Senior (Buckingham, VA/Buckingham County) was the only of the women named to the All-ODAC Second Team, as the pitcher/third baseman was given the utility nod on the team.  She has been named to an All-ODAC Team each of her four seasons at EMU and was also ODAC Pitcher of the Year in 2011.  This spring, Lee batted .405 with 35 runs, 29 RBIs and eight homers.  From the circle, she led the pitching staff with a 12-5 record and a 2.25 ERA.  She will also graduate with a few program records, including 27 Career Homeruns and 141 Career Runs.

Second baseman (Mt. Solon, VA/Fort Defiance) landed on the All-ODAC Third Team after leading the Lady Royals with a .408 batting average, nine homeruns, 39 RBIs and 17 walks.  She added 32 runs and was also in the top four of the ODAC in all three of the triple crown categories.  Allman’s homer total re-broke her own EMU season record, which had been eight.  The junior adds the award to an All-ODAC Honorable Mention from 2011.

Fellow junior (Stanley, VA/Page County) took over at first base this spring and led the team with a .987 fielding percentage, committing just four errors.  She earned a Third Team spot after being named to the First Team as a designated player as a sophomore.  Jenkins set personal highs in most offensive categories, batting .366 with eight homers and 31 RBIs.

Catcher (Brookneal, VA/William Campbell) showed an effective bat to go along with one of the strongest throwing arms in the conference, gaining a Third Team spot after being named Second Team in 2011.  Crews batted .333 with career bests of five homeruns and 19 RBIs.  Opposing runners were generally wary of running against EMU when Crews was behind the plate, and she was also a perfect 9-for-9 in stolen base attempts when she was on base.

Shortstop (Elkton, VA/Spotswood) rounds out the women’s selections on the Third Team, after gaining the Second Team spot as a freshman last spring.  She had a .387 batting average with 33 runs scored and 28 RBIs.  Hensley led Eastern Mennonite with 55 hits, one shy of the program record, and 13 doubles.  Her strong arm at short also made tough defensive plays look routine.

Eastern Mennonite finished with a record of 27-13, advancing into the final four of the ODAC Tournament.  The team also broke program records with 49 homeruns and a .542 slugging percentage.  EMU had three of the top six homerun hitters in the ODAC, and six of the top 12.

Wednesday night’s rescheduled doubleheader was played under the lights at Harrisonburg High School.

EMU 6, Randolph-Macon 1
The women got plenty of hits of R-MC ace Heather Lewis, who entered with an ERA of 0.93.  (Elkton, VA/Spotswood) started a four-hit rally in the second with a leadoff single.  (Powhatan, VA/Powhatan) and (Elkton, VA/Spotswood) each had RBI singles to put EMU on top, 2-0.

(Brookneal, VA/William Campbell) got plunked on the helmet to open the third.  After a Smith single, (Mt. Solon, VA/Fort Defiance) launched a homerun over the left field wall, scoring three for a 5-0 lead.

(Buckingham, VA/Buckingham County), meanwhile, was in fine control of her pitches, allowing only three hits through five innings.  But the Yellow Jackets broke the shutout with a wind-aided homer to open the sixth.

Lee got the run back in the bottom of the frame, shooting a laser beam to center for her eighth longball of the year.  She then sent the Yellow Jackets down in order in the seventh to secure the 6-1 win.

The Lady Royals out-hit R-MC 9-4 in the opener, with Lee and Smith each getting a pair of hits.  Lee went the distance from the circle to improve to 10-4.

EMU 9, Randolph-Macon 6
The Yellow Jackets scored an unearned run to take a lead in the top of the first, but EMU responded in a big way in the second.  (Stanley, VA/Page County) led off with a homer to left, her third in the last four games.  Allman hit a one-out single and two bunt singles later the women had the bases loaded.

The Royals had a runner thrown out at home for the second out of the inning.  Hensley came through in the clutch, however, with a bases-clearing double.  Lee hit an RBI infield single and Crews followed with a two-run bomb, capping a seven-run outburst for the lead.

R-MC looked for a big inning the fourth, but only scored one run.  The visitors left the bases loaded when (Stanley, VA/Page County) tracked down a fly ball in the right center field gap, leaving the score 7-2.  In the sixth, the Yellow Jackets plated another single run before leaving two on when Viafora made an inning-ending catch in a similar spot.

(Shenandoah, VA/Page County) cranked a two-run shot to straightaway center in the bottom of the frame, pushing the lead back up to six at 9-3.  The breathing room was needed as the visitors added a three-run homerun in their final at-bat, producing the 9-6 final score.

