The Eastern Mennonite softball team opened its 2011 season over the weekend, playing at the Methodist Early Bird Tournament in Fayetteville, North Carolina. The women took on a pair of nationally-ranked teams the first day and ended up with a 1-3 record at the two-day event.

No. 3 Louisiana 5, EMU 3
Box Score
The Lady Royals opened with Louisiana College, which entered as the third-ranked team in all of D-III, and fell behind 5-1.

But EMU rallied in their last at-bat, with the first two batters reaching base. A sacrifice fly brought in one runner and an RBI groundout scored the other, but the rally ended when the bases cleared and the women took the two-run loss.

Lisa Lee (Buckingham, Va./Buckingham) suffered the loss on the mound. The offense was limited to four total hits.

No. 9 Christopher Newport 4, EMU 2
Box Score
The women then took on another top ten team and again came out on the short end of a two-run decision. CNU led 4-0 after three innings before the Lady Royals broke through.

Lee hit a one-out double in the fourth. With two outs, Courtney Allman (Weyers Cave, Va./Fort Defiance) walked to keep the inning alive. Back-to-back singles from Sara Jenkins (Stanley, Va./Page Co.) and Jessica Sullivan(Midlothian, Va./Manchester) brought in a pair of runs to make it 4-2.

EMU got two runners on base in the fifth, and the leadoff batter walked in the seventh, but the women couldn't plate another run and took the loss.

Freshman Molly Smith (Elkton, Va./Spotswood) again split the pitching duties with Lee, as she threw the first four innings and took the loss. The two scattered ten hits and didn't walk anyone.

The offense again was limited to four hits.

EMU 12, Wilson 1
Box Score
The Lady Royals finally got their bats going Saturday morning against Wilson. They led 2-1 after two innings, before erupting for 10 runs and winning 12-1 in a five-inning mercy game.

Jamie Blosser (Crimora, Va./Wilsom Memorial) blasted a three-run homer in the third to blow open what had been a tight game. The women put together 13 hits along with two walks.

Lisa went 3-4 from the plate with three runs and three RBIs and also collected the win from the mound, as she allowed just four hits and struck out five.

Smith was 3-3 with three RBIs. Sullivan added a trio of RBIs, including a two-run single in the fifth which helped end the game.

Methodist 2, EMU 0
Box Score
After the offensive explosion against Wilson, the bats again struggled against host Methodist Saturday afternoon as they collected just three hits and were shutout.

Smith allowed just five hits in the game, although three of them came in the third when Methodist scored its first run. A second run scored unearned in the sixth.

The Lady Royals got two runners on with two outs in the seventh, but a strikeout ended the game in a 2-0 loss.

Eastern Mennonite had just six batters reach base in the game.

The women come home with a 1-3 showing after the tough season-opener. Lee led the offense with five hits on the weekend, including three doubles, as she scored four runs and drove in three more. The junior also had EMU's only win on the mound.

Sullivan had five RBIs in the four games and Smith added four.

The Lady Royals head to Virginia Beach this coming weekend and play four games at the Beach Blast Tournament. EMU plays Peace and Virginia Intermont on Friday. They wrap up play Saturday with Old Westbury and Meredith.