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Surge Continues as Team Dumps Mass. College of Liberal Arts 14-7
Posted: 3/18/2008
Box Score | More Baseball news
Sophomore Sheldon Witmer went 4-5 against the Trailblazers, scoring two runs while driving in three.

Altomonte Springs, FL — The Messiah College baseball team continued its recent scoring tear Tuesday afternoon, as the squad handed Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts a 14-7 defeat at Lake Brantley Field in central Florida.

The Falcons — spending spring break playing nine games in the Sunshine state — rattled off its fifth straight win under football-like scoring means: Messiah (9-6) has averaged an astonishing 12.2 runs per game and a sickening 14.4 hits per game during the streak, making pitcher-turned-head coach Bryan Engle a new fan of offensive slugfests.

“I said at the very beginning of the year that I thought this team had the potential to be very, very good at the plate,” Engle said following the latest onslaught. “I’m always going to have a deep appreciation for winning a 1-0 or 2-1 game, but it sure is fun to watch the guys swing the sticks like this.”

In similar fashion to its sweep of Greenville College on Monday, Engle’s team used one big inning to break things wide open. After senior starting pitcher Jeremy Stoltzfus opened the day with a no-hitter through the first three innings of work, the Falcons’ bats came alive in the third, scoring six runs off of five hits. That complemented an unearned run in the second stanza, and Messiah was sitting atop a 7-0 lead in the blink of an eye.

A two-run homer from sophomore Jon-Mike Richards began the flurry of activity, while a hustle play from senior Ben Jordan would prove monumental just two batters later. With one out already retired, sophomore Jordan Zimmerman collected a walk. Jordan then hit a ground ball to shortstop, forcing Zimmerman out at second.

Streaking down the first base line, Jordan just beat out the potential double-play, keeping the inning alive for the Falcons.

After a pair of doubles and singles drove in an additional four runs, Engle had not forgotten about Jordan’s fielder’s choice.

“It seemed pretty insignificant at the time, but Jordan’s effort was a perfect example of the little things we’re always talking about as a team,” Engle said. “We score four runs because Ben Jordan hustled a ground-out. That is what wins you games.”

The Falcons’ big lead seemed to affect Stoltzfus in a negative fashion, however, as the eventual winner on the mound allowed Trailblazers’ lead off batters to reach base in each of the next three innings. Massachusetts-Liberal Arts then scored two runs in each of those stanzas, leading to the end of Stoltzfus’ afternoon in the sixth inning.

Messiah’s bats would not let things get close despite the Trailblazers’ efforts, as a homer to the opposite field from sophomore Sheldon Witmer drove in two more runs in the fifth. A lead-off double from Richards eventually led to another run scored in the sixth inning, while Messiah would tack on two more runs in the seventh and eighth innings. Jordan provided the most exciting moment out of those two stanzas, stealing home in the eighth off a pick-off attempt to first base.

“The key for us today was the production we got from the bottom of our lineup, and you need everyone to contribute if you want to win over the course of a season,” Engle said. “Sheldon Witmer was a perfect example of that, as he hit his first collegiate home run for us. Jon-Mike Richards’ double looked like it was going to be gone, but it hit off the wall to stay in the ballpark.”

Witmer finished 4-5 on the day with two runs scored and three RBI, while four other players had multiple-hit days, as Richards (two), senior Kyle Stuckey (two), senior Ben Snyder (three) and sophomore Alex Lentz (three) all contributed on multiple at-bats. Sophomore Adam Ranck joined Richards and Lentz with two RBI.

Jordan came on in pitching relief of Stoltzfus (1-2), going three full innings while allowing just one run off of three hits. Junior Kurt Heim came on in the ninth in a non-save situation, striking out two of four batters faced to end things.

“We would have liked to hold them down a bit better in the middle innings, but overall it was a pretty good outing for us,” Engle said. “MLAC scored all of their runs in innings in which their lead-off batter reached base, and we’ve been taking about that a lot recently. In the innings that we prevented them from getting on (in lead-off situations), they did not score.”

Engle’s group will have a brief hiatus to think about such idiosyncrasies, as the team will now take Wednesday off to enjoy some tourist attractions in the Orlando area. The squad will return to action Thursday, taking part of a double-header against St. Joe’s College (N.Y.). The first game is slated to begin at 1 p.m.