HARRISONBURG, Va. – It was beautiful day for baseball at Royals Field on Tuesday as the EMU Baseball team played host to Messiah in a game originally scheduled for Feb. 27. The Royals fought back from a 4-1 deficit with a six-run seventh inning, but in the end, there was no joy in Harrisonburg as EMU fell 8-7 to the Falcons. EMU had the bases loaded in the bottom of the ninth but could not quite push the tying or winning run across home plate.

Ethan Spraker shined for the Royals in defeat, going 4-for-5 with an RBI on the afternoon. Spraker entered Tuesday's game ranking 12th in the ODAC with a .444 batting average.

Records: EMU 3-7 | Messiah 9-3

WP: Christian Foltz (2-0)
LP: Trey Mitchell (1-1)
Save: Noah Barrall (3)

Highlights

• EMU fire the opening salvo in the bottom of the first inning when Nick Arnold reached home on a Messiah fielding error to make 1-0 Royals.
• Messiah countered with the next four runs in the game. The Falcons' first score came in the bottom of the fourth with a sacrifice fly by Jarrett Gordon. One batter later, Nick Moyer singled to center field to put Messiah up 2-1 after the fourth. The Falcons one more run each in the sixth and the seventh to go ahead 4-1 through six-and-a-half innings of play.
• The dormant Royals offense exploded for six runs in the bottom of the seventh. It all started when Drew Petitt scored after Arnold drew a bases-loaded walk. That brought Spraker to the dish, who belted a single to right center to bring in Dylan Hall. The rally continued two batters later when Garrett Nyce doubled down the left field line, bringing in both Logan Mason and Arnold to give EMU the lead at 5-4. The Royals tacked on two more runs off of a Matthew Harding single up the middle, making the score 7-4 EMU through seven.
• Alas, the Royal lead would not last. Messiah narrowed the gap to 7-5 going into the top of the ninth. Down to their last out, Messiah got a three-RBI double from Drew Hurst to re-take the lead at 8-7.
• EMU loaded the bases in the bottom of the ninth with two outs and Alex Gulisano up to bat. Gulisano hit the ball on the ground to the Messiah shortstop. In a close play, Gulisano was out by an eyelash at first base, and the Royals fell short in gut-wrenching fashion.  

Statistical Leaders
Spraker: 4-for-5, 1 run, 1 RBI
Nyce: 1-for-3, 2 RBIs
Harding: 1-for-1, 2 RBIs

What's Next
EMU Baseball will look to bounce back quickly when they travel to Mary Washington on Wednesday, March 13 for a 3 p.m. first pitch.