GRANTHAM, Pa. – The Albright Lions baseball team opened its 2021 season with a 10-1 setback on the road to Messiah on Tuesday afternoon.
The Lions will open the 2021 season 0-1 after playing its first game in 367 days when they split a doubleheader against Scranton on March 7
th, 2020. The game counted as a non-conference match.
Senior shortstop
Jimmie Gentry led off the game with a single and advanced to second base on a groundout. Unfortunately for the Lions, Gentry was thrown out trying to take third base on a fly out on the next at-bat. Albright loaded the bases with one out in the top of the second following a double from junior catcher
Dylan Harlos, a single from senior
Brandon Daubert, and a hit by pitch. However, the Lions came up empty after a double play ended the inning. Senior pitcher
Will Tokarski did not allow a hit in the first time through the Falcons order before surrendering a home run with two outs in the bottom of the third, putting Messiah on top 1-0. Harlos made it into scoring position again for the Lions in the top of the fourth, but a fly out ended any possible threat.
Messiah added to its lead in the bottom of the fourth on a single down the right field line after putting runners on first and third with one out. The Falcons hit another home run in the bottom of the fifth following the Lions being retired in order to go up 3-0. Junior
Nick Sklenarik roped a triple with one out in the top of the sixth down the left field line to give the Lions another chance to get on the board. Junior first baseman
Josh Jacavage took advantage with a two-out RBI single that just snuck through the left side to draw the Lions within 3-1. Messiah countered with four runs on two hits in the bottom half of the sixth to take a commanding 7-1 lead. The Falcons scored all of their runs on a pair of two-run triples in the inning. Messiah continued to pull away with two more runs off a two-run single in the bottom of the seventh, and added one last run in the bottom of the eighth. The Lions were only able to muster two hits in the final three innings of play.
Sklenarik went 2-for-4 with a triple and one run scored, while Jacavage went 1-of-3 from the plate with a RBI. Daubert was the second Lion with multiple hits after going 2-of-4 from the plate. Tokarski suffered the loss after allowing one run on two hits with four strikeouts in three innings. Carson Spangler earned the win after throwing a scoreless third inning in relief with one strikeout.
The Lions will return to action on Saturday, March 13
th as they will host Lebanon Valley in a MAC Commonwealth doubleheader starting at 12 p.m.
