he Elizabethtown College baseball team entered into a series last weekend with Commonwealth Conference rival Messiah College. The Falcons grabbed the 9-6 win in the series opener Friday, April 12 and a 4-3 win in game one of Saturday’s doubleheader. Although the Blue Jays grabbed a 9-4 win in game two of the doubleheader, Messiah claimed the overall series win.
Messiah started off the April 12 game strong, putting two runs up in the first inning. The offensive action remained slow until the fourth inning. Senior Dillon Tagle sent in redshirt junior Kyle Gable to put Etown on the board. The Blue Jay’s offense was jumpstarted with Tagle’s RBI. Junior Ian Smith hit a double and although sophomore Ryan Haggerty was tagged out on the play, sophomore Luke Gatti was able to get in to home. A Messiah error sent in senior Kevin Berkheiser in the fifth inning. In the sixth inning, Gatti hit a double, good for an RBI. The Blue Jays were up 4-2.
However, Messiah responded with a dominant seventh inning. Six RBIs from six different Falcons gave Messiah a commanding 8-4 lead. Another Falcon run in the eighth put the game out of reach for the Jays. At the top of the ninth, it looked as if Etown could make the comeback. First-year Parke Martin’s RBI fielder’s choice brought the Jays one run closer, and although Gatti scored another run for Etown, Messiah prevailed 9-6. Senior Matt Ruth pitched most of the game for the Jays and had two strikeouts in the loss.
Messiah traveled to Etown for Saturday’s doubleheader. In game one, Messiah again scored in the first inning. The second and third innings were again scoreless, but Messiah started off the scoring again in the fourth. Heading into the bottom of the fourth, the Falcons sent in two more runs to take a comfortable 5-0 lead. Etown wasn’t ready to go down without a fight ,though. Gatti got the first RBI in a three-run inning for the Jays. First-year Colton King and Martin also sent in runners and put the Jays within reach of the Falcons.
Messiah increased the gap once again with an RBI and an error in the sixth. First-year Sean Jones’ double set him up in good scoring position, and Berkheiser was able to send him in on a groundout. That was the last runner to cross home for the Jays in game one of the doubleheader, and Messiah won 9-4.
Etown was eager for a win in game two to split the doubleheader against the Falcons. Once again, Messiah was first on the board with a two-run first-inning. Etown evened up the score at the bottom of the third. Tagle’s sacrifice fly sent in Gable and a Falcons’ throwing error sent in sophomore Tyler Weary. Etown was able to take the 3-2 lead in the fourth with a sacrifice fly from Gable. Messiah immediately evened the score at the top of the next inning.
The two remained at a standstill until the end of the seventh when first-year Aaron Rahn’s single RBI sent in Gable and gave Etown the victory. Senior Rob Cressman had three strikeouts in game one, and sophomore Dylan Manning lead the Blue Jay defense on the mound in game two.
Gable commented on the tough losses against Messiah. “We’ve had an up and down season so far,” he said. “We’re coming off of a rough week, but we just need to take what we can from those games. Learn from them and put them behind us.”
“I expect our guys to control the things that they can control, which for us is attitude, concentration and effort. As long as I feel that our guys are committed to those three things, I will be content no matter what the results are,” Head Coach Cliff Smith said.
On Wednesday, April 17, Etown faced Susquehanna University at home that ended with a 15-3 victory. Etown took an early 6-0 lead after the third inning, and an eight-run inning in the sixth put the game out of reach for Susquehanna.
