HARRISONBURG, VA -- EMU's baseball men suddenly have a winning streak against Bridgewater College. After trading leads with BC, the opportunistic Royals scored three runs in the bottom of the 11th inning to grab a 7-6 win against their rivals Tuesday afternoon in Harrisonburg. Eastern Mennonite broke a long losing skid to the Eagles late last spring, and then made it two in a row with the thrilling come-from-behind win in their ODAC opener.
EMU actually controlled the early innings and took a quick lead in the game. The men took advantage of three BC errors to score an unearned run in each of the first two frames. Kyle Armstrong (Greenville, Va./Riverheads) added a two-out RBI single in the fourth to make the lead 3-0.
After going down in order in three of their first four times at the plate, the Eagles finally got to starter Aaron Hooven (Carroll, Va./Carroll County) in the fifth. They loaded the bases with a leadoff walk and two bunt singles, finally scoring a run on an infielder grounder. A bases loaded double then cleared the bases, pushing BC to a 4-3 edge.
The pitching staffs dominated from there, as the offenses combined for just two base runners over the next eight half-innings. That left the Royals with a 4-3 deficit in the bottom of the ninth. Joe Hall (Gladys, Va./Rustburg) led off by getting hit by a pitch, and small ball took over. A sacrifice bunt put Hall on second and he moved to third on a groundout. Armstrong, and All-ODAC outfielder, stepped up to the plate and hit a slow roller to the shortstop. He beat out the throw to first, allowing Hall to touch home and knot the score at 4-4.
Both teams went down in order in the 10th, but Bridgewater got moving again in the 11th. A one-out single turned into a runner on second with two away. The Eagles then showed their nationally-ranked pedigree, getting a single to center to take the lead. After a stolen base, another shot up the middle brought home a second run with two outs, giving BC a 6-4 lead.
Justin Rodriguez (Miramar, Fla./Monsignor Edward Pace) led off EMU's half of the 11th with a single and the men were in business. Hall singled, but a botched sacrifice bunt and a strikeout left two runners on with two out.
Armstrong beat out another slow roller to shortstop to load the bases, and Ryan Hedrick (Bridgewater, Va./Turner Ashby) shot a single to center to bring home two men to tie the score at 6-6. Kyle Salladay (Chesapeake, Va./Grassfield) worked out a walk to reload the bases, and Ian Norris (Virginia Beach, Va./Salem) hit a grounder to short. Norris hurried down the line to force a quick throw which skimmed over the first baseman's glove, and Bridgewater's sixth error of the game gave EMU the 7-6 win.
The Royals out-hit BC 12-7, led by Armstrong going 3-6 with two runs and two RBIs. Hedrick also had three hits and drove in two runs. Hall was 2-4 and scored three runs, while Rodriguez also finished with a pair of singles.
EMU's pitching staff did a great job holding down Bridgewater, sending the Eagles down in order in eight of the 11 innings. Hooven allowed four hits and four runs in 6.0 innings. Reliever David Meehan (Virginia Beach, Va./Salem) retired the first 13 men he faced before giving up two runs in that final inning. Armstrong got the final out of the 11th to earn the win, his first of the year.
The men improve to 6-4 with their third straight win. A busy week continues on Wednesday, when EMU hosts Hood in a non-conference date with a 4:00pm start.