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.

“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.”