SALEM, Va. – The Emory & Henry College Baseball Team (7-19, 3-7 ODAC) picked up a 4-1 Old Dominion Athletic Conference victory over Roanoke College (17-9, 7-3 ODAC) Wednesday night at Salem Memorial Stadium. The Maroons, who were leading the ODAC coming into the game, fall to fourth place with the loss.

After three and a half innings of scoreless play, Roanoke got on the board with a single run. Will Decker hit a one-out triple down the right field line and was driven home on the next at bat by Eli Sumpter's groundout to shortstop.

Emory & Henry struck in the sixth, taking a 2-1 lead. With two outs and runners on first and second, senior right fielder Brandon Lineberry (Hillsville, Va.) hit a double down the left field line to plate a pair.

The Wasps tallied another duo of runs in the seventh to make the score 4-1. A lead-off walk by freshman third baseman Eli Straw (Radford, Va.) followed by a double by sophomore shortstop Holden Watkins (Ridgeway, Va.) and a walk by sophomore centerfielder Josh Macek (Concord, N.C.) loaded the bases with one out. Freshman left fielder Ben Sexton (Lebanon, Va.) then doubled down the right field line to drive in Straw and Watkins and put Emory & Henry in control.

E&H then made sure Roanoke could not get back into the game, allowing only three of the final 12 batters to reach base as freshman Logan Forster (Christiansburg, Va.) earned a two-inning save, the first of his career.

Sexton finished the game with two hits and two RBI while Straw added a pair of base knocks and a run. Lineberry drove in two with his lone hit of the game as the Wasps put together timely offense in a close game. Freshman Gavin Felty (Bristol, Va.) moved to 3-1 on the year with a seven-inning gem, allowing just one run on five hits with a pair of strikeouts.

Roanoke's Dean Hermannson got a pair of hits off the bench to lead the way while Decker scored the lone run on the team's only extra-base hit of the game. Rawlings Cumbea pitched 3.1 innings in relief and was the least effective Maroon hurler, allowing all four runs on five hits with a pair of walks.

Emory & Henry will return home on Saturday host to Virginia Wesleyan College in an ODAC doubleheader. The twin-billing will center around Montie Weaver Day as the College will honor the E&H class of 1927 member who pitched for nearly a decade in the Major Leagues. Ceremonies are scheduled to begin around 11:45 a.m., with first pitch set for noon.

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-photo courtesy of Caleb Johnston, E&H '15