Walking the fine line between victory and defeat, the EMU baseball team ended the 2013 season with a pair of slim losses to playoff-bound Roanoke.  The Royals got a pair of great pitching performances, but came up short because of one tough inning in each game.

Roanoke 6, EMU 5
The Royals got timely hitting in game one, scoring singles runs in the third, fourth and fifth innings to go up 3-0.

The defense let down starter Adam Posey (Poquoson, VA/Poquoson) in the sixth, as three errors led to four Roanoke runs as the visitors jumped ahead 4-3.  But Ryan McAlister (Bridgewater, VA/Turner Ashby) smacked an RBI single in the bottom of the frame to tie the game up.

The Maroons took the lead again in the top of the ninth, scoring a pair of two-out runs.  EMU had runners on second and third in the bottom of the ninth, and brought in one on a single from Zach Bowles (Staunton, VA/Robert E. Lee), but a strike out and ground out ended the threat and the game.

Posey struck out six in 8.1 innings, but took the loss to fall to 4-3.  Only two of his five runs were earned, as he finishes fourth in the ODAC with a 2.81 ERA.  Senior Casey Harlow (Louisa, VA/Louisa County) pitched the final 0.2 innings and allowed a run.

Posey also led the 15-hit offensive attack, going 4-5 with an RBI.  Bowles rapped a pair of doubles and finished 3-5 with two RBIs.  McAlister and Phillip Jordan (West Point, VA/Christchurch) each went 2-4, with McAlister picking up two RBIs and Jordan scoring two runs.

Roanoke 4, EMU 2
Senior Daniel Stanley (Henrico, VA/Varina) took the mound for the final time in the second game and pitched a great effort.  He struck out a career high 12 batters in 7.0+ innings, but was hurt by one bad inning.

Jonathan Estrada (Miami, FL/Doral Academy) and B.J. Mortimer (Mechanicsville, VA/Lee-Davis) had run-scoring hits in the first and third innings, respectively, to give the Royals a 2-0 lead.  Roanoke rallied with two outs in the seventh, loading the bases.  A single to center field scored two runs, but a wild throw allowed the go-ahead run to score unearned.

In EMU's seventh, the men had runners on the corners with just one out, but a strike out and fly ball left them stranded.  Estrada led off the eighth with a double and Mortimer followed with a single.  A strike out and line drive double play ended another rally.

The Maroons added an insurance run in the ninth, and the Royals went down in order in their final chance to take the 4-2 loss.

Stanley took the hard luck loss to end his final year at 5-5.  He finishes the season with an ODAC-leading six complete games and three shutouts.  He is third with 60 strikeouts and is also in the top 10 in wins and ERA.  Harlow again finished off the game, giving up one run in 2.0 innings.  The right hander lead the league with 67 strikeouts during the regular season.

Estrada batted 2-3 with a walk and an RBI.  Mortimer was 2-4 with an RBI while McAlister scored twice.

Seniors Daniel Stanley, B.J. Mortimer, Casey Harlow, Phillip Jordan and Chris DeWald were playing their final games in an EMU uniform.

Eastern Mennonite ends at 15-24 in their first season under Coach Ben Spotts, including 4-16 in the ODAC.  The 15 win total is the most since 2002, and the seventh-most in program history.