Box Score In a game full of massive momentum swings, EMU's comeback attempt ended up short in a 17-10 to Washington and Lee. The two baseball teams split their season series, with each team winning on the road.
The Generals started out on fire, chasing two EMU pitchers to build a 9-1 lead after just three at-bats.
Despite the large hole, the Royals remained undeterred. They put together four hits in the bottom of the third to score three times and make the score 9-4. W&L scored an unearned run in the fourth, but RBI hits from Ryan McAlister (Bridgewater, Va./Turner Ashby) and Jonathan Estrada (Miami, Fla./Doral Academy) scored three more and got EMU within 10-7. Another run in the fifth made it 10-8 and chased the Generals' starter.
Washington and Lee plated another unearned run in the top of the sixth to keep the margin at three, but the men kept coming. They scored a run on a wild pitch in the bottom of the inning and Kyle Armstrong (Greenville, Va./Riverheads) had an RBI single to make it 11-10. That would be as close as they would get, however.
The Generals got a two-run double in the seventh again put the lead at three. The Royals had two runners on the bottom of the frame, but couldn't score. Estrada launched a fly ball deep to right field, but it was caught at the fence to end the inning.
The visitors plated four more insurance runs over the eighth and ninth innings, while EMU left three men on base, leaving the final 17-10 score.
The Royals out-hit Washington and Lee 20-18, but were hurt by issuing seven walks and committing seven errors. Only eight of W&L's runs were earned.
Adam Posey (Poquoson, Va./Poquoson) and McAlister topped EMU's batting order with four hits apiece. The two seniors also combined to score six runs. Armstrong finished 3-5 with three RBIs and a run. Estrada, Kyle Mathews (Chesapeake, Va./Great Bridge) and Justin Rodriguez (Miramar, Fla./Monsignor Edward Pace) each had a pair of hits.
Ryan Tierney (Front Royal, Va./Warren County) started on the mound, but was tagged for four runs in just 1.0+ innings. He took the loss to slip to 2-1. EMU threw six pitchers in the game and each of them allowed at least one run.
The Royals hit the road for their next five contests, starting tomorrow with a non-conference game at the Apprentice School in Newport News. Start time is 2:00pm.
Coach Ben Spotts talks about the high-scoring game:
