Box Score 1 |
Box Score 2 Two bad innings cost the EMU baseball team Saturday afternoon, as they dropped a pair of ODAC games to Hampden-Sydney College. The Royals gave up a four-run frame in game one and then a three spot in game two, as they lost two close decisions to slip to 12-11 overall.
Hampden-Sydney 5, EMU 4
The Tigers broke open a scoreless game in the fourth, combining four hits with two walks to jump to a 4-0 lead. EMU scored an unearned run in the bottom of the frame, but the visitors got their own unearned tally in the sixth.
Trailing 5-1, the Royals had runners on second and third in the bottom of the sixth, but also had two outs. Freshman Kyle Mathews (Chesapeake, Va./Great Bridge) got a pitch he liked and shot it over the left field wall for a clutch three-run homer to slice the lead to 5-4.
Both starting pitchers left the game in the eighth, and both bullpens did their job, as neither team scored again, leaving H-SC with the win.
Adam Posey (Poquoson, Va./Poquoson) threw seven innings, allowing just six hits but taking the loss to drop to 2-3. Aaron Hooven (Carroll, Va./Carroll) threw two hitless innings in relief.
Mathews paced EMU's offense with two hits, while driving in all four of their runs. Jonathan Estrada (Miami, Fla./Doral Academy) was also 2-4 scoring twice. Kyle Armstrong (Greenville, Va./Riverheads) also had a pair of hits and scored.
Hampden-Sydney 5, EMU 1
The Royals took a quick lead in the nightcap, as Posey singled to lead off, stole second, and scored on Estrada's RBI single. Hampden-Sydney tied it with an RBI single in the second.
The Tigers then took the lead with an unearned run in the third. It stayed 2-1 until the seventh, when H-SC brought in three more runs, all with two outs, to go up 5-1. It was sadly fitting for the Royals to leave the bases loaded in the bottom of the ninth, as they left at least one runner on base in eight of their nine at-bats.
Starter Brett Whitlow (Mechanicsville, Va./Hanover) allowed one earned run in 6.0 innings on the mound, but fell to 0-2 with the hard-luck loss.
The offense combined 12 hits with two walks, but left 14 men on base. Estrada was 3-4 with a walk, adding the lone RBI. Posey and Ryan McAlister (Bridgewater, Va./Turner Ashby) each had a pair of singles.
The Royals step out of the conference on Tuesday, playing a single game at Mary Washington. First pitch is at 3:00pm in Fredericksburg, Va.
Coach Ben Spotts talks about the two games and the positive direction of his program:
