Beginning in the fall of 2012, Shenandoah University will be a fellow conference member of EMU's when the Hornets join the Old Dominion Athletic Conference. For now, when Eastern Mennonite takes on SU it is as a non-conference opponent, as it was Wednesday in Winchester. The Lady Royals grabbed a win in game one, before the Hornets got their offense in gear for a 13-5 win in the second.

EMU 2, Shenandoah 1
Box Score
The doubleheader started at 11:00am, an hour earlier than originally scheduled, as the teams tried to beat the forecasted rains. EMU grabbed the first lead, plating a run as Jessica Blosser (Crimora, Va./Wilson Memorial) doubled with two outs and scored on a Molly Smith (Elkton, Va./Spotswood) single.

Shenandoah scored a run in the bottom of the first, tying the score at 1-1.

Neither team scored again until the sixth. Brooke Hensley (Elkton, Va./Spotswood) led off for the women and reached on an error by SU's second baseman. Blosser sacrificed Hensley to second, but when the Hornets tried to catch her off the base the throw sailed into the outfield and the freshman sped around to home, putting EMU on top.

Starting pitcher Lisa Lee (Buckingham, Va./Buckingham) allowed a one-out double in the sixth, but retired the other six Hornets in the final two innings to preserve the win.

The Lady Royals had five hits, and were aided by five errors by the home team. Blosser finished 1-2 with a run and RBI. Lee had a pair of singles and stolen base.

On the mound, Lee allowed just four hits and the one run as she went to 2-3 with the win.

Shenandoah 13, EMU 5
Box Score
The Lady Royals scored first again in game two, jumping on former teammate Misty Judd for four runs in two innings. Sara Jenkins (Stanley, Va./Page County) brought in two runs with a two-out double in the first and Hensley shot a two-run single in the second.

But after Shenandoah brought in a relief pitcher, the women were kept in check. SU took the lead with four runs (helped by three EMU errors) in the bottom of the second. In the fourth, a grandslam homerun pushed the deficit to 9-4.

Back-to-back two-out doubles from Jessica Sullivan (Midlothian, Va./Manchester) and Courtney Allman (Weyers Cave, Va./Fort Defiance) made it 9-5, but the Hornets ended the game with four more runs in their half of the fifth, sealing the 13-5 decision.

EMU was limited to five hits again, led by two from Hensley. She also scored once and had two RBIs. Jenkins had two RBIs from her double.

Smith (2-3) pitched the first four innings, allowing nine runs and taking the loss. Only five of the runs were earned although Smith did walk six batters. Lee came in for the fifth and recorded two outs before the four runs scored.

Eastern Mennonite moves to 4-6 after the day. The women head to Salem, Va., this weekend for the Ferrum Invitational. The Lady Royals take on Wartburg and host Ferrum early Saturday and then play Averett and Peace Sunday afternoon.