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University baseball almost saw a miracle at the University of Messiah this year.
The Messiah Falcons made a race to the World Division Series Championship championship game on June 5 in one of the most historical seasons in the history of the program.
But for coach Phillip Shallenberger and his team, the goal was not even to get there. His goal was to simply be good Christians.
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Chief coach Phill Shallenberger of the Messiah Falcons addresses the team in the shelter against the Male Baseball Championship of Division III against the Wisconsin-Whitewater Warhawks held in Classic Park on June 3, 2025, in Eastlake, Ohio. (Photos of Isaiah Vázquez/NCAA through Getty Images)
“He stopped becoming about, ‘Ok, can we win a national championship’, and began to become, such as, how can we aim people closer to Christ? ‘” Daniel Knight, Messiah’s pitcher, told Pak Gazette Digital.
Approximately half of this season, after a start of 1-6, the team underwent a change of priority. They no longer appeared to the Casa Club every day with a main objective of winning. Now, they were simply serving Christ.
“We used to sit in the video room, and we would show the other pitcher and show what the other team does and really focus on what they were doing,” Shallenberger said. “And then, at that point, we begin to change towards simply immerse ourselves in the word a little more. As, how do we want God to lead? ‘
“It was a little more in the devotional and a little less in the explorers. And that was actually the moment we started playing much better.”
Shallenberger even caused his players to carry 250 pound crossings such as team training.
“We do that directly in the middle of our conference season between the games,” Shallenberger said.
But once, Knight made cross training just before a game on April 17 against Eastern. He launched eight and a third laundering entry with nine strikeouts in that game.
It marked a shocking change for Knight, which had a bad start to the season with an effectiveness of 9.26.
“It was a kind of attention call for me is that you know what is the most important thing we can do is glorify God and always have that at our forefront if that means sacrificing to be in our best moment physically and the reason more to trust the Lord and his strength those are the elections that began to take after that point,” Knight said.
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The baseball helmet of Messiah Lee “One Way” with a cross. (Courtesy of the University of Messiah)
Knight said the change arrived in one morning when he was reading the Scriptures and heard that God said: “It’s not about you.”
“When I was focused on myself, I was depressing me. And then, when I had the change of God telling me:” It’s not about you, “I saw a change when I tried to serve other people, who was receiving more joy,” Knight said.
Knight and the Falcons left their start of 1-6 with a 16-4 victory against Dickinson College on March 4. From there, they became one of the most popular teams in Division III, winning 16 of its next 19.
Along the way, Shallenberger and his players began adding scriptures to their recruitment bracelets, where they used to place releases and signs.
“I would say: ‘Whatever, defense of cups’, or what we would like. But [Shallenberger] Some sayings were also added, as one, ‘give the hands’ or ‘Jesus especially’, “said the picture player Drew Hurst.
“So I know that, for me, I would have several times when I would make a mistake or hit to finish an entrance and then run in the field and perhaps I would be a bit of myself. But I would always put them as a small reminder of why [we] He plays this game, and it is not about our performance or what we do in the future, but how we, with body language in the field, show love to Jesus and the other team and whoever is looking at us. “
The Messiah baseball team prays in a group. (Courtesy of Messiah Unversity)
The players also studied characters in the Bible with Paul the apostle in becoming a team’s favorite.
They finished the regular season 27-13 and then broke into the Commonwealth tournament, the NCAA regional, the Super Regional and then the first two rounds of the World Series.
The trophy went home, losing to the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater in two games.
But Hurst, Knight and many of the other devout players of Shallenberger will return next year for a possible full season of putting faith on the victories.
