LYNCHBURG, Va. - As the late great Yogi Berra once said, "It's deja vu all over again." 

The Royals, the ODAC Tournament's #8 seed, dropped its opening game to top-seeded Lynchburg, 18-0, in Sunday's tournament opener. 

Highlights

• Lynchburg, ranked sixth in DIII baseball in the latest rankings, was able to put up three runs in the first inning off Royals starter Hunter West. In the second, Ray Tricarico continued to swing a hot bat, leading off the top of the inning with a single. But three flyouts kept the Royals off the board. The Hornets plated four more in the bottom of the second and led 7-0 after two. 
• Jaylon Lee picked up a hit in the top of the fourth before being snuffed out on a double play. Gage Riddick, who replaced West on the mound in the third, kept the Lynchburg bats quiet and scoreless through the third, fourth and fifth innings before giving up five runs in the sixth. Hunter Sturgeon and Marcus Smith finished out the game's final three innings, giving up six runs. West took the loss for EMU, his first of the season and moving to 2-1.  
• At the plate, Lee finished the day with two hits while Tricarico and Jordan Jones each had one.

What's Next

Much like last season, EMU will look to take two games from the tournament's top seed. They'll take on Lynchburg on Monday for a potential doubleheader. Game two will start at noon and if the Royals win, it'll force a winner-take-all game three, which will start 30 minutes after the conclusion of game two. 

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