Virginia Beach was no vacation spot for the Royals on Saturday, as the baseball team played an ODAC twinbill at Virginia Wesleyan.  The Marlins controlled game one and then came from behind in game two to sweep the doubleheader from Eastern Mennonite.

Virginia Wesleyan 5, EMU 0
The Royals' offense struggled in the first game, as their first 11 batters were retired.  The men didn't get their first hit until a Zach Bowles (Staunton, VA/Robert E. Lee) single with one out in the fifth.

Virginia Wesleyan, meanwhile, patiently put up single runs in the three of the first five innings to build a 3-0 lead.  Two more runs in the seventh gave extra padding in the 5-0 decision.

Bowles was the only Royal to reach base more than once, as he hit 2-3 with a walk.

Adam Posey (Poquoson, VA/Poquoson) allowed all five runs in 7.0 innings to slip to 4-2.  He also struck out seven batters.  Chris DeWald (Williamsburg, VA/Lafayette) pitched an inning of scoreless relief.

Virginia Wesleyan 11, EMU 6
Jonathan Estrada (Miami, FL/Doral Academy) started a two-out rally in the top of the first of the nightcap for EMU's first lead of the day.  Kyle Armstrong (Greenville, VA/Riverheads) rapped the RBI single to make it 1-0.

The Marlins got the run back in the second, but Armstrong had his second RBI single in the fifth to make it 2-1.  EMU got an unearned run in the sixth for a 3-1 lead.

Then Virginia Wesleyan began to take over, tying the game with two runs in the bottom of the frame.  In the seventh, they scored three more to go up 6-3.  Estrada hit a sacrifice fly in the top of the eighth to make it 6-4, but the Marlins put up a five spot in their half of the eight to blow open an 11-4 cushion.

Phillip Jordan (West Point, VA/Christchurch) shot a two-out, two-run single up the middle in the ninth, but the rally ended there.

EMU had 10 hits in the game, led by Armstrong and Jordan each getting three singles with two RBIs and a run.  Estrada walked three times, while Justin Rodriguez (Miramar, FL/Pace) batted 1-3 with two walks.

Daniel Stanley (Henrico, VA/Varina) lasted 7.0 innings before wearing out and taking the loss.  He was charged with six runs and falls to 5-4.

Eastern Mennonite has now lost 10 of 11 and the men head into their busy final week of the year, with five games in five days.  They start out by playing at Bridgewater College this Tuesday at 4:00pm.