EMU's time at the ODAC Baseball Tournament came to a disappointing end Friday afternoon in a 5-1 loss to Roanoke College in Lynchburg.  Despite not being able to pick up a win in the double elimination bracket, the Royals complete a successful year in which they advanced to the postseason for the first time in 13 years.

After qualifying for the ODAC Tournament for the first time since now-Kansas City Royal Erik Kratz was a senior in 2002, Eastern Mennonite wraps up the year 16-18.  They were 10-10 in ODAC play during the season, tying the program record for conference wins.

Friday's game started early as tourney organizers adjusted the schedule to push an extra game into the day's lineup, trying to get a jump on Saturday's forecasted rains.  The offenses seemed to take the extra time to arrive, as the teams combined for three double plays through a scoreless two frames.

Roanoke broke through in the bottom of the third.  Back-to-back doubles scored two runs.  Two more hits with two outs made it 3-0 and chased starting pitcher Kyle Armstrong (Greenville, Va./Riverheads).

The Royals, meanwhile, were getting chances but not cashing in.  They left two runners on base in the third, fourth and fifth innings to stay stuck at zero.

The Maroons turned a leadoff triple in the seventh into two more runs, bumping the lead to 5-0.

EMU finally broke through in the eighth.  Justin Rodriguez (Miramar, Fla./Monsignor Edward Pace), Armstrong and Ryan Hedrick (Bridgewater, Va./Turner Ashby) each hit one-out singles to load the bases.  A slow roller to first turned into an RBI groundout, but a strikeout ended the rally, again leaving two on base.

The men looked to rally in their final at-bat, taking advantage of RC miscues with a hit batsman and error in the outfield.  A ground ball and fly ball cut things short, however, as EMU left two men on for the fifth time.

The Royals had seven hits in the game and got more men on base thanks to a trio of RC errors.  Hedrick and Kyle Salladay (Chesapeake, Va./Grassfield) each batted 2-4 with Salladay picking up the lone RBI.  Joe Hall (Gladys, Va./Rustburg) was 1-3 with a walk and a sacrifice and Rodriguez scored the men's only run.

Armstrong gave up six hits and three runs in 2.2 innings, falling to 4-3 with the loss.  All-ODAC First Team reliever Austin Marzullo (Shippensburg, Pa./Shippensburg) pitched 4.1 innings in relief, giving up two runs.  Aaron Hooven (Carroll, Va./Carroll County) got three outs, including two whiffs, in the eighth.

Cameron Holshouser had nine strikeouts in a complete game win for Roanoke.

Coach Ben Spotts talks about his team's time at the ODAC Tournament and what this season means for his program: