Box Score 1 | Box Score 2 The Eastern Mennonite University softball team split a Old Dominion Athletic Conference double header with Guilford College on Saturday, March 29, in Greensboro, N.C.

EMU lost the first game 4-3, but came back to win the second game in the eighth inning 8-7. The Lady Royals improve to 19-6 overall this season and 7-1 in the ODAC while Guilford is now 12-13-1 on the season and 3-7 in the conference.

Senior outfielder Anna Coleman (Fairfield, Va./Rockbridge Co.) went 2-for-2 with a pair of RBIs for EMU while sophomore Nicole Shelton (Richmond, Va./Mills E. Godwin) and freshman outfielder Jessica Blosser (Crimora, Va./Wilson Memorial) each had two hits in game one.

Guilford pushed three runs across to start the first game of the afternoon as Kelly Guarnieri brought home one run on a sacrifice fly. Kelly Hale added the next two runs on her team leading sixth home run of the season.

EMU countered with single runs in the second and third innings before tying the game in the sixth with an RBI single off the bat of Coleman, scoring senior Natasha Viafora (Stanley, Va./Page Co.). With the game notted at three, the Quakers came to bat with Hale reaching on a fielder's choice and moving to second on a walk to Ami Hutcherson. Samantha Golley followed with a game winning RBI single to right-center, scoring Hale to give Guilford the win.

In the second game on Haworth Field, the Royals held went up 6-1 midway through the contest as they pushed across three runs in both the third and fourth innings. Sophomore outfielder Brittany Caricofe (Bridgewater, Va./Turner Ashby) had an RBI triple in the third inning, scoring Blosser, while junior infielder Mandee Madden (Winchester, Va./John Handley) added her own RBI triple in the fourth, plating Viafora and pinch-runner Lauren Michel (Princess Ann, Md./Holly Grove Christian).

Everything seemed to be going the Lady Royals way until the bottom of the sixth when the Quakers struck for six runs on five hits. Golley got the inning started for GC as she reached on a fielding error and later came around to score on a RBI single from JoBeth Hooker. With the bases loaded, Charissa Duncan worked a walk to push across another run as Amber Stapler and Hutcherson also had RBI singles in the inning.

As the teams headed into extra innings they went to international tie breaker rules with a runner placed on second base. With one out in the inning, freshman Dana Hall (Shenandoah, Va./Page Co.) came around to score on an RBI double from Madden to give EMU the 8-7 lead. With the home team coming to bat, Viafora was able to get a pair of groundouts and a strikeout to close out the win for EMU.

Madden finished the game going 2-for-4 with a run scored and three RBIs. Viafora was 2-for-3 with a pair of runs scored.

Stapler was 3-for-5 with a run scored and an RBI for GC.

EMU will end their 14 game road trip tomorrow as the Lady Royals travel to Lynchburg, Va., to take on the Hornets in an ODAC double header scheduled to begin at 1:30 p.m.