EMU 9, Randolph 6
The women gave up a big lead in the first game, before coming back for the victory. They combined four hits in the top of the first to jump ahead 3-0.  EMU scored two more in the third, both with two outs, to build the edge to 5-0.

Randolph scored twice in the bottom of the third, and then took a 6-5 lead with four more in the fourth.

The Royals came back in the sixth. The WildCats opened the door with back-to-back errors.  (Elkton, Va./Spotswood) singled to tie the game, and  (Elkton, Va./Spotswood) added a single to put EMU ahead 7-6.  (Broadway, Va./Broadway) added a two-run single to build the final cushion.

Foltz was in the circle for the end of the game, and only allowed a single base runner over the final two innings to lock up the win.

The women had 14 hits and took advantage of five Randolph errors. Smith was 3-4 with two runs and two RBIs, while Hensley finished 3-4 with three runs and an RBI.  Foltz also had three singles and drove in three runs.  (Bridgewater, Va./Turner Ashby) added two RBIs.

 (Madison, Va./Madison County) started but gave up six runs in 3.0+ innings. Foltz earned her first collegiate win by spreading three hits over 4.0 scoreless innings.

EMU 4, Randolph 3 – 8 innings
The Royals made a great comeback to force extra innings in the nightcap before winning the game in the eighth.

Randolph scored single runs in each of the second and third innings to stake a 2-0 lead. EMU started to get base runners as the game wore on, but couldn’t bring them home, leaving eight on base through six innings.

Down to their final at-bat, the women rallied.  (Timberville, Va./Broadway) led off with a walk and  (Crimora, Va./Fort Defiance) followed with a single. After a strikeout, Smith flew out to center, although it was deep enough that both runners could tag up and stand in scoring position. Hensley came up with the clutch two-out hit, singling to center to bring home both runners and tie the game at 2-2.

Foltz send the WildCats down in order in the bottom of the seventh to send the game to extra innings. In the eighth, the Royals quickly scored their runner from second with a one-out single from  (Grottoes, Va./Fort Defiance).  (Madison, Va./Madison County) followed with a single to bring home Lucas for a 4-2 lead.

Randolph got a leadoff double to bring in their placed runner, and then loaded the bases with just one out.  But a tapper back to the pitcher turned into a game-ending 1-2-3 double play, giving EMU the 4-3 victory.

Hensley finished 3-3 with two RBIs and a run scored.  Sigrist and Smith each had two hits.  McCallister reached base all four times she came up, getting one single and three walks.

Foltz earned her second win of the day by pitching all eight innings, scattering eight hits to improve to 2-1.

Eastern Mennonite improves to 7-10-1 with the sweep, including 2-3-1 with their first ODAC wins. The Royals now have a tie on their record after last Thursday’s halted game with Bridgewater was declared a final after a review of ODAC bylaws. That contest was tied at 8-8 after five innings.

The women will try to knock the final undefeated ODAC team from their perch tomorrow with two games at Lynchburg College. The Hornets are 2-0 in league play. Start time is 3 p.m.

Softball

Senior (Mt. Solon, VA/Fort Defiance) leaves with her first-ever All-ODAC First Team honor, as she was EMU’s triple crown winner, leading the team in batting, homeruns and RBIs.  Overall, Allman led the Lady Royals in nine offensive categories, hitting .422, on 49 hits, with eight homeruns, 11 doubles and 17 walks.  She also tied a program record with 46 RBIs in a season.  The infielder closes her career with five EMU records: homeruns in season (9), RBIs in a season (46 – tied with Karla Alderfer), career homeruns (31), career RBIs (151) and career walks (52).  Allman earned a spot on the All-ODAC First Team in the utility spot, as she played games at first base, second base and designated player this year.  This is her third time on an All-ODAC team.

High school teammates (Elkton, VA/Spotswood) and (Elkton, VA/Spotswood) earned nods to the All-ODAC Second Team.  Hensley, EMU’s shortstop, led the women and was sixth in the ODAC with 40 runs this year.  She came two short of EMU’s record of 42.  Hensley was second on the team with 45 hits and added some pop as well, with a career high six homeruns to go with ten doubles and two triples.  She was also on the Second Team as a freshman and Third Team last year.  Smith took a spot on the Second Team as an outfielder after on the First Team in 2011.  She played her best in the ODAC part of the season and finished with a .348 batting average, with eight doubles and four homeruns.  Smith was second on the team with 28 RBIs.  She also had a 6-3 record with one save and a 3.91 ERA as a pitcher.

