ASHLAND, Va. – Senior Christian Sanderson (Lynchburg, Va./Jefferson Forest) had four hits, three runs and five RBI as the sixth-ranked Randolph-Macon baseball team outscored Eastern Mennonite 25-5 in an ODAC doubleheader sweep Saturday afternoon on Hugh Stephens Field at Estes Park.
The Yellow Jackets (18-3-1, 6-3 ODAC) took the opener 15-2 and kept the offense going with a 10-3 victory in Game 2 over the Royals (11-11, 3-6 ODAC). R-MC has scored in double figures in four consecutive games.
Seniors Travis Lodge (Chesterfield, Va./Matoaca) and Nick Maiolo (Powhatan, Va./Powhatan) each had four hits, four runs and four RBI for R-MC.
In Game 1, R-MC started the scoring in the first. Sophomore Rick Spiers (South Chesterfield, Va./Matoaca) had a leadoff double to right, was sacrificed to third by Sanderson and came home on a sacrifice fly by Lodge to give the Yellow Jackets a 1-0 lead.
The Yellow Jackets added to their advantage in the third. Freshman Jeffrey Butler (Chesapeake, Va./Western Branch) had a leadoff single to left and moved to second on a groundout by Spiers. Butler scored on a single by Sanderson to make it 2-0. Lodge was hit by a pitch and Maiolo singled to plate Sanderson and make the score 3-0.
After EMU scored single runs in the fourth and fifth, R-MC responded in the bottom of the fifth. Spiers had a leadoff double to right center, moved to third on a bunt single by Sanderson and scored on a base hit to left by Lodge to make it 4-2. Maiolo singled to right to drive in Sanderson, giving the Yellow Jackets a 5-2 lead. Kroll and Butler drew bases-loaded walks to raise the R-MC advantage to 7-2. Spiers had an RBI single and Sanderson added a two-run base hit as the home team took a 10-2 lead.
The Yellow Jackets added runs in the sixth, as Keeler drew a bases-loaded walk, Kroll delivered a sacrifice fly and Butler hit an RBI single to make it a 13-2 contest.
Sanderson (3 for 4, 2 R) and Keeler (2 for 3) both knocked in three, while Maiolo and Butler had two hits, two runs and two RBI in the opener.
Senior James Walsh (Mechanicsville, Va./Atlee) allowed nine hits and one earned run with no walks and five strikeouts in seven innings in raising his record to 6-0.
In Game 2, EMU scored three in the top of the first before R-MC answered in the bottom of the frame. Lodge had a two-out single and scored on a double by Maiolo to make it a 3-1 contest.
The Yellow Jackets took the lead in the third. Sanderson drew a two-out walk, moved to second on a base hit by Lodge and scored on a single by Maiolo to make it 3-2. Sophomore Cole Migliorini (ripped a double to left center to drive in Lodge and Maiolo to give R-MC a 4-3 lead.
R-MC added to its lead in the middle innings. Senior Michael Trentham (Midlothian, Va./James River) had a two-run single in the fifth to make it 6-3. Lodge launched a two-run homer in the sixth, his ninth of the season, to push the advantage to 8-3. Sanderson delivered a two-run single in the seventh to raise it to 10-3.
Lodge went 3 for 5 with three runs and two RBI, while Maiolo had two hits, two runs and two RBI.
Spiers (2-3) picked up the win in the nightcap, allowing seven hits and three runs in 7.0 innings with four walks and six strikeouts.
Randolph-Macon returns to action on Monday, March 28 against Marymount at 1 p.m. The game will be played at Bishop O'Connell High School.