BOX SCORE 1 | BOX SCORE 2

Reading, Pa. (Mar. 22, 2014) - Senior Chris Gehris (Sinking Spring, Pa./Holy Name) hit his second 3-run home run of the week and junior Steve Price (Barto, Pa./Boyertown) went the distance fora  win in game two as Alvernia University (10-3, 4-1) split a Commonwealth Conference doubleheader with Messiah College (5-5, 3-2) Saturday afternoon at Angelica Park.

The Falcons took advantage of four Crusader errors in the opener scoring five unearned runs in a 6-2 win.  In game two, Price went seven innings giving up four runs (two earned) on seven hits with a walk and seven strikeouts in an 8-4 win.  Gehris drive a pitch out to left as part of a 4-run first.

In the opener, Matt Patterson (Hamilton, N.J./Nottingham) drove in the first run of the game scoring Dustin Stuck (Palmyra, Pa./Palmyra) on a single to left.  Messiah answered back immediately off Alvernia starter Mike Weinhold (Robesonia, Pa./Conrad Weiser) in the top of the second.  Casey Ebersole ripped a single to left with the bases loaded.  Gehris came up firing from left and cut the trail runner down at the plate for the second out of the inning and Weinhold stranded the runner at third with an inning-ending strikeout.

Weinhold stranded a runner at third in each of the next two innings then left with two out in the fifth and a runner on third.  Kevin Becker-Menditto (Frederick, Md./Walkersville) needed one pitch to get out of the inning on a grounder to third.

In the sixth, the Falcons had runners at first and second when a pick-off move from Becker-Menditto had the runner off second, but the throw to third from Richie Ricciardi (Manalapan, N.J./Manalapan) was wide of the mark at third allowing a run to score giviing Messiah a 2-1 lead.

After a scoreless sixth for the home team, Messiah tacked on four more runs in the top of the seventh--all undearned--on three errors and a pair of hits.  The big blow a bases clearing triple by David Sletta.

The Crusaders added one run in the seventh for the 6-2 final.

In game two, Price nearly exited on a bizzare play in the top of the first.  With one out and two on, Stuck laid out for a ball in the gap in right center off the bat of Ben Sollenberger.  The throw to the plate skipped to the backstop, but still kept the second runner at third.  In an effort to back up the plate, Price hustled to the back stop and took a spill against the bricks.  After a brief delay and a few warmup tosses, Price stayed in getting a strikeout and groundout to end the inning.

Alvernia got things started immediately in the bottom half of the first.  Stuck walked and Brok Martin (Ephrata, Pa./Ephrata) put two on when his sacrifice bunt attempt was thrown wild to second.  Ricciardi moved both up and Patterson drove in a run with a fielder's choice.  Gehris followed with his second homer of the season, a no-doubt shot to the trees in left.

Alvernia tacked on two more runs in the second on an opposite-field single by Ricciardi, but the Falcons got those back with two in the third on two hits and an Alvernia error.

Messiah closed to within two runs, 6-4, with a run in the fourth, but Alvernia increased its lead to 8-4 with two in the fifth helped by a pair of Messiah miscues.

Price threw a 1-2-3 sixth and worked around a 1-out single in the seventh.

The two teams meet up Monday at Messiah for the rubber game of the series.

Messiah 6, Alvernia 2 (Game One)
Alvernia 8, Messiah 4 (Game Two)