The women had an advantage in hits, 10-7, to help escape for defensive errors.  Eight of the nine starters had at least one hit.  Hensley was 2-4 while Jenkins finished 2-3.  Viafora singled and walked and scored both times.

Smith, 7-2, pitched the complete game victory.  Only four of the six runs she allowed were earned.

The Lady Royals snapped a season worst three-game losing skid with the wins and are getting hot at just the right time, with the ODAC Tournament starting on Friday.  EMU hit five homeruns against Randolph-Macon after getting four the night before against Virginia Wesleyan.

At 25-11 overall and 9-9 in the ODAC, the women are tied for the third-most wins in program history.  They finished 27-13 last spring and 30-13 in 2008.

Below is full schedule for day one of the ODAC Tournament.

Friday, April 27
Game 1: #1 Virginia Wesleyan vs. #8 Emory & Henry – Field 1 – 12:00 p.m.
Game 2: #4 Lynchburg vs. #5 Bridgewater – Field 3 – 12:00 p.m.
Game 3: #2 Roanoke vs. #7 Randolph – Field 1 – 2:00 p.m.
Game 4: #3 Randolph-Macon vs. #6 Eastern Mennonite – Field 3 – 2:00 p.m.
Game 5: Loser G1 vs. Loser G2 – Field 1 – 4:00 p.m.
Game 6: Loser G3 vs. Loser G4 – Field 3 – 4:00 p.m.
Game 7: Winner G1 vs. Winner G2 – Field 1 – 6:00 p.m.
Game 8: Winner G3 vs. Winner G4 – Field 3 – 6:00 p.m.

Bridgewater 8, EMU 0
Despite being out-hit only 10-8, Eastern Mennonite couldn’t plate a run in the first game.  The women started out rocky, giving up two runs in the top of the first.  After going down in order in the bottom of the first, the Royals’ defense let them down in the second.

With two runners on and two away, (Elkton, VA/Spotswood) bobbled a grounder to short, allowing a run to score and letting the inning continue.  The Eagles took full advantage of the miscue, following with a three-run homer from Leigh Lam (McGaheysville, VA/Spotswood) to vault the lead to 6-0.

EMU had runners on second and third with only one away in the fourth, but a strikeout and groundout left them stranded.  Bridgewater got a solo homerun from Morgan Williams (Richmond, VA/Varina) in the sixth to up the score to 7-0.

The women left the bases loaded in their half of the sixth and BC brought in one more in the seventh for the final score.

(Buckingham, VA/Buckingham County) went the distance for the Lady Royals and took the loss to slip to 6-2.  She gave up 10 hits, walked four, and watched her defense commit three errors.

Seven of EMU’s eight hits were singles.  (Mt. Solon, VA/Fort Defiance) and (Brookneal, VA/William Campbell) each had two hits.  (Madison, VA/Madison County) had a double.

EMU 3, Bridgewater 2
The women settled down by game two and took a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the first.  Lee led off with a single and after a BC error came in on an Allman sacrifice fly.

EMU starter (Elkton, VA/Spotswood) took a no-hitter into the fifth, but then gave up a double and single as the Eagles tied the score at 1-1.  Bridgewater took a 2-1 lead in the top of the sixth and had the bases loaded with one out.  Aylor took over for Smith in the circle and successfully kept the deficit at one run with a strikeout and a groundout.

Lee tied the game in dramatic fashion to lead off the bottom of the frame, crushing a pitch nearly 250 feet to straightaway center.  It was her fourth homerun of the season.

BC speedster Kasey Anderson (Chatham, VA/Chatham) drew a one-out walk in the seventh, but Crews gunned her down trying to steal second.  The momentum of throwing out Anderson for the first time after 20 successful attempts this season carried over into the bottom of the inning.

(Stanley, VA/Page County) led off with a double to the right center gap.  (Berkeley Springs, VA/ Berkeley Springs) came in to run, and sped around to score the game-winning run when Crews shot a single up the middle.

Game two was more of what the crowd of 587 expected to see on the big stage, with EMU having five hits to BC’s four.

Lee finished 2-3 out of the leadoff spot, scoring twice and collected one RBI from her homerun.  Hensley, Jenkins and Crews had the women’s other hits.

Smith pitched four no-hit innings and settled for a no decision as she allowed two runs in 5-1/3 innings.  Aylor struck out one and walked one in 1-2/3 innings of relief to earn the win and improve to 6-1.

