Box Score The Eastern Mennonite baseball team scored first Monday at Mary Washington, but the Eagles had the last laugh in an 8-4 decision. The game had originally been scheduled for Tuesday afternoon, but was moved up a day due to the wet forecast.
The Royals took a quick lead in the top of the first, when Adam Posey (Poquoson, Va./Poquoson) reached on an error and then came in on a two-out single from Kyle Armstrong (Greenville, Va./Riverheads). But Mary Washington touched up starting pitcher Ryan Henschel (New Market, Va./Stonewall Jackson) for seven hits over the first three innings, scoring four times for a 4-1 lead.
Armstrong led off the fourth with a double and then scored on an RBI groundout, but the Eagles got the run right back in the bottom of the frame.
EMU rallied again in the fifth. They scored one run but also had another runner thrown out at the plate as they trimmed the lead to 5-3. In the seventh, the Royals made it a one-run game with another run, but had their threat cut short with an inning-ending double play.
Mary Washington got back some critical breathing room in the eighth, using three hit batters and an EMU error to score a run. The Eagles scored two more runs on their only hit of the inning to make it 8-4.
The men looked to rally again in the ninth, getting a runner on base with a one-out single, but a game-ending 1-6-3 double play did them in.
Each team had nine hits, with UMW getting their extra runs by earning three walks and three hit batsmen. The Royals had just one walk.
Posey scored three of EMU's runs. Armstrong had the only multi-hit effort, going 2-4 with a run and RBI. Jonathan Estrada (Miami, Fla./Doral Academy) knocked in two runs.
Henschel was tagged with the loss in 2.2 innings of work, slipping to 1-3. Ryan Tierney (Front Royal, Va./Warren County) and Garrett Clower (Chesapeake, Va./Grassfield) combined to allow just two hits in 5.1 innings of solid relief.
EMU's hard-luck skid continues, as they fall to 12-12 with the non-conference loss. The Royals are scheduled to play at Washington and Lee in a single ODAC contest on Wednesday. Game time in Lexington is set for 4:00pm.
