HARRISONBURG, VA --- The Royals continue to stay in the heat of the ODAC baseball race after splitting a doubleheader with Guilford College Saturday afternoon in Harrisonburg. At 7-9 in the Old Dominion Athletic Conference, Eastern Mennonite is still in seventh in the league's standings, a half game behind Lynchburg at 7-8 after the Hornets split with powerhouse Randolph-Macon. Only the top six teams make the postseason tournament.
Coming into the final week of the regular season, EMU's baseball men have four ODAC games left, starting with Sunday's twinbill against Roanoke at home. The Royals then end the year at Virginia Wesleyan on Saturday.
EMU 2, Guilford 1
The Quakers used small ball to take a quick 1-0 lead in the top of the first. EMU looked to answer with back-to-back one-out singles in the bottom of the frame, but a double play ball ended the inning.
Starting pitcher Kyle Armstrong (Greenville, Va./Riverheads) quickly found his groove, though, allowing GC virtually nothing. He allowed just one more base runner through the sixth inning, a second-inning single which he succinctly picked off of first base.
The Royals finally pieced together some hits in the sixth, started by Griffin Stanley's (Roanoke, Va./Cave Spring) infield single. Joe Hall (Gladys, Va./Rustburg) laid down a bunt single, and Armstrong sacrifice them both into scoring position. Ryan Hedrick (Bridgewater, Va./Turner Ashby) tied the game with a sacrifice fly and Justin Rodriguez (Miramar, Fla./Monsignor Edward Pace) followed with a go-ahead single to center, giving EMU the 2-1 lead.
Armstrong continued mowing through the Quakers' batting order, getting three quick outs in the seventh and just a two-out single in the eighth. Austin Marzullo (Shippensburg, Pa./Shippensburg) took over in the ninth and earned a harrowing save. He gave up a leadoff double, before getting the first out on a strikeout. The next batter shot a single up the middle, but the runner was held at third and Marzullo closed the door with back-to-back whiffs to get his third save.
Armstrong improved to 4-1 with a dominant performance. The righty scattered five hits and allowed just the one run in 8.0 innings.
Griffin and Hall each had a pair of hits and combined to score EMU's only runs.
Guilford 10, EMU 5
Game two had a similar start, with Guilford plating a two-out run in the top of the first. But the Royals had a quick answer this time, started by a single from Stanley and a walk from Hall. Rodriguez had the first big swing with a two-run single to left, and Brandon Carroll (Fredericksburg, Va./Stafford) brought in a third run when he beat out a potential double play ball with the bases loaded.
Stanley hit an RBI double in the second to make it 4-1, and the men looked to add more with two runners in scoring position and nobody out. But a grounder to third and two strikeouts cut the rally short.
A leadoff walk in GC's fifth spelled trouble, as the visitors put together two free passes with six hits to take over the game with six big runs. The 7-4 lead stuck until the seventh, when the Quakers added three unearned runs, all scoring with two outs, to bump the cushion to 10-4.
Hall added an RBI single in the eighth, but that was all the Royals would get.
The offense put together 10 hits but also left 12 men on base. Hall led the way by going 2-3 with two walks. He had a run, RBI and two stolen bases. Stanley also had a pair of hits as did Kyle Salladay (Chesapeake, Va./Grassfield). Rodriguez added two RBIs.
Starter Aaron Hooven (Carroll, Va./Carroll County) gave up four runs on seven hits and four walks in 4.1 innings, and reliever David Meehan (Virginia Beach, Va./Salem) was tagged for three runs in 0.1 innings to get his first loss. Aaron Weaver (Sugar Creek, Ohio/Hiland) allowed just three unearned runs in 3.1 frames, while Brandon Trujillo (Virginia Beach, Va./Salem) and Andrew Romano (Midlothian, Va./Midlothian) combined to throw a scoreless ninth.
At 13-14 on the year, the Royals host Roanoke on Sunday. Both teams' pitching depth will be tested in the rescheduled doubleheader, as they each played two games on Saturday as well. First pitch in Harrisonburg is at noon, with Senior Recognition ceremonies preceding the games.