EMU's baseball men proved they could win a high-scoring game and a low-scoring game on Saturday, as they swept Emory & Henry College in an ODAC doubleheader in Harrisonburg. The Royals halt a short losing skid and improve to 11-6 overall and 3-1 in conference play.

The men get a good test to their great start to the season on Wednesday, travelling to play traditional power and local rival Bridgewater College. The single game with the Eagles (11-7 / 2-2 ODAC) starts at 4:00pm in Bridgewater.

EMU 11, Emory & Henry 7
The Royals chipped in one run in each of the first two innings against the Wasps. The visitors finally scored in the fourth, but Kyle Mathews (Chesapeake, Va./Great Bridge) quickly got the run back in the bottom of the frame by crushing a leadoff homerun well over the wall in left center.

EMU's offensive pressure caused Emory & Henry to crack in the fifth. Griffin Stanley (Roanoke, Va./Cave Spring) reached on a leadoff single and the team followed suit. Nic Love (Bedford, Va./Staunton River) and Zach Roberts (Stuarts Draft, Va./Riverheads) finished off a six-run outburst with back-to-back two-RBI singles, bumping the lead to 9-1.

The Wasps wouldn't go away, however, scoring three runs in the sixth on a pair of homeruns. Kyle Salladay (Chesapeake, Va./Grassfield) answered with a two-run, two-out gapper in EMU's half of the sixth, keeping the margin at 11-4.

Reliever Aaron Hooven (Carroll, Va./Carroll County) left a little drama by allowing at least one EHC runner in each of his three full innings, but the Wasps could only manage three runs in the eighth.

Each EMU batter reached base safely at least once as the men had a 16-11 advantage in hits. Salladay and Kyle Armstrong (Greenville, Va./Riverheads) each had three hits with two runs and two RBIs. Stanley finished 3-4 with a walk and two runs. Love was 3-4 with two RBIs and a run scored.

Armstrong also started on the hill, giving up four runs in 5.1 to improve to 2-0. Hooven earned his first save of the season for 3.2 innings of work.

EMU 4, Emory & Henry 2
Pitching ruled the day to start the nightcap, as the Royals' Ryan Brewer (Martinsville, Va./Franklin County) and EHC's Garrett Butler each allowed just one baserunner over the first three innings.

The Wasps took their first lead of the day on an RBI groundout in the fourth, but Armstrong scored on a wild pitch to tie it up in the bottom of the frame.

Eastern Mennonite took the lead in the sixth. Ryan Hedrick (Bridgewater, Va./Turner Ashby) smashed a two-run double to left center and then scored on Salladay's two-out single to make it 4-1.

Brewer took a seat after seven innings and had to sweat out his win as the bullpen gave up one run in the eighth. Closer Joe Hall (Gladys, Va./Rustburg) allowed a leadoff single in the ninth, but stabbed a come-backer to start a double play before coaxing a grounder to short to finish things off.

The men had just six hits in the second game, but took full advantage of Emory & Henry's two errors as three of their four runs were unearned. Armstrong and Hedrick were the main culprits. Armstrong had three singles and was hit by a pitch, scoring twice, while Hedrick finished 2-3 with two RBIs and a run.

Brewer moved to 2-0 by scattering six hits over 7.0 frames. Jimmy Miller (Port Republic, Va./Spotswood) and lefty John Dudley (Raphine, Va./Riverheads) combined for the eighth inning while Hall earned his third save in the ninth.

Coach Ben Spotts liked that his men found different ways to win even thought they were recovering from a long flight the day before: