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Grantham, PA — There are Falcons that fly high. There are also Falcons that fly with wounded wings. In Saturday’s Homecoming Alumni game, the 2008 edition of the Messiah College Falcons were the ones flying high as they overwhelmed the veteran alumni, 18-1.

And that was exactly the way the Messiah boss, former baseball player, Bryan Engle, wanted it.

“Before the game, our guys received the talk about how this game is fun and enjoyable to take part in,” said Engle. “However, that was quickly followed up with how we want to productively show what we’ve done this fall and put in as a team. We wanted to make sure we came away with a good result in today’s game and fortunately we did that.”

In fact, Engle’s team wasted no time doing that.

Following a quick 1-2-3 top of the first from sophomore hurler, Travis Thome, the patient Falcons took advantage of a bit of wildness from ’07 alum, Ben Jordan. Three walks to leadoff the bottom of the 1st set up an RBI ground-out from senior Ben Kirk and the current Falcons grabbed a 1-0 lead. Junior Jordan Zimmerman followed with a single down the third base line, off the glove of a diving Ryan Butler, which plated sophomore Adam Ranck for a 2-0 advantage. Sophomore first-baseman Jamie Scott followed with a single that plated two runs. Three consecutive hits followed highlighted by an RBI triple by freshman shortstop John Brubaker. Having successfully batted around for a 7-0 advantage, the Falcons tacked on three more runs before ending the top frame with a 10-0 lead.

“It’s pretty safe to stay that’s the start we were looking for,” stated Engle. “Travis did a great job of putting the alumni down in order in the top and we got after it in the bottom half. Overall, it was a solid mix of being patient at the plate, getting some key hits, and taking advantage of some fielding mistakes by the alumni.”

In the top of the second inning, former Messiah All-American and current professional player, Chris Heisey, doubled. He moved to third on a bunt attempt by Jordan before scoring on a passed ball. As it turned out, Heisey’s double was the only hit of the day for the alumni while the younger Falcons continued to put runs on the board.

Ebersole tacked on two runs with a two-RBI double to left in the bottom of the second while Danny Etter and Josh Hershberger both received credit for RBI’s by drawing bases-loaded walks. Freshman Thor Arnesen went to the opposite field for a two-RBI single while Sean Hart added an RBI double to right field. Late in the game, a final run was plated as Etter was safe on an error as a run came across to provide the final margin.

“I was happy with how our pitchers pounded the strike zone today and we played solid defense behind our pitchers,” said the Falcon skipper, who moves to 2-0 in alumni games after his inaugural season 5-2 victory in 2007. “It was a good opportunity to get everyone the chance to play today and have a good wrap-up to our fall.”

After winning the Commonwealth Conference Championship last year and tying the school-record for wins in a season, with 28, while advancing to the NCAA Division III National Tournament, this year’s Messiah team has its sights set high.

“I believe we laid a solid foundation last year and saw many good strides throughout the year,” said Engle. “As we continue to build this program, I am excited to see what our young men can achieve. Days like today are great reminders of the many players who have played before us to help us get to this point. This program is at a prime spot for continued success and we hope to deliver on that in the spring.”

Messiah now heads into the off-season after what Engle feels was a “very productive” fall season. Official workouts will begin for the spring on January 26 in preparation for the season-opener on Saturday, February 14th at Mary Washington University in Fredericksburg, Virginia. Messiah's official 2009 spring schedule will make its debut on GoMessiah.com in the upcoming days.