The Lady Royals also had three new players land on the All-ODAC Third Team.  Sophomore (Crimora, VA/Fort Defiance), a transfer from Lynchburg College, took over as EMU’s starting center fielder and lead-off hitter.  She was third on the team with 44 hits and batted .336 with a team-best eight stolen bases.  Freshmen (Bridgewater, VA/Turner Ashby) and (Elkton, VA/East Rockingham) rounded out EMU’s honorees.  Miller, as designated player, was second on the team with a .404 batting average, adding four homeruns and 17 RBIs.  She was also second in on-base percentage and third in slugging percentage.  Cash earned her spot as the third baseman, and had a team high seven sacrifices.  She tied for second on the team in stolen bases, going a perfect five-for-five.  Cash was also fourth with 25 runs scored.

Eastern Mennonite’s young team finished the 2013 season 21-19 overall and 9-11 in the ODAC.  They had a number of big wins during the year, including three over nationally ranked teams.  The Lady Royals swept Lynchburg to end the regular season, and also handed No. 1 Salisbury one of their two losses.

Baseball

The Royals had two players honored to 2013 All-ODAC teams, with both catcher (Miami, FL/Doral Academy) and first baseman (Poquoson, VA/Poquoson) named to the Third Team.  Both players are juniors at ²ÝÝ®ÉçÇø.

Estrada, also an ODAC All-Academic Team member, led the Royals in a number of offensive categories, as well as catching for a pitching staff which shaved nearly two full runs off its team ERA this spring and led the ODAC in strikeouts per game (7.08).  Estrada had team highs with his 17 doubles (fourth-best season in EMU history), two homeruns, 34 RBIs and .500 slugging percentage.  He was also second with 50 hits and a .333 batting average.  Estrada was third in the ODAC in doubles, and fifth in both RBIs and sacrifice flies.

Posey responded very well to a big move this year.  After concentrating on pitching only his first two seasons, the junior added playing first and batting to his repertoire.  He hit from the leadoff spot all season and led EMU with a .367 batting average, 54 hits and 35 runs scored.  His .460 on-base percentage easily led EMU and was fifth in the ODAC.  Posey displayed a judicial eye at the plate, earning 19 walks compared to just eight strikeouts.  He also had a 4-3 record from the hill, with a 2.81 ERA in 10 starts.

Despite a cold spell to end the season, Eastern Mennonite finished with their most wins since 2002, coming in at 15-24.

The last time Eastern Mennonite entered the ODAC tourney as the No. 8 seed, they won four straight games and claimed the 2010 ODAC Championship.  As in previous years, all games at the ODAC Tournament will be at the Moyer Complex in Salem, VA.

Before Sunday’s doubleheader with Lynchburg, senior (Mt. Solon, VA/Fort Defiance) was honored on Senior Day, and retiring Athletic Events Coordinator Phil Guengerich threw out the first pitch at the final home event of the year.

EMU 9, Lynchburg 5
The Lady Royals took advantage of a handful of Hornet mistakes in their first at-bat, scoring five unearned runs to take the lead.  Allman fittingly started the scoring with an RBI single, and freshman (Grottoes, VA/Fort Defiance) sent a towering three-run bomb over the left field fence to make it 5-0.

The Hornets responded quickly with four, two-out runs in the second.  EMU struck again in the fifth, with Allman rapping another RBI single before (Elkton, VA/Spotswood) shot a three-run homer to make it 9-4.

LC got a solo homerun to lead off the sixth, but Smith retired the next six batters she faced to lock up the win.

Allman finished 2-3 with two RBIs and two runs.  Smith and Lucas each hit their fourth longball of the season.  Lead-off batter (Crimora, VA/Fort Defiance), who transferred from Lynchburg to EMU this year, had a pair of singles.

Smith picked up the win to improve to 6-3.  She allowed just one hit with five strikeouts in 4.2 innings of relief.

EMU 7, Lynchburg 2
Eastern Mennonite scored in the first inning again in the nightcap, and then got a solo shot from (Madison, VA/Madison County) in the second to take a 3-0 advantage.

The Hornets cut the lead to one with two runs in the fourth, but the Allman helped rebuild the cushion in the fifth.  She launched her eighth homerun of the year, and 31st of her career, over the left field fence, as EMU plated four more runs for the final 7-2 margin.

(Elkton, VA/Page County), another LC transfer this year, went the distance from the circle, scattering eight hits to improve to 4-9.

Allman finished 1-2 with three RBIs, hitting a homerun in her final at-bat on Gehman Field.

Smith was a perfect 3-3 from the plate with an RBI.  (Elkton, VA/Spotswood) was 2-3 with a walk, scoring two times.

