LYNCHBURG, VA --- The Royals nearly out-hit top-seeded Shenandoah in their first ODAC Tournament game since 2002 but the pitching staff let them down in an 11-3 loss Thursday at City Stadium in Lynchburg. Eastern Mennonite will return to the field in the double elimination tourney, playing No. 5 Roanoke at 11:00am on Friday.
The Maroons lost an 11-3 decision to No. 2 Virginia Wesleyan in their first round game. The Royals swept Roanoke during the season, winning 5-2 and 11-9 in Harrisonburg on April 12.
Facing the best pitching staff in the ODAC in Shenandoah, No. 6 EMU (16-17) still rapped out 10 hits. The Hornets (24-7-1), however, worked out nine walks to maximize their 11 hits.
Shenandoah, ranked No. 8 in the D3baseball.com national poll, scored a single run in the bottom of the first to take the initial lead, and then stretched it to 4-0 with three more in the third, chasing EMU starter Jake Brown (Gloucester, Va./Gloucester). SU got two more tallies in the fourth without the aid of any hits, scoring on a walk and a balk.
The men finally got on the board in the fifth. Nic Love (Bedford, Va./Staunton River) andPatrick Love (Bedford, Va./Staunton River) each singled, and Joe Hall (Gladys, Va./Rustburg) eventually loaded the bases with a two-out single. Fellow All-ODAC First Teamer Justin Rodriguez (Miramar, Fla./Monsignor Edward Pace) smacked a single to left center to bring in the Love brothers, and Kyle Armstrong (Greenville, Va./Riverheads) added the fifth single of the inning to score Hall, cutting the deficit to 6-3.
A two-out error in the bottom of the fifth allowed the Hornets to score once and gain some of the momentum back.
EMU missed a key scoring opportunity in the seventh. Armstrong hit a one-out double to put runners on second and third, but a grounder to third and a fly ball left both stranded.
Shenandoah then put the game away with four more runs in the seventh and eighth, including two unearned, bumping the lead to 11-3.
The Royals rallied in their last at-bat with back-to-back leadoff walks. The comeback was not to be, however, as the next three batters hit the ball well but right at SU's defense for three straight outs.
Hall improved his league-leading batting average by going 2-4 with a walk. Rodriguez and Armstrong each had a pair of hits as well. Griffin Stanley (Roanoke, Va./Cave Spring) and Patrick Love each added a single and a walk. The Royals left 11 men on base.
Brown was tagged for seven hits and four runs in 2.1 innings, falling to 3-5 with the loss. Aaron Weaver (Sugar Creek, Ohio/Hiland), Aaron Hooven (Carroll, Va./Carroll County), David Meehan (Virginia Beach, Va./Salem) and Tristan Childress (Waynesboro, Va./Waynesboro) all pitched in the relief, with only Childress not giving up any runs.
SU's Darrell Thompson, an All-ODAC Second Team selection, struck out six Royals in 7.0 innings to improve to 5-1.