ST. DAVIDS, Pa.- Eastern University Baseball rallied from a 6-1 deficit to top Wilkes 7-6 in the deciding game of an important Freedom Conference series. Tyler Orr delivered the deciding blow with his second home run of the afternoon to lead off the bottom of the ninth inning.

Things started poorly for the Eagles as a pair of defensive miscues in the first inning gave the visiting Colonels extra outs. Wilkes took advantage and led 3-0 before Eastern came to bat in the game.

Wilkes starter Brandon Carling retired the first two Eastern hitters before Orr hit his first home run of the day to left center. The junior right fielder had hoped to be with family to celebrate three generations of April 14 birthdays on what was originally an off day. His maternal grandmother, his mom, and sister were all born on April 14, but when heavy rains midweek pushed Friday's game back, Sunday became a game day.

Today's three-hit game capped a monster week for the junior center fielder. In five games, Orr was 9-for-18 with 12 RBIs. With the two home runs today, he had six extra-base hits for a slugging percentage of 1.166. His OPS for the week stands at a Ruthian level of 1.737.

The home run, however, was just a single tally, and the Colonels (14-11, 6-9 Freedom) picked up three more against Eastern starter Ben Melendez in the third. Again, defensive miscues played a role as it appeared the Colonels had rolled into an inning-ending double play without a run scoring. The turn, however, did not get made and Wilkes took advantage of the extra outs.

Melendez allowed single hits in the fourth and fifth, but did not give up another run. The junior right-hander allowed only two earned runs on eight hits. Only one Wilkes hit went for extra-bases.

The Eastern rally started in the fifth with, oddly enough, a strikeout. Devon Ziegenfuss battled Carling for eight pitches to lead off the inning. While Carling won the battle, it came at a cost. The bottom of the Eastern line-up took advantage as Mark Royer singled and Ryan McMenamin earned a seven-pitch walk with two outs. Joe Grato singled to center to drive in one run and Eric Rossi turned on an inside pitch for a double down the right field line to drive in another run.

Wilkes then elected to intentionally walk Orr to face Greg DeSarro. DeSarro hit a home run at Wilkes in game two yesterday and is hitting .347. He is among Eastern's career leaders in hits and RBIs. DeSarro hit a ball deep to center for an inning-ending out.

"That tells you how hot Tyler is right now," head coach Jed Morris commented, "they walked him to get to Greg. It worked that time, but it is quite a gutsy move."

Ernie Stiegler came on in the sixth for his second relief appearance of the year. The senior right-hander started game one yesterday, but went only one inning after getting hit by a line drive. Stiegler was brilliant in relief. He faced 11 batters over three innings and did not allow a hit or a run.

The Eastern offense, meanwhile, grabbed back two more runs in the sixth after Stephen Valentine reached on an error. Dillon Schwartzer delivered a two-out RBI-single off reliever A.J. Mihaly. The junior shortstop then stole second and scored on a Ryan McMenamin single to right center. Grato hit a ball deep to center for the final out of the inning.

With Stiegler in command, it seemed that the Eagles had the momentum to grab the lead, and it looked as though it was going to happen in the seventh after Rossi singled, Orr got hit by a pitch, and DeSarro walked with no one out.

Angelo Kelly, who replaced Valentine to face the right-handed Mihaly, hit a ground ball to second that Wilkes turned into a double play. The speedy left-handed hitter nearly beat the throw, but he was ruled out, and Orr stood at third with two away. Ziegenfuss fought off an 0-2 pitch for a spinning grounder short of first base. Mihaly and Ziegenfuss raced for the bag and Ziegenfuss slid to beat the throw. He too was called out, and the rally ended with just one run scoring.

The Eagles put two on with two out in the eighth, but Rossi's sharp ground ball went right to the second baseman to end the inning.

Anthony Messina came on to pitch the ninth. Messina had not given up an earned run in seven previous appearances, and the junior closer faced only three batters in the ninth. Bobby Schappell worked a nine-pitch walk with one out, but Messina got out of the inning with a one-hopper to Schwartzer at short. McMenamin caught the flip bare-handed and made the turn in plenty of time to end the inning.

"He will probably allow one sometime," Morris commented about Messina's streak, "but it was not going to be today. He was on today and totally focused. We could have kept Ernie going, but Anthony was ready, and we were not sure what pitching two days in a row would do. Ernie was great for us though. To keep the game there gives us a chance. Ben pitched a lot better than his line too, but we did not make a lot of plays to help him."

Messina has now pitched 9 2/3 innings without allowing an earned run. He has allowed six hits and walked two. With the win today, he is 1-1 with two saves.

The Eastern pitching set up Orr's heroics to lead off the ninth. Off the bat, the shot to center appeared to be too high to carry the full distance, but, to the delight of a nice Sunday afternoon home crowd and the Eastern bench, it cleared the center field fence for the game-winner. Orr's sixth home run of the season moves him into a tie for second on the Eastern single-season list. Chris Millitello hit eight home runs in 2000.

The win moves Eastern into a tie for fifth in the league with Wilkes. The two teams both play Misericordia and Delaware Valley in the final two series of the year. If Eastern can match Wilkes over those six games, the Eagles will have the tiebreaker. Manhattanville is currently a game up on Eastern in fourth. The Valiants close out the year with two tough series against DeSales and FDU-Florham. If Eastern and Manhattanville finish tied, the Eagles will have the tie-breaker over the Valiants as well. Because Manhattanville and FDU play three games against each other, the Eagles who were picked eighth in the preseason poll, technically control their own destiny for a playoff spot.

The Eagles (14-12, 6-9) are scheduled to play midweek at Immaculata and Haverford before starting their weekend set at Misericordia on Friday.

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