EMU's softball women are winning at just the right time.  With Saturday's sweep at Sweet Briar, the Royals enter the postseason on a season-best five-game winning streak.  With the surge, they clinched a spot in the ODAC Tournament, which is April 25-27 in Salem, Va.

At 10-9-1 in conference play, Eastern Mennonite currently sits in fifth place in the league standings.  There are still a handful of rescheduled games to be played, and the Royals could sit anywhere from fifth to seventh after those games are completed.  As of Saturday evening, the final ODAC regular season games are slated for Monday.

EMU 15, Sweet Briar 1 – 5 innings
The Royals wasted little time in the opener against SBC, scoring three runs in the first inning.  EMU put together a six-hit inning in the third to plate six more runs and push the lead to 9-1.

Nicole Smith (Manassas, Va./Forest Park) hit a two-run double in the fourth and Nicolette Cuevas (Suffolk, Va./King's Fork) did the same in the fifth.  The women scored three times in each frame to produce the final score.

EMU smashed 18 hits in the game, including eight doubles.  Each of the 11 Royals to bat had at least one hit.  Aislinn Lucas (Grottoes, Va./Fort Defiance) was 4-4 with three runs and Casey Racer (Madison, Va./Madison County) finished 3-4 with two runs and an RBI.  Lauren Campbell (Stuarts Draft, Va./Stuarts Draft) batted 1-4 with two RBIs and two runs.

Campbell also earned the win from the circle, giving up five hits with three strikeouts in the five innings, as she moved to 2-0.

EMU 10, Sweet Briar 2 – 5 innings
The Royals took a bit to get going in the nightcap, as the Vixen took a 2-0 lead after two innings.  Cuevas led off the third inning with her first career homerun and the offense responded.  The women sent 11 players to the plate as they scored five times to jump into the lead.

The Royals scored four more times in the fourth, including Brooke Hensley (Elkton, Va./Spotswood) launching her third homer of the year.  They scored one more time in the fifth to set up the mercy rule.

Eastern Mennonite combined 11 hits with six walks and three SBC errors in the second game.  Racer finished 3-4 with three runs.  Mariah Foltz (Broadway, Va./Broadway), Lucas and Cuevas each had a pair of hits, with Lucas also collecting two RBIs.

Foltz pitched the entire game, improving to 5-1 with a seven-strikeout performance.

The women are 17-16-1 as they prepare for next weekend's ODAC Tournament.

Senior Records
Seniors Brooke Hensley (Elkton, Va./Spotswood) and Molly Smith (Elkton, Va./Spotswood) will enter the postseason battling with each other for the rights to a handful of EMU records.  Hensley recently took over the career hits record at 182, although Smith is just behind her at 180.  The two life-long teammates are tied for the career singles record at 127.  Smith has 38 career doubles, which is one shy of Miranda White's mark of 39.  Hensley also owns the career assists record, currently with 358.