WINCHESTER, Va. – Junior Herminio Azor (Fairfax, Va./Robinson) had an RBI single in the top of the ninth to snap an 8-8 tie as the fifth-ranked Randolph-Macon baseball team split an ODAC doubleheader at ninth-ranked Shenandoah on Saturday afternoon.
The Yellow Jackets (20-5-1, 7-5 ODAC) took the opener 10-8 before falling 8-2 in Game 2 against the Hornets (18-6, 7-4 ODAC).
After SU tied Game 1 in the bottom of the eighth, senior Nick Maiolo (Powhatan, Va./Powhatan) had a leadoff single and was sacrificed to second by senior Mitchell Keeler (Mechanicsville, Va./Atlee). Senior Michael Trentham (Midlothian, Va./James River) was hit by a pitch and senior Michael Kroll (Virginia Beach, Va./Cape Henry) had a single to load the bases. Azor's base hit bought home Maiolo with the tie-breaking run. Sophomore Rick Spiers (South Chesterfield, Va./Matoaca) drew a walk to drive in Trentham and give R-MC a 10-8 advantage. Sophomore Christian Cok (Chester, S.C./Lewisville) pitched a scoreless bottom of the ninth to record his fourth save.
The Yellow Jackets scored in each of the first four innings in building a 6-1 lead. Spiers had a leadoff single in the first and scored on a double by senior Travis Lodge (Chesterfield, Va./Matoaca) as the visitors took the early lead.
After SU tied it in the bottom of the first, R-MC reclaimed the lead in the second. Azor had a leadoff single and came home on a groundout by senior Christian Sanderson (Lynchburg, Va./Jefferson Forest) to give the Yellow Jackets a 2-1 lead.
R-MC tallied three in the third. Maiolo walked and scored on an error. Keeler singled and scored on a wild pitch, while Trentham singled and scored on a sacrifice fly by Azor for a 5-1 lead.
Spiers singled and scored on a triple by Maiolo in the fourth as the Yellow Jackets took a 6-1 lead.
After the Hornets tallied single runs in the fourth and fifth, R-MC scored twice in the sixth. Spiers singled and scored on an error, while Sanderson singled and came home on a Maiolo double to give the Yellow Jackets an 8-2 advantage. SU scored three in the sixth and two in the eighth to level the score at 8-8.
Maiolo went 4 for 4 with a walk, two runs and two RBI. He was a homer short of the cycle. Spiers was 4 for 5 with three runs, while Azor had three hits and two RBI.
In the nightcap, R-MC built a 2-0 lead, but was not able to hold it. Kroll drew a leadoff walk in the third and was erased at second on a fielder's choice by freshman Jeffrey Butler (Chesapeake, Va./Western Branch). Butler would score on single by Keeler to take an early 1-0 lead.
In the fifth, Sanderson started the inning with a single and scored on a double by Keeler to make it 2-0. SU would score three in the fifth and five in the sixth to take control.
Keeler finished with two hits and two RBI, while Sanderson had two hits and a run for the Yellow Jackets.
Randolph-Macon returns to action on Wednesday, April 6, with a 3:30 p.m. contest against Methodist.