The Lady Royals close the regular season 21-17 overall and 9-11 in the ODAC.  They tied with Randolph College for seventh, but settled for the No. 8 seed based on losing the head-to-head tie-breaker with the WildCats.  EMU was swept by top-seeded Virginia Wesleyan during the regular season, losing 4-0 and 8-1 in Virginia Beach on Apr. 13.

EMU 10, Mary Baldwin 1 – 5 innings
The women scored once in the first, but broke through in the second.  (Mt. Solon, VA/Fort Defiance) brought in three with a bases loaded double to push the lead to 6-0.

The Fighting Squirrels got their run in the top of the fourth, but Eastern Mennonite put up four more in the bottom of the frame.  Allman ripped another double which brought in two runs, and (Grottoes, VA/Fort Defiance) followed with an RBI double of her own.

Reigning ODAC Pitcher of the Week (Madison, VA/Madison County) struck out six batters in her five innings of work as she improved to 5-1 on the season.

Allman led the offense with her two doubles and five RBIs.  (Elkton, VA/East Rockingham) also had a pair of hits, scoring twice and driving in another run.  (Elkton, VA/Spotswood) and (Crimora, VA/Fort Defiance) each scored twice as well.

EMU 9, Mary Baldwin 1 – 6 innings
Game two was scoreless until the bottom of the third.  Cash led off with a single and Sigrist also singled with one out.  Allman followed with a two-run double.  A third run scored on a passed ball as EMU jumped ahead 3-0.

Mary Baldwin scored an unearned run on a two-out double in the fourth, but the Lady Royals kept coming in the fifth.  The first four batters had hits, including an RBI single from Lucas and a two-run double from (Bridgewater, VA/Turner Ashby).  (Elkton, VA/Spotswood) added a two-out double to the push the edge to 7-1.

MBC went down in order in the top of the sixth, and the women triggered the eight-run mercy rule in the sixth, as Lucas and Miller had back-to-back RBI hits to plate two.

(Stuarts Draft, VA/Stuarts Draft) got her first career start and earned the complete game win.  The freshman gave up just two hits and one unearned run.

Miller finished 2-3 with a walk and drove in three runs.  Allman was also 2-3 with a walk, and added two RBIs and two runs.  Lucas had a pair of singles with two RBIs while Sigrist also had two hits and scored twice.

Eastern Mennonite stays at home for two more doubleheaders this weekend, hosting Mary Washington on Saturday and then No. 23 Roanoke on Sunday.

EMU 8, Allegheny 6
The Lady Royals picked up an impressive win over a talented Allegheny team to open day two at the Beach Blast. The women scored four in the second and four more in the fourth, then held on for the win.

In the second, (Harrisonburg, VA/Broadway) singled with one away and her teammates responded by loading the bases. (Elkton, VA/Spotswood) walked in one run, and (Crimora, VA/Fort Defiance) brought in another with an RBI groundout.  (Mt. Solon, VA/Fort Defiance) then stuck a two-run single into right field.

Hensley, Sigrist and Allman each singled with one out in the fourth to start the next rally. An error and a sacrifice fly brought in the final three runs as the women went up 8-0.

The Gators got a solo homer in the bottom of the fourth, and then plated five more runs off reliever (Manassas, VA/Forest Park) in the fifth. Allegheny had a two-out rally in the seventh, but a groundball ended the game and gave EMU the win.

(Elkton, VA/Spotswood) scattered three hits over 4.0 innings of work from the circle to get the win and improve to 1-0. Smith earned the save despite giving up five runs in her 3.0 innings.

Allman had two of EMU’s six hits, going 2-3 with three RBI and a run. She also walked. Hensley went 1-3 with a walk, scoring twice and driving in another.

Washington 2, EMU 1
Washington College scored the game’s first run with two outs in the fourth. Then in the sixth, they added insurance with a leadoff homerun.

Hensley jacked a one-out homer in the bottom of the sixth to slice the lead in half. Allman had a two-out double later in the inning, and (Bridgewater, VA/Turner Ashby) had a two-out double in the seventh, but both runners were left stranded.

(Elkton, VA/Page County) allowed just five hits but took the loss to slide to 0-3.  Hensley, Allman, (Grottoes, VA/Fort Defiance) and Miller each had one of EMU’s hits.

Now 2-4 on the year, the Lady Royals return to Harrisonburg for their home opener this week. The women are scheduled to host Southern Virginia on Wednesday, although the teams are looking at possibly playing the doubleheader earlier in the week because of snow in the forecast.