GRANTHAM, Pa. – The Wilkes University baseball team dropped its final game of the 2016 season at Messiah College by a final score of 7-5 on Tuesday afternoon in Grantham, Pa.

The Colonels finish the season with an 18-21 record.

Messiah got on the board first, scoring three runs in the bottom of the third.

Wilkes cut the deficit down to 3-2 in the top of the fourth when junior James Brown (Covington, PA/North Pocono) drew a one-out walk and junior Joshua Slocum (Clarks Summit, PA/Abington Heights) launched his first home run of the season to left field.

The Falcons scored two runs in the bottom of the fourth on three hits, one walk, and one error, and added another run in the bottom of the fifth on hit, one hit-by-pitch, and one error to take a 6-2 lead.

The Colonels started a comeback in the top of the seventh, scoring two runs on three hits. Junior Alex Kramer (Cherry Hill, NJ/Cherry Hill East) reached base with a one-out single to left field and was pinch-run for by freshman Seth Frankenfield (Perkasie, PA/Christopher Dock). Freshman Sam Eyler (York, PA/West York) followed with a groundball to short that forced out Frankenfield at second. Junior Tanner Smith (Upper Black Eddy, PA/Palisades) followed with a single up the middle that advanced Eyler to second and was followed by sophomore Nick Preston (Duryea, PA/Scranton Prep) loaded the bases after being hit by a pitch.Freshman Jorge Gonzalez (Reading, PA/Conrad Weiser) hit a two-run single down the left field line that scored Eyler and Smith and advanced Preston to second to make the score 6-4.

Messiah added to its lead in the bottom of the second on two hits to take a 7-4 lead.

Wilkes finished the scoring in the top of the eighth, when Brown hit a lead-off double down the left field line, advanced to third on a groundout, and scored on a wild pitch.

Freshman Noah Durnin (Bath, PA/Northampton) took the loss, pitching the first three innings and giving up five runs (four earned) on eight hits with one walk and four strikeouts.  Freshman Nick Poyer, freshman Wandy Brito (Reading, PA/Reading), senior Forrest Jordan (Sullivan County, PA/Sullivan County), senior Patrick Condo (Dallas, PA/Holy Redeemer), and junior Matt Kaster (Traben-Trabach, Germany/Crestwood) pitched the remaining five innings, giving up two runs and six hits.

Slocum paced the Colonels at the plate, going 1-for-4 with two rbi's and one run scored while Gonzalez finished 1-for-1 with two rbi's. Brown, Kramer, Herbst, and Smith each had one hit.