EMU's offense was in order Saturday, but the baseball men had to settle for a split in their ODAC doubleheader against Lynchburg.

The Royals are now 15-18 overall and 7-10 in conference play heading into the final week of the season. In eighth place in the ODAC standings, they are still two games out of the sixth and final playoff spot, currently occupied by Hampden-Sydney at 9-8.

Needing wins, the men play three games this week against some of the league's top teams. They play one at nationally-ranked Shenandoah on Tuesday, before hosting Virginia Wesleyan for two next Saturday. EMU also heads to Messiah College for a non-conference game on Wednesday.

Lynchburg 11, EMU 8
The Royals were playing catch-up all through game one after gifting LC two runs in the top of the first. David Meehan (Virginia Beach, Va./Salem) had an RBI triple in the second, but the Hornets scored four more times in the third to balloon open a 6-1 edge.

EMU loaded the bases in the fourth but nearly came up empty until Griffin Stanley (Roanoke, Va./Cave Spring) hit a clutch two-out single to score two. Zach Roberts (Stuarts Draft, Va./Riverheads) added an RBI single and Kyle Salladay (Chesapeake, Va./Grassfield) laced a two-run double to tie things up at 6-6.

But Lynchburg didn't give up the momentum, scoring two on a two-out triple in the fifth to get back in front, 8-6. The visitors would score three more runs over the final four frames, while the Royals only managed a pair of RBI groundouts.

Kyle Armstrong (Greenville, Va./Riverheads) started on the mound and gave up six runs in 2.2 frames for a no decision. John Dudley (Raphine, Va./Riverheads) allowed three runs in 2.1 innings of relief to fall to 0-1 with the loss.

Armstrong finished 2-5 at the plate with two runs scored. Meehan and Joe Hall (Gladys, Va./Rustburg) each had a pair of hits. Stanley and Roberts each had two RBIs and a run, while Salladay also had two RBIs.

EMU 10, Lynchburg 3
The Hornets scored first again in the nightcap, putting up single runs in each the first and second frames. But Eastern Mennonite sent up 12 batters in the third and took over. Armstrong and Hall each had two-RBI hits as the Royals scored six times for a 6-2 lead.

Roberts had a pair of RBI singles as EMU scored four more to push the margin to 10-2.

Ryan Brewer (Martinsville, Va./Franklin County), now 3-1, was in control on the mound, allowing just five hits through 6.2 innings, before giving way to Aaron Hooven (Carroll, Va./Carroll County), who threw the final 2.1 to close out the win.

Spearheaded by the top of the order, EMU's offense did their job, banging out 20 hits. Roberts finished 4-6 with three RBIs and two runs. Armstrong was 3-5 with two RBIs and two runs. Each batter was just a homerun short of hitting for the cycle. Stanley also had three hits and scored three times, adding a pair of stolen bases.

Coach Ben Spotts said his team could only wrestle momentum away from Lynchburg in the second game: