Box Score
GRANTHAM, Pa. – For the third time in its last five games, the Lebanon Valley College baseball team was victimized by a last-inning rally following its 9-8 Commonwealth Conference loss at Messiah College Friday afternoon at Starry Field.
After erasing a five-run deficit, the Flying Dutchmen took an 8-6 lead when sophomore shortstop John Mentzer jacked a two-run homer to left-center in the top of the ninth. But the Falcons rallied to score three times in the bottom of the inning before an out was recorded.
Lebanon Valley (4-12, 2-5 CC), which received a 3-for-5 day at the plate from Mentzer, has now lost by a single run in four of its five Commonwealth Conference losses.
Senior Ryan Dalton threw the ninth inning for LVC, as he fell to 0-3 on the season. Dan Kern (1-3) pitched the final three innings for Messiah (9-13, 2-5 CC) to pick up the win.
The Falcons got back-to-back walks to start their rally and after a wild pitch put runners on first and second, No. 3 hitter Chris Heisey was intentionally walked, loading the bases. Ned Bennington then tied the game with a two-run single to put runners on the corners before Ben Kirk singled home Heisey with the winning run.
Bennington finished 3-for-5 with three RBIs and a solo home run.
The Dutchmen went ahead early when sophomore second baseman Corey Lamoureux doubled and scored on a single from freshman centerfielder Bert Malloy in the top of the first. But Messiah came back with a five-run second, aided by three LVC errors. The Falcons tacked on another run in the third to make it 6-1.
Messiah starter Barak Gohn held Lebanon Valley to one hit from the second through the fifth innings, but the Dutchmen found their swing in the sixth, when they plated four runs on four hits and one error. Mentzer got things started with a one-out double and scored one batter later on a single from sophomore designated hitter Chris Schank, who went on to score on an error. After a double from senior third baseman Alex Morrison put runners on second and third, junior leftfielder Dan Kelly singled in a run before Morrison trotted home on a balk.
The Dutchmen tied the game 6-6 with one run off Kern in the eighth. With no outs, LVC loaded the bases after Schank walked, junior first baseman Brad Brandt was hit with a pitch, and senior catcher Matt Rich also got a base on balls. Morrison then drove in Schank with a groundout to short, but Kern escaped further damage by getting a pair of pop-outs to end the inning.
Lebanon Valley's bullpen allowed the Dutchmen to keep it close, as freshman left-handers Mike Snyder and Nick Faria combined to throw three perfect innings from the sixth through the eighth. Snyder struck out two in the sixth before Faria got four fly-ball outs in the seventh and eighth.
Junior rightfielder Richie Schwartz ignited the Valley's ninth-inning rally, singling with one out before Mentzer's homer, his first of the season and the second of his collegiate career.
Senior Taylor Sgrignoli started on the mound for the Dutchmen and yielded six runs in five innings, although only two were earned.
Lebanon Valley completes its three-game season series with Messiah when it hosts the Falcons on Saturday in a doubleheader starting at noon.
[Photo - Sophomore John Mentzer]
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