Box Score Game 1 -
Box Score Game 2
by Cody Swartz, GoMessiah.com reporter
Reading, PA - The Messiah Falcons lost both games of a Saturday doubleheader with the Alvernia Crusaders, dropping a 7-6 heartbreaker on a walkoff play that can only be deemed as bizarre, followed by a 2-1 pitching duel that topped off a disappointing day for the Falcons.
Messiah (5-14, 1-5) entered the day desperately needing to win to salvage its playoff chances. The Falcons led for the entire first game against a top-ranked Crusaders team before a last-inning collapse buried them. Messiah responded with a strong pitching performance from sophomore
Jon Lapp in the second game, but the offense registered just two hits and one run in the contest.
“I'm not into moral victories but I was extremely encouraged by our efforts out there on the field,” said Messiah head baseball coach Steve DeRiggs. “We played absolutely terrific error-free ball in the first game for 6 1/3 innings before that bizarre play cost us at the end. Our pitching was superb in the second game. We still have a lot of conference games to go and we continue to just stay positive about our chances.”
The Falcons' offense – held to just one run in Friday's frustrating 8-1 loss to the Crusaders – scored five times in the first three innings. Lapp started the rally by working a seven-pitch walk against Alvernia standout left-hander Mike Weinhold. Senior
Ryan Brown singled and classmate
Wes Hollenbach followed with an opposite field double that plated Lapp. Sophomore
Paul Mellinger's two-run single was the key to the rally, as Mellinger's clutch two-out hit put the Falcons up by three early.
Two more runs – freshman
Derek Drake and senior
John Brubaker – were scored in the top of the third inning when Messiah capitalized on a trifecta of errors from Alvernia.
“I really liked the early start we had offensively,” DeRiggs said. “It was nice to not have to come from behind, and we did so against a very good conference pitcher. I thought we ran the ball well today, we executed our bunts, and we had a high number of hits at the plate.”
Meanwhile, sophomore
Paul Broomell held the Crusaders scoreless for the first three innings. Alvernia pieced together four runs on a slew of walks in the fourth inning, making it a one-run game when Broomell was removed for junior
Galen Halteman. Broomell finished with 3.2 innings pitched, giving up four runs on four hits, six walks, and one strikeout, receiving a no-decision for the game.
Halteman and senior
Zach Adams combined to hold the Crusaders scoreless for the next three innings, getting out of bases-loaded jams in both the fourth and fifth innings, and a two-on situation in the sixth. The Falcons tacked on what appeared to be an insurance run in the top of the seventh when Mellinger singled, stole second base, and scored on Turman's two-out single.
Adams – pitching his third inning in relief – struck out the leadoff man in the bottom of the last frame before giving up consecutive singles. A wild pitch put runners on second and third, prompting an obvious intentional walk to set up a force double play.
Crusaders cleanup hitter Matt Patterson then blasted a deep fly ball to left center field, dropping just out of reach of both a diving Turman and
Sam Tajiri. The lead two runners scored, tying the game, and when an errant relay throw sailed to the backstop, the Crusaders snatched victory from almost certain defeat.
The Falcons gave up just seven hits in the game – and only four until the final inning – but an unheard-of number of free passes led to Messiah's demise: Three pitchers combined to walk 12 batters and hit two more, allowing the Crusaders to put 21 men on base in seven innings of play.
“The free passes put an incredible amount of pressure on both the offense and the defense,” DeRiggs said. “It turns over their lineup, it uses our arms, and the defense has to play differently with men on base. They're not able to be as loose, and they have to play on the heels of their feet as opposed to on the balls of their feet. The walks create pressure and destroys the rhythm, and this created a lot of problems for us.”
Adams (0-2) was charged with the loss in the contest.
Game Two
Lapp was masterful in his start, pitching six strong innings, allowing just a pair of unearned runs. He gave up eight hits, walked just one, and struck out four. Lapp (0-3) induced eight ground ball outs, going the distance in what turned out to be a complete game loss.
“Jon was extremely fine for us today after a slow start to the season pitching,” DeRiggs said. “He is finding his arm slot and he gave us six outstanding innings against a top-quality opponent. He just deserved a better fate than what he got today.”
Messiah did give up runs in both the third and fourth innings, each of which came on errors that would prove to be extremely costly.
The Falcons were held scoreless for the majority of the game, failing to even register a hit until Mellinger singled with two outs in the sixth inning. Hollenbach followed with an RBI single that scored Turman – who had reached on a walk – to cut it to a 2-1 Alvernia lead, but the Falcons couldn't push across a second run that would have tied the game.
In losing both contests, Messiah falls to just 1-5 in conference play; a much-needed series against Albright College looms next weekend. The Falcons will take their home field against TCNJ on Tuesday and then travel to York College for a game on Wednesday before their three-game weekend series with Albright.
