Eastern Mennonite’s baseball team had their six-game winning streak snapped Monday afternoon, dropping a 9-6 decision to Messiah in Harrisonburg. The Royals fell behind in the first and could never draw even with their visitors as they fall to 7-2.
The men have one more home game on Wednesday, hosting Southern Virginia at 3:00pm. The game against SVU wraps up a 10-game home stand to open the season.
The Falcons got things rolling quickly, triggered by a leadoff double. After three hits and two walks, the visitors had a 3-0 lead before EMU even got to the plate.
The Royals got a pair of two-out RBI hits in the second, slicing the deficit to 3-2. But Messiah got the runs right back in the third, with an error leading to two unearned scores.
Things went quiet until the sixth when the Falcons scored a pair of two-out runs to bump their lead to 7-2.
Messiah brought in a reliever to start the bottom half of the sixth and back-to-back leadoff walks got the Royals back in business. Adam Marston (Woodstock, Va./Miller School) ripped a gapper to right center, chasing home both runners. Marston eventually scored on a ground ball, cutting the margin to 7-5.
The teams traded runs in the eighth, but the Falcons scored again in the ninth before leaving the bases loaded.
The men got a one-out single in their last at-bat, but a double play ball ended the comeback attempt.
Marston was the big stick for the offense, batting 3-4 with three RBIs and two runs. Nic Love (Bedford, Va./Staunton River) also had three hits, as the two combined for half of EMU’s 12 hits. Kyle Mathews (Chesapeake, Va./Great Bridge) had two singles and Patrick Love (Bedford, Va./Staunton River) scored twice.
Right-hander Cody Gibson (Charlottesville, Va./Fluvanna) started and was chased after 2.0+ innings. He allowed five runs on four hits, falling to 1-1. Jimmy Miller (Port Republic, Va./Spotswood) pitched well in relief, throwing three scoreless frames before wearing out in his fourth inning. Four other relievers pitched as well.
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