ASHLAND, Va. - The fourth-ranked Randolph-Macon baseball team defeated No. 13 Roanoke 12-0 Saturday afternoon in the opening game of an ODAC Senior Day doubleheader on Hugh Stephens Field at Estes Park to secure its first ODAC regular-season crown since 1987.
The Yellow Jackets (28-5-1, 17-3 ODAC) will be the No. 1 seed in the upcoming ODAC Tournament. R-MC will host eighth-seeded Bridgewater in a best-of-three series next weekend to begin the tourney. Specific dates and times will be determined early next week. There will be an admission charge for the games.
The Maroons (27-9, 15-5) won the nightcap 11-3.
In Game 1, junior Colin Selby (Chesapeake, Va./Western Branch) was dominant on the mound for the Yellow Jackets. He hurled eight scoreless innings with four hits, two walks and 10 strikeouts to raise his record to 9-1. It was his second combined shutout and the third of the season for the R-MC pitching staff. RC was blanked for the first time this season. Selby leads the conference with 93 strikeouts and is tied for the lead with nine victories.
R-MC started the scoring with a crooked number in the third. Sophomore Zach Evans (Fort Mill, S.C./Seneca) was hit by a pitch to start the inning. Sophomore Ryan Duphorn (Erial, N.J./Paul VI) and junior Jeff Butler (Chesapeake, Va./Western Brranch) both reached on bunt singles, loading the bases with no outs. Senior Cole Migliorini (Stafford, Va./Colonial Forge) ripped a two-run single to right to start the scoring. Senior Joe Tuzzolo (Newport News, Va./Menchville) added a sacrifice fly and sophomore Reece Yeargain (Richmond, Va./Benedictine) had a run-scoring base hit to give the Yellow Jackets a 4-0 advantage.
One inning later, R-MC added to its lead. Duphorn drew a two-out walk, went to third on a single to right by Butler and came home on a wild pitch to make it a 5-0 ballgame.
In the sixth, sophomore Michael Nickles (Stafford, Va./Colonial Forge) had a leadoff single up the middle. Evans and Duphorn both reached on bunt singles to again load the bases. Butler belted a grand slam to left, his seventh long ball of the season, to make it 9-0. Migliorini followed with his sixth homer of the season to right center, putting the home team up 10-0.
The Yellow Jackets put up two more in the seventh. Evans was hit by a pitch and scored on a wild pitch, while Duphorn walked and came home on a base hit by senior Rick Spiers (South Chesterfield, Va./Mataca) to extend the lead to 12-0.
Duphorn had two hits, two walks and four runs. Butler went 3 for 5 with two runs and four RBI. Migliorini went 2 for 3 with two walks, two runs and three RBI. Evans scored three times for the Yellow Jackets.
R-MC struggled to keep the offense going in the nightcap. After RC tallied four in the top of the first, Duphorn reached on an error and scored on a sacrifice fly by Spiers. The final two runs for the Yellow Jackets came in the sixth, as Evans delivered a two-run double with two away.
Migliorini finished with two hits for R-MC.
Prior to the start of the ODAC Tournament, Randolph-Macon will host No. 8 Christopher Newport on Tuesday, May 1 at 3:30 p.m. on Hugh Stephens Field at Estes Park.