Messiah Miscues, Mary Washington Bats Put Damper On Openers

Fredericksburg, VA — Putting feet on the grass for the first time of the season, things did not go as hoped for the Messiah baseball team, as the Falcons dropped 0-7 and 3-11 decisions at the University of Mary Washington Saturday afternoon.

Messiah (0-2) committed a total seven errors while generating just 10 hits in its first outdoor activity of the spring, leaving second-year head coach Bryan Engle yearning for more.

“It was a frustrating day,” Engle said. “They flat out beat us two games. We showed some glimpses of doing things well, but I was most disappointed with our fundamental mistakes. We did not take care of the ball, and you can’t give good teams those types of extra opportunities.”

The Falcons opened the day staying close to the Yellow Jackets, as junior Sheldon Witmer allowed just two runs in the first five innings of Game One. The sturdy right-hander struck out three batters while walking none, as Mary Washington (2-0) scored an unearned run in the third and an earned run in the fifth.

Messiah’s bats remained quiet during that stretch, however, as the visitors could muster just two hits. The Falcons stranded six on base through selective at-bats, but could not push any across.

Things got out of hand in the bottom of the sixth, as Mary Washington tacked on five runs off of three hits — and three Messiah errors.

“Our approaches weren’t bad, but we dropped some balls that we shouldn’t have,” Engle said.

Witmer (0-1) was saddled with the pitching loss, going five and one-third inning allowing five runs off of five hits. Senior Ben Kirk and junior John Shenk paced Messiah at the plate, each going 2-3.

In the nightcap, Messiah was able to hang with Mary Washington until another big inning from the hosts, as a 4-3 Yellow Jackets lead through three and a half ballooned to a 9-3 advantage in the fourth. The Falcons were buoyed by a three-run third inning, as doubles from Shenk and Witmer keyed a three-hit stanza.

Mary Washington followed with five runs in the bottom of the fourth, coming off three Yellow Jackets hits as well. The hosts then tacked on two more scores in the sixth, earning starter and sophomore Travis Thome (0-1) the pitching defeat.

Shenk and senior Adam Ranck finished as multiple-hit performers in Game Two, with Shenk going 2-3 with a run scored and Ranck 2-4 with an RBI. Witmer drove in a run with his third-inning double, while junior Jordan Zimmerman (1-2) finished with a double as well.

“I’m just not happy with our overall focus and effort, and I’m not sure if that’s my fault for not getting the guys ready to go well enough,” Engle said. “We know it is a long season and we know we have a long way to go. We have to play a lot better. We’ll get back to practice to make sure that we do.”

Messiah will have a week before its next contest, as the team will travel south to face off against Randolph Macon College next Saturday. The Falcons will then partake in another double-header. Game time for the first of two is slated to begin at 12 p.m.