Men's Baseball Hopes to Begin Play

The Messiah Falcons' baseball team is expected to start its season with a doubleheader against Catholic University and Gallaudet University on Saturday, March 6. The Falcons have already experienced an unprecedented seven cancellations due to snow and inclement weather - three doubleheaders and an away game against Johns Hopkins University in Maryland.

Coach Bryan Engle begins his third season as head coach of Messiah College's baseball team. Engle captured the Commonwealth Championship in his first season. Last year, the Falcons narrowly missed the playoffs. This season, Engle has high hopes his Falcons can become contenders again. "In my three years as a head coach, I feel this is the deepest team we have had. Sometimes you have to take a step back before you take a step forward, and I feel we are moving in the right direction," Coach Engle said.The Falcons graduated just two seniors, meaning virtually all of the team is back for the 2010 season. In fact, the Falcons did not lose a single pitcher from their roster. "Having an experienced pitching staff back is huge," Engle said. Senior Sheldon Witmer, juniors Travis Thome and Eric Spring, and sophomore Thor Arnesen direct the team's pitching staff. Filling in as relief pitchers for the Falcons will be sophomore lefty Zach Adams, senior Elliot Thomas, senior Derek Sipe, and sophomore Nate Roten.

For the Falcons to return to the dominant team they were in the '08 season, the pitching staff will have to improve upon its 5.71 ERA from last year. Coach Engle said he thinks an extra year of experience will be very beneficial to his pitchers. "Last year we were very young on the mound and at times we tried to be too fine instead of trusting ourselves. I think we've added a lot of experience to our staff. With experience comes confidence and with confidence comes better results," said Engle.

On offense, the Falcons should be strong this season. The team will miss last year's starting catcher Ben Kirk, a senior who batted .325 while leading the team with 14 stolen bases, but the Falcons have some intriguing prospects in senior Alex Lentz, sophomore transfer Ryan Brown, and freshman David Adams. All three will push for playing time.

Third baseman Adam Ranck is arguably the team's most talented infielder. A senior who batted .344 last year, Ranck was an All-Region Gold Glover in his sophomore campaign. Senior Jon Shenk, the club's second baseman is also playing his final season with the Falcons. Last year, Shenk hit .291 and played solid defense. First baseman Wes Hollenbach and shortstop John Brubaker each won starting spots as freshmen last year and contributed both offensively and defensively for the Falcons. Freshman Paul Mellinger can play both middle infield positions and will push for playing time.

The outfield is promising for the Falcons and serves as home of the team's three leading hitters in '09. Seniors Sheldon Witmer and Jordan Zimmerman, along with sophomore Sam Tajiri, all batted over .360 last year. With another year of experience for each of them, the Falcons will have an intimidating lineup and one of the strongest outfields in the conference.

Coach Engle thinks his team will return to elite status within the conference. "I think we're going to be right back in the mix," he said. "We made a few changes on our team and our coaching staff, and we've had a strong preseason so far. I think that bodes well for this year.