(box score)

Widener fell into an early hole and could not climb out in a 22-10 loss to Messiah in the opening game of the Commonwealth Conference Tournament in West Lawn, PA.

Fourth-seeded Messiah opened the scoring with seven runs in the top of the second inning.  Ryan Brown, the fourth man to bat out of 11 in the inning, delivered the key blow with a two-run homer for a 2-0 lead.

No. 1 seed Widener climbed to 7-3 in the bottom of the fourth on a three-run long ball from freshman Dennis Hocker (Coral Springs, FL).  However, Messiah got two back in the fifth on Adam Ranck's RBI triple and Brown's run-scoring single.

The Falcons (22-16) also plated 10 runs in the seventh for a 22-4 lead.  Jordan Shenk laced a two-RBI single and Sheldon Witmer cracked a three-run homer.

Widener (21-11) tacked on five runs in the bottom of the ninth, aided by a three-run double from freshman Max McCarthy (Deptford, NJ), for the final.

Royersford, PA sophomore Jason Ferrie (7-2) had his seven-game winning streak stopped with his first loss against a league opponent, yielding seven runs and nine hits over 1 2/3 innings.

Hocker drove home five runs with senior Tom Connelly (Media, PA) and junior Tom DeAngelis (Pottstown, PA) collecting three hits apiece.

Tory Arnesen (5-2) struck out six for the Falcons, yielding four runs and seven hits over seven innings with four walks.

Witmer had five RBI, Brown closed with four, Jordan Zimmerman laced five hits, and Ranck and John Brubaker totaled four hits apiece for Messiah.

The Pride entered the tournament coming off their first regular-season league title since taking the Middle Atlantic Conference Southern Division in 1978.

Widener on Friday plays either Alvernia or Elizabethtown in an elimination game, beginning at 11:00 am.  If it wins, it will play again Friday at 7:30 pm against an opponent to be determined.