Royals Take ODAC Contest In Walk-Off Fashion

More news about: Eastern Mennonite

HARRISONBURG, Va. - The Diamond Royals improved to 2-1 in ODAC play on Wednesday night, taking down the visiting Generals of Washington and Lee in walk-off fashion. 

Despite being down by four with just three frames of offense left in them, the Royals battled to come from behind, taking the game 10-9.

Highlights

  • Both teams went scoreless in the first inning, with starter Gage Riddick throwing another zero on the board in the top of the second. In the Royals' half of the inning, Blake Sargent put EMU on top early with a towering solo shot over the left field fence. 
  • W&L put across a single run in the third and fourth inning to take the lead. The Royals went on to tie up the contest in the bottom of the fourth via an RBI single from Jordan Jones, scoring Ethan Spraker who singled and stole a bag earlier in the frame. 
  • Brett Lindsay put EMU back on top in the bottom of the fifth, knocking a solo home run over the left field wall. The homer is the second of the season for the senior. 
  • With the Generals taking over the contest again in the top half of the sixth, the Royals again answered quickly to tie up the game. Spraker scored a pinch running Drew Pettit from second, helped with a General error, to put the score evened up at four apiece. 
  • W&L took a commanding lead in the top of the seventh, plating four runs, but the Royals didn't put themselves in a rut. Lindsay led off the inning with a single, and with one away Ray Tricarico doubled down the left field line. From there, Petitt, who pinch ran for Natty Solomon the inning before, knocked a single to right, scoring Lindsay easily from third. Sargent, coming through again for the Royals, knocked a hard single to left to score Tricarico and send Petitt to third. After a Spraker walk, loading up the bases, the big blow came off of the bat of Noah Dahllof, who laced a single to left to score two and tie up the game. After a wild pitch from the Generals' pitcher, the Royals had retaken the lead. 
  • After a quiet eighth, the ninth brought on more excitement to Royals Field. With W&L putting across one in the top of the ninth and tying the contest up, the Royals needed just one to take the game. Spraker led off the inning with an infield single, advancing on a throwing error. Dahllof came to the plate with the winning run at second, putting the ball in play and forcing the Generals to make a play. They were ultimately unable to, overthrowing the first baseman and sending Spraker home and the Royals into hysterics, taking the game 10-9. 

By The Numbers

  • Spraker - hit 3-4 in the game, accounting for significant runs and being a constant threat on the base paths. 
  • 2 - Sargent and Dahllof each had two RBI in the contest.
  • Riddick - Notched 6.0 strong innings, allowing just three earned runs while striking out four. 

What's Next

The Royals are back on the road on Saturday, traveling to Ferrum College to take on the Panthers in an ODAC doubleheader.

To keep up to date with everything surrounding the baseball program this year follow EMU on Twitter and Instagram, like EMU Athletics on Facebook or visit our website.