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College baseball astir saw a occurrence astatine Messiah University this year.
The Messiah Falcons made a tally each the mode to the Division III World Series title crippled connected June 5 successful 1 of the astir historical seasons successful programme history.
But for manager Phillip Shallenberger and his team, the extremity wasn't adjacent to get there. Their extremity was simply to beryllium bully Christians.
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Head Coach Phill Shallenberger of the Messiah Falcons addresses the squad successful the dugout earlier the Division III Men’s Baseball Championship against the Wisconsin-Whitewater Warhawks held astatine Classic Park connected June 3, 2025, successful Eastlake, Ohio. (Isaiah Vazquez/NCAA Photos via Getty Images)
"It stopped becoming about, like, ‘OK, tin we triumph a nationalist championship,’ and it started becoming, like, ‘How tin we constituent radical person to Christ?’" Messiah pitcher Daniel Knight told Fox News Digital.
About halfway done this season, aft a 1-6 start, the squad underwent a precedence shift. No longer did they amusement up to the clubhouse each time with a main extremity to win. Now, they were simply serving Christ.
"We utilized to beryllium successful the video room, and we would amusement the different pitcher and amusement what the different squad does and truly absorption connected what they were doing," Shallenberger said. "And past astatine astir that constituent we started shifting toward conscionable diving into the Word a small spot more. Like, ‘How does God privation america to lead?’
"It was a spot much connected the devotionals and spot little connected the scouts. And that was really astir the clip we started to play a batch better."
Shallenberger adjacent made his players transportation 250-pound crosses arsenic a squad workout.
"We bash that close successful the mediate of our league play successful betwixt games," Shallenberger said.
But 1 time, Knight did the cross-carrying workout conscionable earlier a crippled connected April 17 against Eastern. He threw 8 and a 3rd shutout innings with 9 strikeouts successful that game.
It marked a shocking turnaround for Knight, who got disconnected to a mediocre commencement to the play with a 9.26 ERA.
"It was benignant of a wake-up telephone for maine is that you cognize what the astir important happening we tin bash is glorify God and ever having that astatine our forefront if that means sacrificing being astatine our champion physically and the much crushed to trust connected the Lord and his spot those are the choices that started to beryllium made aft that point," Knight said.
Messiah University shot helmet reads "One Way" with a cross. (Courtesy of Messiah University)
Knight said the alteration came connected a greeting erstwhile helium was speechmaking scripture and heard God archer him, ‘It’s not astir you.'
"When I was focused connected myself, I was becoming depressed. And past erstwhile I had that displacement of God telling me, ‘It’s not astir you,' I saw a alteration successful erstwhile I was trying to service different people, that I was receiving much joy," Knight said.
Knight and the Falcons busted retired of their 1-6 commencement with a 16-4 triumph against Dickinson College connected March 4. From there, they became 1 of the hottest teams successful Divison III, winning 16 of their adjacent 19.
Along the way, Shallenberger and his players started adding scripture to their play-call wristbands, wherever they utilized to spot pitches and signs.
"It would say, ‘Whatever, bunt defense,’ oregon immoderate we wanted. But [Shallenberger] besides added immoderate sayings, similar 1 was like, ’Surrender your hands' oregon ‘Jesus implicit everything,’" said infielder Drew Hurst.
"So I cognize for me, determination would beryllium aggregate times wherever either I would marque an mistake oregon onslaught retired to extremity an inning and past tally connected the tract and possibly beryllium a small spot p---ed disconnected astatine myself. But helium ever would enactment those connected arsenic a small reminder of wherefore [we] play this game, and it's not astir our show oregon what we bash win-wise, but however we, with assemblage connection connected the field, amusement emotion to Jesus and the different squad and whoever other is watching us."
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Messiah shot squad prays successful a huddle. (Courtesy of Messiah Unversity)
The players besides studied characters successful the Bible with Paul the Apostle becoming a squad favorite.
They finished the regular play 27-13 and past stormed done the Commonwealth Tournament, NCAA Regionals, Super Regionals and past the archetypal 2 rounds of the World Series.
They fell abbreviated of taking location the trophy, losing to University of Wisconsin-Whitewater successful 2 games.
But Hurst, Knight and galore of Shallenberger's different devoted players volition beryllium backmost adjacent twelvemonth for a imaginable afloat play of putting religion implicit wins.
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Jackson Thompson is simply a sports writer for Fox News Digital. He antecedently worked for ESPN and Business Insider. Jackson has covered the Super Bowl and NBA Finals, and has interviewed iconic figures Usain Bolt, Rob Gronkowski, Jerry Rice, Troy Aikman, Mike Trout, David Ortiz and Roger Clemens.
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