The EMU softball team got their warmups for the ODAC schedule on Tuesday, playing two at Mary Washington in Fredericksburg, Va. Despite two losses, the Royals see what they have to work with as they head into the ODAC-opening doubleheader against rival Bridgewater College.

The Eagles visit EMU's Gehman Field on Sunday, starting at 1:30pm. Note that due to EMU protocols, the games are not open to the public, with the only spectators allowed to be EMU students, faculty and staff as well as parents of EMU student-athletes.

Mary Washington 2, EMU 0
The first game against the Eagles was a fantastic pitchers' duel with the game remaining scoreless until the sixth.

The Royals missed their opportunities early, starting with two Mary Washington errors in the first inning. Autumn Bailey (Harrisonburg, Va./East Rockingham) led off the second with a double, but ended up getting thrown out at third after a groundout. That hurt even more when Aaliyah Lawhorne (Fishersville, Va./Wilson Memorial) hit a single, and she was left stranded at second. Those were EMU's final base runners until the sixth.

Emily Campbell (Broadway, Va./Broadway) was in control from the circle, allowing just two harmless singles through five. But in the sixth, the Eagles capitalized on a leadoff infield single. One big swing turned into an RBI triple for the game's first run, and then a sacrifice fly made it 2-0. And the Royals went down in order in the seventh for the tough loss.

Campbell allowed just four hits in the game, but they turned into the two costly runs.

Bailey, Lawhorne and Bri Allen (Weyers Cave, Va./Fort Defiance) had EMU's only hits.

Mary Washington 10, EMU 1 (5 inn.)
The Royals started behind the eight ball in the nightcap and never recovered. Mary Washington's first at-bat featured three straight singles and then back-to-back RBI groundouts for a 3-0 lead.

The women had runners on first and second with just one out in the fourth, but a double play ended the threat, and EMU would trail 10-0 before they managed another hit.

The Royals strung together a rally in the fifth, with Becca Boone (Winchester, Va./James Wood) scoring on a two-out single from Allen, but that was it.

Boone finished 2-2 at the plate, scoring the women's only run. Allen and Korenn Paige (Winchester, Va./Sherando) had the other hits.

Katelin Martin (Goochland, Va./Goochland) went the distance in the circle for EMU and was tagged with the loss.