Widener University Athletics

GRANTHAM Pa. – Widener Baseball battled until the end but were unable to overcome the Messiah Falcons in the MAC Championship series.
 
The Pride finish the season with an overall record of 22-21 and a 13-8 record in the MAC Commonwealth.
 
BY THE NUMBERS GAME ONE

• Ryan Bauerle continued his hot streak, going 2-4 with a lead off home run.
• Kevin Bukowski continued to provide power in the middle of the lineup, going 2-3 and hitting his 15^th home run of the season.
• Sean Burke, Braedyn Clinton, and Ryan Madden each had a hit in game one.

 
BY THE NUMBERS GAME TWO

• Hayden O'Neill was dominant in this win or go home game, tossing 7.1 innings only allowing two earned runs, seven hits, and striking out three.
• Braedyn Clinton had a productive game two, going 2-3 with a walk.
• Chris McKenna, Kevin Bukowski, and Ryan Bauerle each finished with a double.

 
HOW IT HAPPENED GAME ONE
 

• Ryan Bauerle got the scoring started in the MAC Championship, blasting a lead off home run to right center to give the Pride an early 1-0 lead. The Falcons answered quickly in the bottom of the first, hitting a two-run home run to right field to take a 2-1 lead. After a quiet second and third inning from both sides, Kevin Bukowski hit a solo shot to right center in the top of the fourth to even the score at two. Messiah once again answered, hitting a solo shot of their own to take back the lead.

 

• The fifth inning went by with neither side pushing any runs across, but the Falcons broke the game open in the bottom of the sixth. They would put up four runs on five hits to take a 7-3 lead. Messiah continued to add on to their lead in the seventh, adding on three more runs on three hits to take a commanding 10-2 lead. The Pride managed to push one across in the eighth to make it 10-3. Sean Burke got on with a single and Bukowski was hit by a pitch shortly after. Brandon Yoder followed that up by putting a ball in play, forcing a Messiah mistake that allowed a run to score. Messiah would tack on one more in the bottom of the eighth before closing out the game in the top of the ninth, handing the Pride an 11-3 loss in game one.

 
HOW IT HAPPENED GAME TWO
 

• The Falcons carried their momentum over to game two, hitting a two run home run to right field in the bottom of the first to take an early 2-0 lead. Chris McKenna got the Pride on the board in the second, ripping an RBI double to left center to score Clinton from first and make it a 2-1 game. Both offenses went silent from that point on, with Widener's Hayden O'Neill settling in and keeping the Falcons off the board for the next 6.1 innings. The Pride threatened in the top of the sixth loading the bases after Ryan Bauerle doubled, Kevin Bukowski was intentionally walked, and Brandon Yoder was hit by a pitch. Unfortunately, the Pride were unable to push any across and the score remained deadlocked at 2-1.

 

• The Falcons' two runs in the first inning would turn out to be enough as they defeated the Pride by a final score of 2-1 and claimed the MAC Commonwealth title.