GRANTHAM, Pa. – The Lebanon Valley baseball team improved to 11-1 in conference play with a sweep of Messiah on Tuesday afternoon in Grantham. The Dutchmen won the opener 3-1 and then held on for an exciting 10-9 victory in game two.

Game 1

Lebanon Valley (14-10-1, 10-1 MAC Commonwealth) won a pitcher's duel in the opener as Tommy Moore Jr. held the Falcons (11-13-1, 7-7 MAC Commonwealth) off the scoreboard until the seventh inning. LVC scored the first run of the game in the fourth as Jace Fetterman led the inning off with a walk and then moved to third on a Shane Stossel single to right center. Conor Smith drove in Fetterman with a sacrifice fly to right. The Dutchmen increased the lead to 3-0 in the sixth on a Logan Brewer two-run home run to right center. Messiah put the first two batters of the seventh inning on base and scored a run on a one-out double. Moore got out of the jam with a strikeout and grounder to third.

Inside the Box Score

• Moore improved to 3-0 and earned his second victory of the year over the Falcons with a complete game five-hitter. The senior struck out 11 and walked three. His 11 strikeouts are one shy of the school record set by Stossel last year.
• Brewer hit his fifth home run of the year and knocked in two runs.
• Fetterman scored twice after reaching base on a walk and hit by pitch.
• Stossel and Smith had a hit each. Smith hit his fourth double of the year.

Game 2

The Dutchmen (15-10-1, 11-1 MAC Commonwealth) jumped out to a 5-0 lead with five first inning runs. Stossel knocked in the first run on a single to left. Andrew Miles singled down the third base line to score Brewer and Stossel to make it 3-0. Dave Mangold scored on a wild pitch and then Ryan Murphy knocked in Miles with a single right back at the pitcher. The Falcons (11-14-1, 7-8 MAC Commonwealth) cut into the lead with two runs in the third. LVC responded in the fourth with three runs. Santoro hit a double to left center to score Luke Blair with the first run of the inning. Mangold was hit by a pitch with the bases loaded and then Miles walked to plate the other two runs. The Falcons cut the lead to 8-4 with a two-RBI double in the bottom half of the inning. 

Santoro knocked in his second run of the game in the fifth with a single to center. Messiah scored two runs in the fifth and a run in the sixth to cut the lead to 9-7. Blair gave the Dutchmen an important insurance run in the seventh with a home run to right center. That home runs proved to be the difference in the game as the Falcons rallied and plated two runs in the bottom of the seventh. Messiah had the bases loaded and no outs against Tony Bennage. The senior shut the door on the comeback attempt with a foul popup to first, a strikeout, and a ground out up the middle to end the game.

Inside the Box Score

• The Dutchmen had 10 runs on 12 hits and drew five walks.
• Santoro recorded his third four-hit game of the season and had two runs and two RBI.
• Blair had three hits and scored three runs. His home run was the fourth of his career.
• Miles had two hits, knocked in three runs, and score one.
• Brendan Landry received the win on the mound with one inning of relief of Jacob Horton. Landry allowed just one hit and faced three batters.
• Bennage earned his second save of the season getting all three outs in the ninth and facing five batters.
• Ryan Pickle got the Dutchmen out of a jam in the fifth forcing a fly out and a ground out with the bases loaded.

Up Next

LVC will be back on McGill Field this Friday to open their weekend series against Stevenson University. The first pitch is scheduled for 3:30 p.m. against the Mustangs.

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