SALEM, Va. - Junior Rick Spiers (South Chesterfield, Va./Matoaca) had three hits and two RBI in Game 2 as the 14th-ranked Randolph-Macon baseball team split an ODAC doubleheader at Roanoke Saturday at Kiwanis Park.
The Yellow Jackets (25-12, 13-7 ODAC) won the nightcap 8-4 after the Maroons (25-15, 9-11) took the opener 5-3.
In the nightcap, Roanoke scored single runs in each of the first two innings to take an early lead. R-MC would get on the board in the third as freshman Mitch Mendler (McLean, Va./Flint Hill) drew a leadoff walk, was sacrificed to second by freshman Zach Evans (Fort Mill, S.C./Seneca), moved to third on an error and scored on a passed ball to make it a 2-1 contest.
The Yellow Jackets would take the lead in the fourth. Junior Cole Migliorini (Stafford, Va./Colonial Forge) started the frame with a double and came home on a two-bagger by senior Blake Saathoff (Catonsville, Md./Archbishop Spalding) to level the game at 2-2. Saathoff scored on a single by Mendler to put R-MC on top 3-2.
The visitors added to their lead in the sixth. Migliorini drew a leadoff walk, was sacrificed to second by senior Stuart Brown (Midlothian, Va./Trinity) and scored on a base hit by senior Jay Patti (Sparks, Md./Hereford) to give the Yellow Jackets a 4-2 advantage.
R-MC put up a pair in the seventh. Evans started the rally with a double and freshman Ryan Duphorn (Erial, N.J./Paul VI) was hit by a pitch. Sophomore Jeff Butler (Chesapeake, Va./Western Branch) singled to load the bases with none out. Spiers singled to center to plate Evans and make it 5-2. Migliorini added a sacrifice fly to bring home Duphorn and give the Yellow Jackets a 6-2 lead.
After the Maroons plated two in the bottom of the seventh, R-MC responded in the eighth. Mendler had a leadoff walk and advanced to second when Evans reached on an error on his sacrifice bunt. Duphorn sacrificed both runners into scoring position. Butler's sacrifice fly brought home Mendler and a base hit by Spiers drove in Evans to give the Yellow Jackets an 8-4
Migliorini, Mendler and Evans each scored twice.
Sophomore Nick Roth (Henrico, Va./Benedictine) earned the win, going 5.0 innings with five hits, two runs, one earned run, one walk and one strikeout. Christian Cok allowed two hits over two scoreless innings with three strikeouts to preserve the victory.
In the opener, R-MC was blanked for eight innings before erupting for three in the top of the ninth. Saathoff had a leadoff double and scored on a base hit by Patti. Senior Herminio Azor (Fairfax, Va./Robinson) walked and both runners moved up on a wild pitch. Freshman Daniel Wilkerson (Oxford, N.C./Kerr-Vance Academy) and sophomore Grant Huckestein (Manassas, Va./Woodbridge) both had RBI groundouts to make the final 5-3.
Saathoff had two doubles, while Patti was 2 for 3 with one run and one RBI.
Randolph-Macon will conclude the regular season on Monday, May 1 at sixth-ranked Johns Hopkins. The 2017 ODAC Tournament begins on Thursday, May 4 at City Stadium in Lynchburg, Va.