Another doubleheader, another split.  EMU's softball women split their ODAC set at Shenandoah on Wednesday, earning their fourth split in six ODAC doubleheaders.  The Royals are 11-7 overall and 6-6 in the conference as they hit a short layoff in their schedule.

Eastern Mennonite next plays on Tuesday at Randolph-Macon.  The women had been scheduled to play a non-conference twinbill at Mary Washington this Friday but it was moved to April 14.

Shenandoah 4, EMU 2
Both offenses struggled to touch home in the opener, as each team scored all of their runs in one at-bat.  The Royals actually got at least one runner on base in each inning, but also hit into two double plays and left eight runners on base.

SU's scoring inning looked innocent enough, with runners standing on first and second with two away.  But a two-run double followed by a two-run homerun suddenly gave the hosts a 4-0 lead in the third.

EMU finally got on the board on Lauren Seale's (Madison, Va./Madison County) two-RBI single in the sixth, cutting the deficit in half.  Vivian Maddox (Rustburg, Va./Brookville) looked to start a rally when she led off the seventh with a single, but the heart of the batting order went down on a strikeout and two pop ups, leaving SU with the win.

Seale finished 2-3 with the two RBIs.  Jordan Aylor (Madison, Va./Madison County) had two hits as well.  Maddox reached base three times with a single and two walks.  Aislinn Lucas (Grottoes, Va./Fort Defiance), who earlier in the day was named the National Hitter of the Week, earned her way on base by getting hit with a pitch and drawing a walk as she scored one run.

Seale also pitched the game for EMU, allowing just five hits while falling to 3-2 with the loss.

EMU 11, Shenandoah 1 – 5 innings
The Royals made sure to capitalize on their chances in the second game.

Maddox led off the contest with a walk and the women responded by going through 10 batters as they plated six runs.  Danyele Smith (Broadway, Va./Broadway) had a two-run double and Casey Racer (Madison, Va./Madison County) capped the scoring by adding a two-run double.

Shenandoah got a single run on an infield single in the bottom of the first, but EMU wasn't done.  They loaded the bases in the second with just one out, and first baseman Angelia Miller (Bridgewater, Va./Turner Ashby) cranked a grand slam to center field.  It was her second base loaded blast of the season as the lead ballooned to 10-1.

Miller then added an RBI groundout in the fourth to provide the final score of the mercy-shortened game.

Eastern Mennonite scored 11 runs on just eight hits in the nightcap, capitalizing on three walks, one hit batsman and three SU errors.

Miller finished 2-3 with six RBIs and two runs.  She launched her team-leading fifth homerun.  Smith was 2-3 with two RBIs and two runs.  Mariah Foltz (Broadway, Va./Broadway) was also 2-3 with two runs and an RBI.

Aylor allowed four hits in 5.0 innings to improve to 3-3 in the circle.