Royals Open Feb. 24; Play Bridgewater At JMU’s Veterans Memorial Park

As a junior, Lisa Lee broke the EMU record with 19 wins.

Eastern Mennonite University released its softball schedule today and the Royals open their 2012 campaign on February 24.  After nearly a month's worth of games on the road, EMU has its home opener on March 18.

The women open with three consecutive weekend classics, playing in Raleigh, NC; Virginia Beach, VA; and Salem, VA.  Then after two more road twinbills, the Royals play 14 of their final 24 games in Harrisonburg.  EMU hosts 12 of those games on campus at Gehman Field.

A new splash to the schedule this year will be taking on rival Bridgewater College at Veterans Memorial Park in Harrisonburg, the home field of D-I James Madison University.  Those games will start at 5:00pm on March 22.  To help offset costs of renting JMU's facility, there will be an admission fee for adults.  All home games at Gehman Field are free of charge.

EMU and BC led the ODAC with 14-4 records last spring, with the Royals earning the postseason tournament's top seed by virtue of sweeping the Eagles during the season.

Eastern Mennonite will play 20 non-conference games before the clash with the Bridgewater, which kicks off the Old Dominion Athletic Conference slate.  The Royals will also host three straight ODAC doubleheaders to close the regular season, including ODAC Champion Virginia Wesleyan on April 21 followed by Randolph-Macon on April 22.

The ODAC Tournament is April 27-29 at the James I. Moyer Sports Complex in Salem, VA.

After winning the ODAC Championship in 2010, the Royals closed last spring in the conference tourney with a 27-13 record.  It was the second-most wins in program history.  EMU returns six of their seven All-ODAC performers from an offensive record-setting team, including ODAC Pitcher of the Year Lisa Lee (Buckingham, VA/Buckingham County).