In their final ODAC doubleheader, the five Eastern Mennonite seniors went out in style. Each of the four healthy men played important roles as the Royals picked up a sweep from Roanoke College Sunday afternoon in Harrisonburg. EMU wraps up the season with a non-conference home game against Southern Virginia Monday.

EMU 9, Roanoke 2
Box Score
The Royals had their bats working at full force against the Maroons, as the men had hits in seven of their eight innings. B.J. Mortimer (Mechanicsville, Va./Lee-Davis) got things rolling with a two-run single in the second.

Senior Jake Norman (Fredericksburg, Va./Colonial Forge) singled in classmate Chris Harpine (Fredericksburg, Va./Colonial Forge) to put the men up 3-0 in the third.

After Roanoke plated a run in the fourth, EMU exploded for four unearned runs with two outs in the fifth. Freshman Ryan McAlister (Bridgewater, Va./Turner Ashby) rapped a triple with the bases loaded and then Dylan Smith (Sterling, Va./Park View) singled him in.

The teams traded runs in the seventh before Norman ripped his second homerun of the season in the eighth, providing the final 9-2 score.

Junior Andy Richter (Perkasie, Pa./Christopher Dock) threw his ODAC-leading fourth complete game of the season to get the win. He improves to 3-6 as he struck out 11 Maroons and allowed just one earned run on nine hits.

The offense unleashed 17 hits, led by Norman's 4-5 performance. The first baseman had three runs and a pair of RBIs. Smith was 4-4 with two RBIs. He was also hit by a pitch for the 13th time this season.

Josh Martin (Crozet, Va./Western Albermarle) went 3-5 with a pair of runs. McAlister and Mortimer each had multiple-hit games as well.

EMU 8, Roanoke 7 - 7 innings
Box Score
As the nightcap moved along, the two teams agreed to play a seven-inning contest and the Royals needed all of their at-bats to grab the win.

The men scored a run without getting a hit in the first, then went up 2-0 on an RBI groundout in the second.

Roanoke scored a run in the third and strung together a walk with three hits to go up 4-2 in the fourth. EMU started the bottom of the frame with three straight singles, but could only bring in one run.

In the fifth, the Royals used an RBI single from Harpine and a sacrifice fly from Martin to jump back in the lead 5-4.

Senior Jason Tate (Herndon, Va./Herndon) took over on the mound in the sixth, but gave up the lead with a three-run homer, putting RC up 7-5.

But fellow senior Travis Ebersole (Sarasota, Fl./Sarasota Christian) started a rally by leading off the bottom of the sixth by reaching on an error. Another two errors later, the Royals had scored twice and locked up the score at 7-7.

After a leadoff walk and sacrifice in the seventh, closer Thomas Worley (Prince George, Va./Prince George) settled down and struck out two straight to keep the score tied.

Norman got the final inning rolling with a one-out single. After a walk, Ebersole beat out the relay at first on a grounder, putting runners on the corners with two away. Mortimer came through with the clutch hit, singling to bring in Norman and clinching the 8-7 win.

Although the men were out-hit 12-9 in the second game, Roanoke committed six errors while EMU was perfect in the field.

Norman was again the leader, going 3-4 with a pair of runs scored, including the game-winner. McAlister walked twice and scored twice.

Mortimer and Beau Banglesdorf (Stafford, Va./Mountain View) each had one hit and two RBIs.

Worley improved to 2-2 with the win. Adam Posey (Poquoson, Va./Poquoson) started and threw the first five frames with Tate pitching the sixth.

The fifth senior, Mike Moles (Waynesboro, Va./Stuarts Draft) started the season opener this year but hasn't pitched since because of an injury.

The wins bump the Royals to 11-24 overall and 4-14 in the Old Dominion Athletic Conference. With the ODAC season complete, the men tied with Emory & Henry for eighth in the league standings. The top six made the postseason tournament.

Eastern Mennonite wraps up the 2011 season with a non-conference game against Southern Virginia Monday afternoon at 4:00pm in Harrisonburg.