Eastern Mennonite's baseball team had their six-game winning streak snapped Monday afternoon, dropping a 9-6 decision to Messiah in Harrisonburg.  The Royals fell behind in the first and could never draw even with their visitors as they fall to 7-2.

The men have one more home game on Wednesday, hosting Southern Virginia at 3:00pm.  The game against SVU wraps up a 10-game home stand to open the season.

The Falcons got things rolling quickly, triggered by a leadoff double.  After three hits and two walks, the visitors had a 3-0 lead before EMU even got to the plate.

The Royals got a pair of two-out RBI hits in the second, slicing the deficit to 3-2.  But Messiah got the runs right back in the third, with an error leading to two unearned scores.

Things went quiet until the sixth when the Falcons scored a pair of two-out runs to bump their lead to 7-2.

Messiah brought in a reliever to start the bottom half of the sixth and back-to-back leadoff walks got the Royals back in business.  Adam Marston (Woodstock, Va./Miller School) ripped a gapper to right center, chasing home both runners.  Marston eventually scored on a ground ball, cutting the margin to 7-5.

The teams traded runs in the eighth, but the Falcons scored again in the ninth before leaving the bases loaded.

The men got a one-out single in their last at-bat, but a double play ball ended the comeback attempt.

Marston was the big stick for the offense, batting 3-4 with three RBIs and two runs.  Nic Love (Bedford, Va./Staunton River) also had three hits, as the two combined for half of EMU's 12 hits.  Kyle Mathews (Chesapeake, Va./Great Bridge) had two singles and Patrick Love (Bedford, Va./Staunton River) scored twice.

Right-hander Cody Gibson (Charlottesville, Va./Fluvanna) started and was chased after 2.0+ innings.  He allowed five runs on four hits, falling to 1-1.  Jimmy Miller (Port Republic, Va./Spotswood) pitched well in relief, throwing three scoreless frames before wearing out in his fourth inning.  Four other relievers pitched as well.