GRANTHAM, Pa. – On Saturday afternoon, the Messiah University baseball team used two strong offensive games to earn the sweep over the University of Scranton. In game one, the Falcons took an early 2-0 lead after the second and then poured on four runs in the third to take a 6-0 lead. After the Royals scored a run in the fourth, the Falcons answered back with two in the bottom half to take an 8-1 lead. Neither team added a run, and the Falcons earned the 8-1 win in game two. Drew Hurst, Evan Wagaman, and Luke Ott each led the Falcons offense with two hits. Christian Foltz pitched five innings, allowing only one run on two hits, and five strikeouts.
 
In game two, The Royals got on the board first scoring a run in the first and the second to take a 2-0 lead. The Falcons then rattled off eight runs in the bottom of the second to take an 8-2 lead. After a pair of scoreless innings, the Falcons added another big inning with six runs in the bottom of the fifth to take a 14-2 lead. The Royals scored three runs in the ninth, but the Falcons lead was too big, and they earned the 14-5 win. Isaiah Parido, Drew Hurst, Evan Wagaman, and Jarrett Gordon each tallied two hits. Drew Dellinger earned the win on the mound for the Falcons, pitching two scoreless innings out of the pen with three strikeouts.
 
Up next, the Falcons travel to Harrisonburg, Va. to take on the Royals of Eastern Mennonite University on Tuesday, March 11 at 3:00 p.m.

Game One: Messiah 8, Scranton 1
After a scoreless inning and a half, the Falcons looked to get on the board in the bottom of the second. Dylan Beard led off the inning with a bunt single and after a Jarrett Gordon sacrifice bunt, Beard advanced to second. Luke Ott and David Martinez then hit back-to-back singles to load the bases with one out. Nick Moyer then drew a walk to bring in the first run of the game. After the walk, Luke Ott scored on a wild pitch to give the Falcons a 2-0 lead after two innings.
 
After another scoreless inning from Christian Foltz on the mound, the Falcons looked to add to their lead in the bottom of the third. Drew Hurst led off the inning with a single and then Evan Wagaman walked to put runners on first and second with no outs. Dylan Beard then attempted to move the runners with a sacrifice bunt, but the Royals pitcher made a throwing error and Hurst scored. With the runners on second and third, Jarrett Gordon brought Wagaman home with a bunt to put the Falcons up 4-0. The Falcons quickly added to their lead with a Luke Ott RBI double to extend the Falcons lead to 5-0. After Luke Ott stole third, he later scored on a wild pitch to take a 6-0 lead through three innings.
 
In the top of the fourth, the Royals scored a run on a sac fly to reduce the Falcons lead to 6-1. The Falcons though looked to extend their lead even more in the bottom of the fourth. Dustin Isanogle led off the inning reaching first on an error. After Dustin Isanogle advanced to second off a sacrifice bunt from Drew Hurst, Evan Wagaman hit an RBI single to right center to push the Falcons lead back to six. Wagaman advanced to second on a ground out and then stole third, setting up an RBI single from Jarret Gordon to give the Falcons an 8-1 lead through four innings.
 
Both teams could not bring in another run for the rest of the game and the Falcons earned the 8-1 win.
 
Stats
Drew Hurst, Evan Wagaman, and Luke Ott each led the Falcons offense with two hits. Christian Foltz pitched five innings, allowing only one run on two hits, and five strikeouts. Jarrett Gordon totaled a hit and two RBIs. Noah Barrall pitched two scoreless innings out of the pen with two strikeouts.
 
Game Two: Messiah 14, Scranton 5
The Royals started game two strong with a run in the first and a run in the second to take a 2-0 lead into the bottom of the second.
 
The Royals lead would not last long as the Falcons looked to answer the early Scranton runs in the bottom of the second. After two quick outs, Jarrett Gordon singled, and the Matt Luchovick hit an RBI double to put the Falcons within a run. Luke Ott then scored Luchovick on an error from the first basemen to tie the game at two. Nick Moyer and Isaiah Parido then both walked to load the bases for the Falcons. The walk parade continued as Dustin Isanogle walked in a run, but then Drew Hurst hit a two-RBI single to give the Falcons a 5-2 lead. The Royals changed pitcher, but Evan Wagaman then hit an RBI single to give the Falcons a four-run lead. Wagaman then stole second and the catcher's throw went through into center field and Isanogle scored to push the Falcons lead to 7-2. The Falcons added another run on another Royals error to give the Falcons an 8-2 lead after the bottom of the second.
 
The two teams then went scoreless until the bottom of the fifth. Again, after two quick outs, the Falcons looked for their second two-out rally of the game.  Luke Ott tripled to center field, and the Nick Moyer drew a walk to put runners on first and third. After Moyer stole second, Isaiah Parido hit a two-RBI single to push the Falcons lead to 10-2. After Parido advanced to third on a stolen base and then a wild pitch, Dustin Isanogle drew a walk. Isanogle stole second, but the pitch in the dirt got past the catcher and Parido scored on the wild pitch. The Falcons added three more runs on the inning from RBI singles from Drew Hurst and Dylan Beard and an RBI triple from Evan Wagaman to give the Falcons a 14-2 lead.
 
Neither team added a run until the top of the ninth when the Royals scored three runs, but the Falcons lead was too big, and they earned the sweep with the 14-5 win.
 
Stats
Isaiah Parido, Drew Hurst, Evan Wagaman, and Jarrett Gordon each tallied two hits. Dylan Beard, Tucker Williams, Matt Luchovick, and Luke Ott each added a hit. Drew Dellinger earned the win on the mound for the Falcons, pitching two scoreless innings out of the pen with three strikeouts. Julian Butler and Trey Harper each added scoreless innings for the Falcons out of the pen. Jason Long started for the Falcons, throwing four innings, allowing two runs on three hits, five walks, and two strikeouts.
 
Next
The Falcons travel to Harrisonburg, Va. to take on the Royals of Eastern Mennonite University on Tuesday, March 11 at 3:00 p.m.