Twelve days, three cancellations and one postponement later than they were supposed to, EMU's softball women finally opened the 2015 season.  With snow and rain wreaking havoc on their early schedule, the Royals finally got to play at Mary Baldwin on Thursday (after it was postponed from Tuesday), and the women played like they were happy to be on the field in a doubleheader sweep.

EMU 9, Mary Baldwin 1 – 5 innings
The opener was all Eastern Mennonite as the women were up 8-0 before MBC even got their first hit.  The Royals scored a single run in their first at-bat of the year, but opened things up in the second.  Casey Racer (Madison, Va./Madison County) jacked a two-run homer, and three batters later Mariah Foltz (Broadway, Va./Broadway) ripped a three-run blast, making it 6-0.

Jordan Aylor (Madison, Va./Madison County) had a two-RBI single in third before the Fighting Squirrels got their only hit on a solo homer in the bottom of the third.  Aylor added an RBI single in the fifth to provide the mercy-rule margin.

The Royals put together 12 hits with three walks in the opener.  Racer finished 3-3 with three runs and two RBIs, while Aylor was 3-4 with three RBIs and a run scored.  Foltz was 2-4 with three RBIs and a run.  Vivian Maddox (Rustburg, Va./Brookville) had a single and two walks with two runs scored out of the leadoff spot.  Fellow freshman Haley Thomas (Salem, Va./Salem) also scored twice.

Aylor pitched 4.0 innings to get the win, striking out three.  Cara Neikirk (Salem, Va./Glenvar) threw a 1-2-3 fifth.

EMU 9, Mary Baldwin 5
Game two featured even more hitting with a combined 26 hits, but a more balanced game.  The teams traded single runs in the second before EMU took a 3-1 lead in the top of the third.

The Fighting Squirrels put together four hits in the bottom of the frame to take the lead.  A two-run blast plated the final runs of the three-run frame as MBC went up 4-3.

Maddox then triggered a three-run rally in the fourth with a two-out bunt single.  Aylor followed with a two-run bomb to center, and Foltz made it back-to-back longballs with her second homerun of the day.  The Royals hit another three-spot in the sixth, bumping the lead to 9-4.

MBC got a solo homer in the bottom of the seventh, but that was one of just two hits for the home team over their final four at-bats.

Foltz was a perfect 4-4 with a walk at the plate, finishing with three runs scored.  Danyele Smith (Broadway, Va./Broadway) was 3-5 with two runs and an RBI.  Maddox, Aylor, Aislinn Lucas (Grottoes, Va./Fort Defiance) and Thomas each added two hits.

Freshman Lauren Seale (Madison, Va./Madison County) had a successful debut in the circle, going the distance for the win.  She struck out seven, including the first five outs she recorded.

Eastern Mennonite opens the year 2-0 with the non-conference sweep.  The women had been scheduled to play at the Roanoke Softball Bash this weekend, but the event was cancelled due to poor field conditions and the expectation of more rain.  That means the Royals will have played only two of the 12 games originally scheduled before their ODAC opener against Virginia Wesleyan next Wednesday.  The game against the two-time defending ODAC champion Marlins is also EMU's home opener, with first pitch at 3:00pm.