Eastern Mennonite moves to 16-3 on the season while No. 24 Bridgewater goes to 16-2 after the doubleheader split.  Both teams are also 1-1 in the ODAC.  The Lady Royals are on the road this weekend, playing two at Sweet Briar on Sunday.

EMU 13, York 1
After a disappointing split against Mary Washington on Saturday, the women got their bats going quickly in their home opener.  (Buckingham, VA/Buckingham County) led off with a double and the hit parade started.  The Lady Royals put together five hits, including a three-run homer from (Stanley, VA/Page County).

(Elkton, VA/Spotswood) drove out a two-run blast to start an eight-run second.  EMU put together five hits with three walks and closed out their second big inning with back-to-back sacrifice flies to push the lead to 13-0.

The women left the bases loaded in the third, but it didn’t matter as the Spartans only managed one run in the mercy-shortened game.

Eastern Mennonite had 11 hits and eight walks in their four at-bats.  Jenkins finished 3-3 with her second homerun.  The junior scored twice and had four RBIs.  was 2-3 (Elkton, VA/Spotswood) with two runs and an RBI.

(Mt. Solon, VA/Fort Defiance), (Madison, VA/Madison County) and (Brookneal, VA/William Campbell) each scored twice as well.

Lee threw the complete game to improve to 6-1.  She scattered four hits and struck out two.

EMU 5, York 2
The Spartans got on board in their first at-bat in game two, putting together a pair of hits to go ahead 1-0.

The Lady Royals batted around in the third and took the lead with four two-out runs.  Smith and Jenkins each hit RBI singles, and Crews added a two-run single.

York scored a run in the fourth, but EMU got it back in the fifth when Allman lofted a leadoff homerun over the left field fence to make it 5-2.

The visitors threatened in the sixth, but had a runner thrown out at home to end the inning.  The Spartans got a two-out single in the seventh, but Aylor threw her third consecutive scoreless frame in relief to preserve the three-run win.

Smith started in the circle and pitched four innings to improve to 4-0.  Aylor earned her first save with three innings of work.

Lee was 3-4 from the plate to lead an 11-hit attack.  She hit two doubles and a triple while scoring one run.  Allman hit her team-best fifth homer of the year and finished 2-3 with two runs and an RBI.

Crews was 2-3 with a pair of RBIs and Jenkins also had a pair of hits with one RBI.

Eastern Mennonite is now 14-2 and continues their homestand with Hood on Tuesday.  First pitch from Gehman Field is 3 p.m.

EMU 8, Old Westbury 0 – 6 innings
In the day’s opener, the women took their third consecutive mercy-shortened shutout of the weekend.  (Madison, VA/Madison County) pitched a complete game two hitter.

Junior (Shenandoah, VA/Page County) powered the offense with a three-run homerun.

EMU 2, Ferrum 1
Eastern Mennonite closed their time at the Bash by taking on co-host Ferrum College, which entered the game with a 14-1 record.  The Lady Royals escaped with the one-run win in a pitchers’ duel, handing the Panthers just their second loss of the season.

Ace (Buckingham, VA/Buckingham County) took the circle for EMU against Ferrum’s Hannah Shumaker.  Lee helped her cause from the plate before even stepping into the circle, when she led off the game with a double.  (Mt. Solon, VA/Fort Defiance) came through with the two-out single to center, bringing Lee home for a 1-0 lead.

Lee then retired the first nine Panther batters and stranded two runners in the fourth.  Ferrum bunched together three of their four hits in the sixth, plating their only run on a two-out single to tie the game at 1-1.

But (Stanley, VA/Page County) started the rally for EMU in their next at-bat, as the first baseman led off with a single to center.  (Berkeley Springs, WV/Berkeley Springs) ran for Jenkins, and made her way to third on an error after Aylor popped up to the pitcher for the first out.  (Stanley, VA/Page County) followed with an infield chopper and Napfel beat the throw home, pushing the Lady Royals right back in front, 2-1.

Lee clinched the win from the circle, firing her fifth 1-2-3 frame in the bottom of the seventh.

Each team had only four hits in the game, but Ferrum made the one costly error.  Lee struck out four sticks while Shumaker fanned 13 Lady Royals.

Lee was 2-3 from the plate with a walk and a run scored.  Allman got an RBI with her hit.  Jenkins had EMU’s only other hit and also walked once.

Eastern Mennonite has a pair of road dates this week before Sunday’s home opener.  The Lady Royals are at Mary Baldwin on Tuesday and Mary Washington on Saturday.  Then Sunday’s doubleheader with York (PA) starts at 1:00pm.

“This is potentially the best offensive team we have ever fielded at EMU,” said ninth-year Head Coach J.D. McCurdy.  “We have six returning All-ODAC athletes and some talented freshmen.”

In 2011, Eastern Mennonite set team marks for most hits (386), runs scored (287), homeruns (39), RBIs (266) and slugging percentage (.521).

The team finished with the second-best record in EMU history at 27-13 and the best record ever in ODAC play at 14-4.  The Lady Royals took the top seed into the ODAC Tournament but were knocked out late on day two of the three-day, double elimination tourney.

To make a postseason run this year and claim just the third ODAC Championship in program history, McCurdy needs his returners to continue to improve.

High school teammates (Elkton, VA/Spotswood) and (Elkton, VA/Spotswood) were each named to all-region teams last spring as freshman.  Smith led EMU with 40 RBIs, 14 doubles and 55 hits as the outfielder earned NFCA All-Region (Atlantic) Second Team honors.  Hensley was a defensive general at shortstop and led the Lady Royals with a .441 batting average.  She was named All-Region Third Team.

(Buckingham, VA/Buckingham County) earned All-ODAC First Team honors as the ODAC Pitcher of the Year, and was a star in the circle and at the plate.  She was 19-7 with two saves as a pitcher, charting a 2.24 ERA and breaking the EMU season records with 19 wins and 165-2/3 innings pitched.  She was also second on the team with seven homeruns and led the way with 42 runs, 18 walks and 15 stolen bases.

Other All-ODAC performers include: All-ODAC First Team designated player (Stanley, VA/Page County) (.364, 4 HR, 21 RBI), All-ODAC Second Team catcher (Brookneal, VA/William Campbell) (.395, 1 HR, 14 RBI), and All-ODAC Honorable Mention second baseman (Mt. Solon, VA/Fort Defiance) (.286, 8 HR, 30 RBI).

McCurdy also returns three other players: (Stanley, VA/Page County) (.300, 4 HR, 18 RBI), (Shenandoah, VA/Page County) (.304, 1 HR, 7 RBI), and (Berkeley Springs, WV/Berkeley Springs) (.500, 17 R).

The incoming class of freshmen (Madison, VA/Madison County) and (Powhatan, VA/Powhatan), while not very deep, is quite talented.

“Jordan will be an impact player as a pitcher and position player,” said McCurdy, “and Taylor provides additional offensive punch.”

With so many of the bats returning, as well as both pitchers (Lee and Smith) and newcomer Aylor, McCurdy feels his team can make some noise this year.

“A great offense and strong circle will help us stay competitive with every team we play,” he said.

The Lady Royals were tabbed to finish second in the ODAC Preseason Poll, behind ODAC Tournament Champion Virginia Wesleyan, but McCurdy is indifferent to the preseason prognosticators.

“We are never concerned where we are picked in the ODAC,” he said.  “We will put the crosshair on every team we play!”

EMU’s coach is simply excited for this season.

“The chemistry of this group is outstanding,” McCurdy explained.  “We have a good mix of very talented athletes and two very strong freshmen.  If we have a weakness it’s in depth and speed on the bases.  We will need to let our bats do the talking to overcome our weaknesses.”

If history is any indicator, the women should be able to mask their flaws.  Last year, the Lady Royals out-hit their opponents .346 to .267 and smacked nearly three times as many homeruns as they gave up (39 to 14).

Eastern Mennonite will get a big challenge as they continue their 2012 season this weekend at the Beach Blast in Virginia Beach, VA.  The women will take on two teams ranked in the NFCA national preseason poll, No. 3 Christopher Newport and No. 8 Salisbury.

McCurdy says these tough non-conference games will prepare his team for their ultimate objectives.

“Our goals are to win the ODAC Championship and win the region,” he said.  “Those are lofty goals, but our women are ready for the challenge.”

The women graduated four seniors from last year’s squad, but do return much of their record-setting offensive firepower.  (Buckingham, VA/Buckingham County) (P/3B), a three-time All-ODAC selection, is back for her senior season.  She was named ODAC Pitcher of the Year in 2011 with a program-record 19 wins on a 2.24 ERA.  At the plate, Lee also had seven homeruns, 18 walks and 15 stolen bases, and she took over EMU’s Career Homerun title during her sophomore season.

Eastern Mennonite also returns five other All-ODAC performers, including First Teamers (Elkton, VA/Spotswood) (OF/P) and (Stanley, VA/Page County) (DP).  In her freshman season, Smith led the Lady Royals with 55 hits, 14 doubles and 40 RBIs.  Jenkins finished with a .364 batting average and hit all four of her homers in ODAC play.

