GRANTHAM, Pa.– In the series opener against the Messiah College Falcons, Eastern University Baseball took the lead with a two-run sixth inning and held on for a an 8-6 win. After Jin Lee worked out of a jam in the eighth, David Hunsberger delivered a critical solo home run with two outs in the top of the ninth before Lee retired the side in order with a pair of strike outs to earn his first career save.

The Eagles put multiple runners on in each of the first three innings but only managed a single run on a Mark Cruser RBI-double in the second. The Falcons erased that edge with a two-run homer off John Beck in the bottom of the third. Those would be the only two earned runs Beck would allow in his six-innings of work. The junior right-hander struck out six in his fourth quality start in his last five outings. 

The Eagles tied the game with a single run in the fifth, but they missed a chance to make more of the inning as they left the bases loaded. After Beck worked through a jam in the fifth, Eastern reloaded the bases and went ahead when Evan Barks got hit by a pitch. Matt McHale delivered an RBI single to keep the inning going. Things again, however, stalled and the rally ended with a strikeout and a double-play.

Messiah scratched out an unearned run in the sixth, but Beck struck out the final batter he faced to get the Eagles back to the plate.

McHale delivered a two-out 2-RBI single to cap a three-run seventh. 

Down 7-3, the host Falcons (9-12-1, 5-6) did not go away quietly. They scratched out two runs in the seventh after Logan Culp retired the first two batters in the inning. They then scored a single run and had two-on with two outs in the eighth. 

Head Coach Scott Renauro went to junior right-hander Jin Lee to work out of the jam. Lee pitched one inning in 2021 and was a reserve infielder last year as a sophomore. Before the season, Lee did not have a varsity number and was expected to see most of his time as an infielder on the DV squad. As the early part of the spring progressed, he showed promise as a pitcher with good command and late movement. In 12.2 innings of work, he has allowed two earned runs and struck out seven. 

Today, Lee got a ground ball to third for a force out to end the eighth. 

Hunsberger came to the plate with two outs in the ninth. The senior shortstop was in control of the at bat through out and ripped a 2-1 pitch just to the right of the foul pole for a second strike. His next swing had better direction and easily cleared the fence in right field. Evan Barks flied out to the warning track to close the inning. 

With a little more margin. Lee attacked the strike zone. He struck out the first hitter swinging, he induced a short fly by to left, and earned the 27th out with a back-door slider that caught the plate.

"The guys battled today," Renauro said after the game. "We put pressure on them with bunts and timely hitting. McHale is a guy we needed today. He's been starting to put good swings on balls in practice and in recent games. Today everything came together. Hunsberger came up big with a homerun, but he set the tone early with a bunt single. We will have to really continue to work on converting our opportunities. Today, we left too many guys on with less than two outs."

"Beck has been a rock at the front of the rotation." Renauro continued. "He didn't have his best stuff, but he competed. It was a really gutty performance. The bullpen simply did their job. We have been stressing not trying to do too much. Jin was unfazed by the moment and went right after the heart of their order. This was a great team win."

The Eagles return to St. Davids and will, as they have for nearly every weekend this spring, watch the weather. The series against Messiah was slated to continue tomorrow, but with heavy rains anticipated for the morning, the noon doubleheader at The Yard will now be played on Sunday.