Game 1 Box
Game 2 Box
GRANTHAM, Pa. - The Lebanon Valley College baseball team was dealt a setback in its Commonwealth Conference opener, dropping both ends of a doubleheader, 11-0 and 7-4, to Messiah College Saturday.
The Dutchmen (6-12, 0-2 CC) will again meet the Falcons (18-7, 4-1 CC) on Monday to make up the third game of their season series, which was rained out on Friday. LVC's losing skid was extended to five with the sweep.
Lebanon Valley surrendered 14 hits in the first game while generating just four of their own. In the nightcap, Nick Faria went the distance but took the loss after a big Messiah third inning saw them put all seven of their runs across.
In game one, Messiah put two on the board in the first and never let up. Two more runs came across in the fourth before the Falcons scored five in the fourth, keyed by Sheldon Witmer's two-run home run.
Nate Blough took the loss for LVC, allowing nine runs in three innings of work. Josh Muscalus and Charley Kline split the remaining three innings, allowing three hits combined.
Game two looked more promising for the Dutchmen as they quickly took a 2-0 lead in the first. Brandon Thompson led off with a walk and Corey Lamoureux doubled to put runners on second and third. John Mentzer then stepped up and singled in Thompson, and two batters later, Chris Schank's sacrifice fly to center plated Lamoureux.
The lead lasted until the third when Messiah exploded for seven runs. The Falcons started the inning with back-to-back doubles, and Ben Jordan's two-run bomb in the middle of the inning kept their rally going. Craig Mease put the icing on the cake with a two-RBI single, giving him three RBI on two at-bats in the inning.
The Dutchmen never recovered, and despite Joe Soupik's RBI single and Lamoureux drawing a bases-loaded walk in the fourth, LVC wasn't able to find the runs to tie the game.
Witmer pitched a complete game for Messiah, allowing seven hits and striking out six. Faria gave up seven runs for LVC as he fell to 2-1.
LVC returns home to McGill Field Sunday to host Keuka College for a twinbill starting at 1 p.m.