(Brookneal, VA/William Campbell) (C) and (Elkton, VA/Spotswood) (SS) were each named to the All-ODAC Second Team.  Hensley was stellar defensively at shortstop and batted .441 with 31 RBIs.  Crews returned last year after missing the 2010 campaign, and was third on the team with a .395 batting average.

All-ODAC Honorable Mention (Mt. Solon, VA/Fort Defiance) returns her big stick to second base, where she tied for the ODAC lead with a program record eight homeruns last spring.

The Lady Royals broke numerous offensive program records last year and finished with the second-most wins in school history at 27-13.  The women were also 14-4 in the ODAC.  They open up the 2012 season Feb. 24-25 at the Triangle Classic in Raleigh, NC.

Virginia Wesleyan earned seven first place votes and 77 total points as the Marlins were picked to repeat as conference champions in the 2012 ODAC Softball Preseason Poll.  Bridgewater College (57), Guilford College (54) and Roanoke College (52) are separated by just five votes for the next three slots in the predicted rankings.

The Marlins captured their sixth ODAC title in 2011, tying for second-most in the conference behind Roanoke (7) with Lynchburg.  VWC turned the trick in just four games, the second straight year the ODAC’s tournament champion needed the minimum number of games to hoist the league’s hardware (EMU in 2010).  VWC’s crown paved the way to the NCAA Division III Tournament, but the Marlins’ stay was shorter than expected following losses to Christopher Newport (8-6) and Kean University (13-5).

Virginia Wesleyan (29-11 overall, 10-8 in ODAC play in 2011) and reigning ODAC Coach of the Year, Brandon Elliott, welcome back all four of their all-conference performers from a season ago.  Included in that group are a pair of All-ODAC First Team choices in ODAC Rookie of the Year, pitcher MacKenzie Creech (18-6, 1.84 ERA), and catcher Jaclyn Quinn (.378, 5 HR, 35 RBI).  Creech tied for tops in the ODAC with 157 strikeouts and was second in wins (18) and innings pitched (160.0), while Quinn was second with 16 doubles and third with a .658 slugging percentage.

Bridgewater (31-11, 14-4), Guilford (26-15, 10-8) and Roanoke (27-11, 12-6) combine for six returning all-conference athletes, three from the first team.  Leading the way for the Eagles is first team shortstop Hillary Rees (.410, 13 2B, 33 RBI).  She’s joined by second team pitcher Heather Jenkins (13-6, 1.98 ERA, 120.1 IP).  The Quakers will look to starter Jessica Burcham (14-6, 1.91 ERA), who led the league with 18 complete games and tied atop the charts with 157 strikeouts.  The Maroons feature three returners from the all-conference lists including 2011 batting champ Leona Rainey (.446), who also led the league in stolen bases (32) and on-base percentage (.514).  She’s joined by fellow first team choice, utility player Stephanie Clark (.322, 15 RBI and 4-2, 0.85 ERA).

Lynchburg (21-18, 8-10) goes in search of its fourth ODAC crown in the last six years.  Helping with that effort is second team second baseman Sarah Smith (.263, .314 OBP) and honorable mention catcher Meagan Fredenburg (.316, 21 RBI).

Randolph (22-19, 7-11) returns three all-conference players from the team that went to the ODAC title game for the first time in school history.  Lauren Stevenson (.440, 4 3B, 30 SB) and Brittany Willingham (.391, .623 SLG%) will again roam two-thirds of the WildCats’ outfield after first and second team seasons, respectively.  Willingham led the ODAC in doubles (17) and runs batted in (49).

Randolph-Macon (21-13, 11-7) and Emory & Henry (10-24, 4-12) each feature a returning all-conference standout.  The Yellow Jackets welcome back second team utility player Heather Lewis, who performed well both at the plate (.314, .392 OBP) and in the circle (9-8, 2.27 ERA).  The Wasps are led by honorable mention catcher Jenae Morrissey (.346, .400 OBP) as new head coach Sara Schoenhoft prepares for her first season in Emory.

Sweet Briar College (0-20, 0-18) will look for new on-field leaders following the graduation of key seniors from 2011.  Catcher/first baseman Nikki Thompson (.225, .311 OBP) is the Vixens’ top returning hitter.

Listed below is the 2012 ODAC Softball Preseason Poll.  For more information, visit any of the participating schools’ websites, or go to the ODAC’s home on the Internet at .  Don’t forget to become a fan of the ODAC on Facebook by clicking .  You can also follow the ODAC on Twitter by clicking .