fifth and sixth innings, but the Falcons added five runs of insurance across the sixth, seventh, and eighth to claim the 9-2 win.
 
On the mound, Josh Nielsen threw 5.2 quality innings, allowing a pair of runs on two hits and three walks. Christian Foltz and Noah Barrall tossed the final 3.1 innings as the Falcons moved to 34-9 with the victory.
 
As mentioned, the Falcons will advance to the MAC Commonwealth Championship Series with a three-game series coming up with the second-seeded Alvernia Golden Wolves. The first game of the series is scheduled for Friday afternoon. Fans are encouraged to check GoMessiah.com throughout the week for more information on the times and dates of the series.
 
How It Happened
Josh Nielsen delivered the first pitch of Game Three on Saturday afternoon, recording the first two outs of the game on just six pitches, however rain forced the game to be suspended for a little over two days. When play resumed on Monday, it was Messiah getting on the board first, scoring a pair in the bottom of the second. After Evan Wagaman singled and Dylan Beard walked, the Falcons had runners on first and second with no outs. A sacrifice bunt moved both runners into scoring position. Dustin Isanogle grounded a ball up the middle, reaching on an error by the shortstop and scoring the first run of the game.
 
Luke Ott lifted a sacrifice fly down the left field line to give Messiah a 2-0 lead.
 
After Nielsen hung another zero on the board in the top of the third, Messiah led off the bottom half of the inning with a no-doubt solo home run off the bat of Isaiah Parido, his 10th of the season. Parido launched his homer onto the tennis courts as the Falcons took a 3-0 lead. An inning later, Dustin Isanogle reached on another error, scoring a runner from second and making it a 4-0 Messiah lead.
 
The Spartans got on the board in the top of the fifth with a sacrifice fly to the warning track in right-center field, but the Falcons cut a runner down at the plate later in the inning and limited the damage to a single run. An inning later, York added a second run, taking advantage of a pair of walks and a pair of wild pitches to plate a run on a groundout to short. The run cut Messiah's cushion to two at 4-2.
 
Messiah quickly got the run back with a two-out solo home run off the bat of Luke Ott. The big fly was Ott's fourth of the season, but second of the series as he launched a homer in Game One as well.
 
Three insurance runs followed in the bottom of the seventh with the Falcons scoring on a throwing error and a pair of RBI singles from Evan Wagaman and Jarrett Gordon. The Falcons scored a ninth and final run in the eighth when Drew Hurst singled through the right side to bring home Nick Moyer, who doubled earlier in the inning.
 
Noah Barrell slammed the door in the ninth as the Falcons earned the 9-2 victory and punched their ticket to the MAC Commonwealth Championship Series.
 
On the mound, Josh Nielsen retired the first 11 batters he faced in Game Three and finished with 5.2 strong innings with just two runs allowed. Christian Foltz returned to the mound, making his first appearance since Mar. 30, and threw two scoreless innings with no hits allowed. Noah Barrell tossed the final 1.1 innings, striking out two batters and finishing off the victory.
 
What's Up Next
The Falcons will now play for a Conference Championship for the first time since 2016. The Falcons will take on the second-seeded Alvernia Golden Wolves in a three-game series that is scheduled to begin on Friday afternoon in Grantham. As the Falcons are the top-seed in the tournament, Messiah will play host for all games of the Championship Series. Check GoMessiah.com later this week for a complete schedule of games and a preview of the upcoming series.