HARRISONBURG, Va. – The Royals baseball team faced off against their ODAC rival, the Eagles of Bridgewater College, on Wednesday.

This Rowdy Royals matchup would be the first between these two teams this season and it didn't disappoint. With EMU trailing by two in the bottom of the ninth, a walk-off three run homerun from Natty Solomon gave the Royals a 13-12 win.

Records: EMU 6-21, 2-10 ODAC | BC 12-17, 5-6 ODAC

WP: Braydon Collier (1-0)
LP:  Brett Tharp (1-5)

Highlights 

• The Eagles took early control of the game with seven runs in the first inning off EMU starter Cole Wallace. Wallace was replaced with two outs in the first by Karson Jennings, who picked up a big strikeout to get out of the jam. In the bottom of the first EMU would respond with two runs of their own as Logan Mason scored on an Eagle error and Ethan Spraker came in on Matthew Harding's sacrifice fly.  
• After two more runs from Bridgewater in the top of the second inning, it was the Royals who would respond with five runs through the bottom of the second and third. After Dylan Hall was hit by a pitch, he advanced to third on Mason's single and came in to score on Spraker's base hit. Mason would score on Arnold's ground out and Spraker would hit home plate on Solomon's RBI double. Logan Jones stayed hot, driving in Solomon to wrap up the scoring for EMU in the second. Mason would drive in Aidan Miller in the third, cutting BC's lead to 9-7.
• Bridgewater would extend their lead to 11-7 in the fifth, but EMU kept chipping away as Mason hit a solo homerun and Solomon drove in a run on a sac fly in their half of the fifth. Bridgewater would add one more in the sixth before Braydon Collier came on and shut the Eagles down.
• EMU would pull within two in the seventh when Harding reached on an error, plating Mason. In the Eagles half of the ninth, it looked like BC would add an insurance run when Brett Tharp hit a deep shot to left center. It got to the fence and Tharp rounded third, looking for an inside the park homerun. But a relay throw from Hall to Spraker to Harding beat Tharp by a hair, getting the out and keeping EMU within two.
• In the bottom of the ninth, Mason walked to reach base for the sixth time and Arnold singled up the middle putting runners on first and second for Solomon's walk off heroics.

Statistical Leaders

Solomon: 2-3, 2B, HR, 5 RBI, 2 R

Mason: 4-4, HR, 2 RBI, 5 R

Collier: 4.0 IP, 2 H, 0 ER, 3 K

What's Next

The Royals will hit the road, heading to Hampden-Sydney for a doubleheader with the Tigers on Saturday. First pitch is scheduled for noon.

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