Game 1 Box Score  Game 2 Box Score

ANNVILLE, Pa. – Messiah hit three home runs that resulted in nine of their 13 runs and the Falcons swept Lebanon Valley in a Commonwealth Conference baseball doubleheader Monday afternoon at McGill Field.

Messiah (19-13, 12-9 CC) won 5-0 in the opener behind a four-hit shutout from senior Bryan Engle and a grand slam by sophomore Chris Regan, then picked up an 8-5 win in the nightcap.

With the wins, Messiah finished fourth in the Commonwealth Conference standings and will meet Elizabethtown College in a conference semifinal game at E-town on Wednesday.

Lebanon Valley (14-14, 9-12) finished in seventh place in the Commonwealth and failed to make the conference playoffs for the first time in three years.

Sophomore Robert Nordall (Lebanon, Pa./Lebanon) was charged with the loss for LVC in the opener while classmate Dennis Reilly (Hatboro, Pa./Hatboro-Horsham) suffered the defeat for the Valley in the second game.

Sophomore Scott Montgomery (Harrisburg, Pa./Susquehanna Township) went 3-for-5 to lead LVC at the plate while senior Tim Rink (Ivyland, Pa./Council Rock) and junior Jeff Grieger (Riegelsville, Pa./Wilson) each hit 3-for-7.

In the first game, senior Mark Schauren (Columbia, Pa./Columbia) did not commit an error in eight chances at first base to conclude a perfect season in the field. Schauren, who was the team's designated hitter in the nightcap, made 204 putouts and 16 assists without a miscue during the season.

Nordall (2-3) shut out Messiah over the first two innings in game one but ran into trouble in the third. With two outs, the Falcons loaded the bases with a single and two walks, setting the stage for Regan. The team's cleanup batter, Regan smashed a towering home run, his second of the season, over the second wall in left center to give Messiah all the offense it would need.

The Falcons added a run for good measure in the seventh. In the meantime, Engle (6-3) retired 11 of the last 12 batters he faced en route to his first shutout of the season.

In his fourth complete game of the year, Nordall gave up seven hits, walked four and struck out two. Engle, who handed LVC its first shutout of the season, walked two and struck out six.

Facing Reilly (3-3) in the second game, Messiah continued its hot hitting and built a 7-0 lead after four innings of play. Sophomore Robert Revercomb put the Falcons on the scoreboard in the second with a two-run homer to center and sophomore Andrew Bagley made it 5-0 with a three-run, opposite-field shot to right in the third.

The Falcons added a pair of unearned runs against Reilly in the fourth.

Messiah starter Kyle Brobst pitched extremely well for Messiah in the early going and shut out LVC while allowing only one hit over the first five innings. The Valley finally broke through against Brobst (4-2) with a three-run sixth. Grieger, senior Joe Zielke (Media, Pa./Penncrest) and Rink drove in one run apiece in the inning for LVC.

The Falcons tacked on an insurance run in the seventh against LVC reliever Dallas Noll (Myerstown, Pa./ELCO) to push their lead to 8-3. But the Dutchmen continued to rough up Brobst in the sixth, when Grieger made it an 8-5 game with a two-run double.

Lebanon Valley had the tying run at the plate in the seventh after Rink singled off Brobst and senior Mike Worthington (Harrisburg, Pa./Central Dauphin) drew a walk against reliever Matthew Allen. However, Allen settled in and fanned the side to end the game while picking up his second save of the season.

Brobst yielded eight hits, five runs and five walks but was credited with the win for Messiah.

Reilly was touched for six hits and seven runs. He walked two and struck out one.

In three innings of relief, Noll gave up four hits and one run. He walked none and struck out one in his final collegiate appearance.

Grieger was 3-for-4 with three RBIs in the nightcap.

[Photo - Senior first baseman Mark Schauren, who did not commit an error in the 2003 season]

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