HARRISONBURG, Va. – The Emory & Henry College Baseball Team (4-4, 2-0 ODAC) picked up a doubleheader sweep of Eastern Mennonite University (7-4, 0-2 ODAC) Saturday afternoon to open Old Dominion Athletic Conference play. The Wasps took game one by a 4-3 score and won the nightcap, 6-3 over the Royals.
Game One – Emory & Henry 4, Eastern Mennonite 3
E&H got on the board in the top of the third inning. Junior shortstop Jordan Woullard (Oak Ridge, Tenn.) doubled down the left field line with two outs to get things going. On the next at bat, senior second baseman Caleb Rotton (Boiling Springs, S.C.) singled to deep shortstop and Woullard came across to score.
Eastern Mennonite tied things up in the bottom half of the inning on a single by Adam Posey to left field, scoring Kyle Mathews, who led the inning off with a base hit to centerfield.
The Wasps went up 2-1in the fourth as senior catcher Connor Wise (Cookeville, Tenn.) led the inning off with a home run to left field. In the bottom of the fifth, the Royals knotted things up at two on a sacrifice fly by Jonathan Estrada, plating Conner Smith.
Emory & Henry got the lead again in the top of the sixth as junior first baseman Bransen Christopher (Hickory, N.C.) homered to start things off. Woullard would make the score 4-2 in favor of the Wasps with a two-out solo home run in the seventh frame.
The bottom of the seventh saw EMU add a run as Ryan McAlister drove in Posey with back-to-back base hits, making the score 4-3. The Royals got a pair of baserunners in the eighth and another in the ninth but was unable to put enough offense together to score more runs.
Woullard was two-for-four with a RBI and two runs scored while Rotton and Christopher added two hits and a RBI each. Junior lefthander Aaron Sparks (Troutman, N.C.) moved to 2-1 on the year as he scattered seven hits and three runs over seven innings of work, striking out two. Freshman Garrett Butler (Knoxville, Tenn.) picked up the first save of his career, pitching two scoreless innings of relief.
Both Posey and McAlister had a game-high three hits for Eastern Mennonite including a double and a RBI each. Posey struck out 11 in seven innings pitched, but allowed four runs on eight hits to suffer the loss.
Game Two – Emory & Henry 6, Eastern Mennonite 3
Emory & Henry got out to a 5-0 lead after four innings and never looked back as it took the final game of the series 6-3. Christopher got things started in the top of the first with a sacrifice fly to left field, scoring Rotton from third base.
The Wasps added two runs in the second when sophomore centerfielder Brett Johnson (Sugar Grove, Va.) drove in a pair with a single to right centerfield. E&H made it 4-0 in the third as Wise singled to left centerfield, scoring Christopher, who doubled on the previous at bat.
After forcing Eastern Mennonite to strand three runners in the bottom of the third, Emory & Henry continued its surge of offense in its half of the fourth. With two outs and senior right fielder Brogan Hoover (Stephens City, Va.) standing on second base, Woullard singled through the left side to make the score 5-0.
The Royals trimmed the deficit to 5-2 in the bottom of the sixth. After McAlister singled to lead the frame off, Estrada drove him home and found himself on third base with a triple to right centerfield. Estrada made it home two batters later while the Wasps were turning a double play on the other half of the diamond.
E&H got its sixth run as Wise led off the eighth with his team-leading third home run of the season.
Eastern Mennonite stranded another two runners in the bottom half of the inning. The Royals were able to push across a final run in the ninth as Posey doubled to centerfield, scoring Kyle Salladay, but it was not enough.
Johnson was three-for-four with two RBI in game two to lead the Wasps while Wise and Woullard both had two hits and Wise drove in a pair. Sophomore Ty Hill (Knoxville, Tenn.) went the distance for Emory & Henry, moving to 2-1 on the season. He allowed just three runs on 13 hits and a walk while striking out two, as the Emory & Henry defense turned three double plays in the game.
Posey added three hits and a RBI in the nightcap while McAlister, Estrada and Kyle Armstrong chipped in two hits each. Ryan Henschel suffered the loss for EMU, allowing five runs on seven hits with two strikeouts in four innings pitched.
Emory & Henry will remain on the road Sunday afternoon when it travels to Salem, Va. for a 2:00 p.m. ODAC single game against Roanoke College.
---E&H---