After a pair of opening day wins on Saturday, the EMU baseball team played one more game before coming home on Sunday.  Despite erupting to a 5-0 lead, the Royals ended up on the short end of a 7-6 decision at Ferrum College.

Neither team scored in the first before Eastern Mennonite got rolling in the second.  Brandon Carroll (Fredericksburg, VA/Stafford) and Kyle Armstrong (Greenville, VA/Riverheads) hit one-out singles, but they still stood on their bases with two away.  Zach Bowles (Staunton, VA/Robert E. Lee) hit an RBI single, and Ferrum opened the door by committing three fielding errors.  Jonathan Estrada (Miami, FL/Doral Academy) also had an RBI single to cap the rally, as five runs scored.

Starter Adam Posey (Poquoson, VA/Poquoson) continued unscathed until the bottom of the fifth.  The Panthers' leadoff batter reached on an error and FC made the men pay with five unearned runs to tie the score.

Ferrum took their first lead in the sixth, getting back-to-back doubles with two outs to go up 7-5.

EMU rallied in the ninth, as Posey and Ryan McAlister (Bridgewater, VA/Turner Ashby) each walked.  A pair of infield groundouts plated one run, to make it 7-6.  But that would be it as a fly ball to center left the tying run stranded at third.

Posey worked the first 4.2 innings and was charged with four runs on eight hits.  Chris DeWald (Williamsburg, VA/Lafayette) pitched the final 3.1 innings and took the loss, giving up three runs on four hits.

Bowles led the offense with a 2-4 day at the plate, scoring once and knocking in another.  Estrada went 1-4 with a walk and an RBI.  Posey scored a pair of runs.

Now 2-1 after their opening weekend road trip, the Royals have more than a week off before playing a single game at Christopher Newport on Tuesday, Feb. 12.