Box Score
Baltimore, MD - The stakes were high as the Messiah Falcons prepared to take on the nationally-ranked Johns Hopkins Blue Jays in Thursday's contest. In terms of drama, the game did not disappoint.
Freshman
Derek Drake took away a potential game-tying two-run home run with two outs in the ninth inning as the Falcons (1-3) defeated the Blue Jays (0-1-1) by a 6-4 score.
Senior
Zach Adams squared off against left-handed hitter Mike Kanen of the Jays, who had already blasted a two-run home run in the first inning. Adams' first pitch of the at-bat was hit to deep right field. Drake, playing deep near the fence, snagged the ball on top of the hill, preserving a narrow two-run win. It was the first win of the season for the Falcons and the second time in as many seasons that Messiah knocked off the five-time defending Centennial Conference champions.
“It gives me confidence to see our guys bring their focus,” said Steve DeRiggs, Messiah's head baseball coach. “When they bring their focus and inspiration, they can play with anybody in the country. That's a top-15 team in the country right there. We fell behind, came back, and fought all the way. Sometimes good things happen to people who are fundamentally sound, and we are extremely pleased with the victory.”
Early on, the game appeared as if it might go Hopkins' way. Kanen's two-run first inning home run off Messiah sophomore
Paul Broomell gave the Jays a 2-0 lead.
Messiah responded with a pair of runs in its next time at bat, knotting the game at two runs apiece. Senior
John Brubaker started the rally against preseason First-Team All-American pitcher Sam Eagleson with a line drive single. Drake followed with a double that put two men in scoring position. Freshman
Jon Lapp hit a sacrifice fly to cut the deficit to one run, and sophomore
Jacob Sprengle's RBI double tied the game.
The Jays came back with a run in the top of the third off a hit, a pair of walks, and a wild pitch off Broomell. Broomell was pulled after four innings, finishing with four runs allowed (three earned). He gave up five hits, walked two, and struck out a career-high five.
“I thought Paul was very good,” DeRiggs said. “For a sophomore, he has pitched against some of the best teams in the country, and it can only serve him well. I really think he's going to have a fine career at Messiah. He was not intimidated, he pitched within himself, and I was very pleased.”
The Falcons' offense bounced back with three runs of support in the top of the fourth inning. Senior
Ryan Brown doubled and Brubaker followed with a blast of his own down the right field line. It appeared to be an inside the park home run initially, although it was ultimately ruled to be a ground rule double. Drake moved Brubaker to third with a ground out, Lapp walked, and Sprengle drove in both with his second double of the game.
Falcons junior
Galen Halteman (1-0) pitched a scoreless fifth and sixth inning, holding the Falcons' one-run lead. Halteman, who eventually was credited with his first collegiate win, gave way to senior
Zach Adams. Adams hurled three shutout innings of his own, giving the Falcons' bullpen five innings without allowing a run for the game.
“Those two pitchers did a super job,” DeRiggs said. “Galen's done an excellent job as a junior walk-on, and we know Zach is going to be the anchor of our staff. He's already the career leader in appearances, and he's only going to add onto that. We have confidence Zach can pitch against both right handers and left handers, and we know we can bring him in at any point in time.”
An insurance run was scored in the top of the eighth when senior
Wes Hollenbach singled, advanced to third base on Brown's double, and scored on a groundout by classmate
John Brubaker.
The Blue Jays began their ninth inning with the leadoff man reaching on an error before Drake hauled in the two-out blast to right field that preserved the win.
“(Kanen) had already hit a home run earlier in the day, and it's a short porch out there in right field,” DeRiggs said. “My heart pumped a little faster, but I did see freshman right fielder
Derek Drake camping under it, feeling the fence with his foot, so I honestly felt a lot more at ease.”
Messiah (1-3) prepares to host Dickinson College in Saturday's home-opening doubleheader. Game time for the first of the two contests is slated for 12:00 p.m., weather permitting.
