A day late, EMU got their home opener for the 2021 softball season, after Sunday's rains forced the move to a much nicer Monday. Regardless of the day, it was the first home games for the Eastern Mennonite softball program in nearly two years.

The Royals played all 12 of their games in the COVID-shortened 2020 season out of town, putting the most recent games on Gehman Field at April 13, 2019.

The women hung with the ODAC-leading Eagles until late in each game, dropping both ends of the doubleheader. Now 1-5 on the year, EMU hits the road on Saturday for two games at Roanoke College.

Bridgewater 6, EMU 2
Both teams missed out on scoring opportunities early in the opener. EMU pitcher Emily Campbell (Broadway, Va./Broadway) snagged a comebacker to strand the bases loaded in the top of the second. In the bottom of the second, Korenn Paige (Winchester, Va./Sherando) and Campbell hit back-to-back singles to start the at-bat and were sacrificed into soring scoring position by Becca Boone (Winchester, Va./James Wood). But two balls in the infield left them on-base and the game scoreless.

Bridgewater took advantage of their chances in the third and fourth, building a 3-0 lead. Paige, Campbell and Boone got the Royals going again in their half of the fourth, loading the bases with no outs. Katelin Martin (Goochland, Va./Goochland) followed with a warning track shot to the left, good enough for a sacrifice fly and one run, but a double play ended the rally.

Shortstop Erin Keith (Stuart, Va./Patrick County) led off the fifth with a double and scored on a squeeze play of the bat of Elizabeth Horn (Dover, Del./Polytech), cutting the margin to 3-2.

But the Eagles plated three runs in the top of the sixth, including two with two outs, to get some space at 6-2. And EMU managed just one hit in their final two at-bats to come up short.

Paige, Campbell and Keith each had two hits for the Royals. Campbell went the distance from the circle, striking out six and giving up four earned runs.

Bridgewater 10, EMU 2
Martin got the start in the nightcap and kept the BC bats off-balance early. The Eagles scraped in single runs in the first and second, but and RBI double from Keith halved the margin in the bottom of the second.

Bridgewater broke through in the fourth, plating four runs, including three with two outs. They kept up the pressure, scoring one more in the fifth and then a three-spot in the seventh for a 10-1 lead.

Keith provided some excitement to start EMU's final at-bat, as she drove a 1-1 pitch over the center field wall for her first collegiate home run.

Keith finished the game 2-3 at the plate, with one run scored and both of the team's RBIs. Emily Davis (King George, Va./Fredericksburg Christian) also had a pair of hits and scored the other run. Martin was tagged with the loss after pitching the complete game.