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Falcons Snatch Victory From Jaws Of Defeat, Hand Arcadia Two L's
Junior Jordan Zimmerman made a splash in his first game back since colliding with the wall a week and a half ago.

Glenside, PA — The cardiac kids were at it again Saturday, this time waiting until their final strike before mounting a sudden, jolting comeback at MAC Commonwealth rival Arcadia University — coming away with 12-10 and 13-5 wins as a result.

The story of the day was both the wind — it howled at sustained gusts of near 30 miles per hour — and Messiah’s dramatic finish to Game One, as senior catcher Ben Kirk turned a 9-8 deficit into a 9-9 ballgame on a 2-2 single in the top of the seventh, keeping the game alive by the slimmest of margins.

Junior centerfielder Jordan Zimmerman then followed with a three-run rocket to right field, putting Messiah (10-16-1, 3-5) up by a 12-9 count.

While Arcadia (3-20, 0-5) would score a run in the bottom of the seventh, a deep fly ball from first baseman Joe Rafanelli with one on base was pulled in by freshman Sam Tajiri at the wall in left field.

The Falcons could breathe again.

“It’s good to get wins anytime, but especially on the road in tough conditions,” said Bryan Engle, Messiah head coach. “With the way the wind was blowing straight out to right field, you had a pretty good idea it was going to be a hitter’s day and some football scores might be on the board. It was essential to stress the importance to never stop competing, as you never know when the winning run is going to cross the plate. For us, fortunately, the guys had enough drive to keep going until the final out .”

It appeared that no such seventh-inning dramatics would be necessary for the Falcons, as Messiah captured a 6-1 lead through three and a half innings of play in the day’s opener. A triple from sophomore Sean Hart paced a two-run second, while three walks and two batters hit-by-pitch led to a three-run third. Following a groundout RBI in the fourth inning from junior Sheldon Witmer, it seemed Engle’s club had things in firm control.

On this windy day, however, nothing was assured.

Arcadia erupted for five runs off of five hits and a Messiah error in the bottom of the fourth, pulling to a 6-5 difference. After a pair of Falcons’ singles made it a 7-5 game in the fifth, back-to-back doubles and a homer from the hosts made it a 8-7 Knights’ lead in the bottom of the sixth.

And so the stage was set for drama. Again.

With a hang-on-for-dear-life win at The College of New Jersey occurring in Messiah’s last contest, Saturday’s opener would literally come down to the squad’s final strike. A double from junior Jon Shenk eventually led to the Falcons’ first scored run of the seventh, but a fly out from Witmer put two outs on the board with runners on first and third.

When Kirk worked the count to 2-2, tensions were high.

His single to left field was perhaps more relieving than celebratory.

Engle’s club had little time to contemplate its new life thanks to Zimmerman, who was returning to the lineup for the first time since a nasty collision with the outfield wall a week and a half earlier. He promptly ripped a deep blast to right field, giving Messiah a 12-9 lead in the most exciting of fashions.

Junior Elliott Thomas (1-1) then picked up the pitching win in relief of starter Witmer and junior middle reliever Derek Sipe, tossing the final two innings while giving up just three hits while striking out two.

“It could've been easy to hit cruise control after we took a 6-1 lead, however Arcadia hit the ball well and took advantage of some uncharacteristic wildness from Sheldon (Witmer), to tie the game and then eventually take a lead,” Engle said. “We certainly pulled one out from the jaws of defeat. Credit Ben Kirk on getting a big hit to tie the game, and credit Jordan Zimmerman for hitting a deep three-run shot to right field that would've been gone without a strong wind.”

Zimmerman’s second dinger of the year helped him to a four-RBI line, while Kirk and Shenk joined freshman Wes Hollenbach with two-hit performances.

As a team, Messiah hit better than in any game this season during Saturday’s nightcap, blasting a total 20 hits en route to the 13-5 victory.

That still didn’t equate to an easy win, as the Knights kept things close through five full innings of play. Incremental scores from Messiah over the first three innings were rebuked in a two-run first and a three-run third by Arcadia, and the Falcons led by just a 7-5 score going into the top of the sixth.

It was at that point that Engle’s club erupted for five hits and five runs, taking advantage of a Knights’ error as well to jump out to a 12-5 lead.

A double from Tajiri then drove in Zimmeman in the ninth, who reached on a single.

Sophomore Travis Thome (2-4) started and collected the pitching win in the day’s finale, going four and two-thirds innings with five strikeouts and six hits allowed. Sophomore Eric Spring (1) came on in relief, picking up his first save of the year after striking out four of nine total batters faced.

Six Messiah batters recorded multiple-hit performances, while 13 of the team’s 20 hits and 11 of the team’s 13 RBI came from the bottom four of the batting order. Junior Dan Etter finished 3-4 with four RBI, while Shenk hit 3-4 with three runs knocked in. Tajiri went 4-4 with two runs scored and two RBI, while Hollenbach finished 3-5 with three runs scored and two RBI.

“We really hit the ball well in the second game, and getting production from top-to-bottom of the line-up is what makes teams solid,” Engle said. “This may have been the first time this year that we received that kind of production. Eric Spring did a great job in relief of Travis Thome. He threw really well and we needed to hold Arcadia's offense down after we added a run in the fifth and then five more in the sixth.

“Sam Tajiri did a great job in left field in handling the tough wind conditions, and my vote for player of the day goes to Sam,” he continued. “No only was he great in left field where he recorded three put-outs in Game One, he also was 4-4 with two runs and two RBI in Game Two.”

Messiah will look to complete its three-game conference series with Arcadia Monday, as wet weather postponed would was originally scheduled as a Friday contest. A single, nine-inning game is now set to begin at the Falcons’ field Monday at 3:30 p.m.

“We want to put ourselves in a position where we want to be,” Engle said in regards to the conference race. Essentially, there is no difference between the importance of these games or ones against our biggest rivals. We play 15 conference games in the course of a season and each one is just as important as any other. It's of utmost importance that we come out on Monday and play well. Protecting our home field, playing well in a conference game and hopefully getting a result that we need.”