HARRISONBURG, Va. – EMU and Bridgewater faced off in another rendition of the Route 42 Rivalry at Royals Field on Wednesday. Unfortunately for the homestanding Royals, the result was the same as the first matchup between the teams, with the visiting Eagles prevailing by a score of 19-10.

There were a few bright spots for EMU. Aidan Miller led the way with three hits, while Daniel McGinnis tallied 3 RBIs to add to has great first-year campaign.

Records: EMU 10-20, 6-11 ODAC | Bridgewater 22-12, 10-7 ODAC

WP: Andrew Baugher (5-0)
LP: - Tapscott (2-4)
Save: Nick Harris (1)

Highlights

• Bridgewater made the opening statement in the top of the first when they walked in a run. EMU then countered in the bottom of the second when Matthew Harding singled up the middle to bring and tie the game at one through two innings.
• The stalemate was short-lived as the Eagles took the lead with a grand slam home run to center field by Ashton Smith, making the score 5-1 in favor of the visitors.
• The Royals had an answer though with three runs in the fourth frame. McGinnis hammered a double to center field to send both Harding and Erik Wilkinson home. Logan Mason followed that up with a sacrifice fly to center field, allowing McGinnis to tag up to score. That drew EMU within one run at 5-4.
• However, the Eagles quickly widened the gap again with five runs in the top of the fifth, four of which came on their second grand slam of the day, this one coming off the bat of Christian Harris. They than tacked on one more run in the top of the sixth to expand the lead to 11-5.
• For the second time in the game, the Royals climbed out of the hole, scoring six runs in the bottom of the sixth. It all started with a McGinnis single through the left side to bring in Miller. Another Royal reached home when Dylan Hall got hit by a pitch with the bases loaded. It was Hall's 25th hit by pitch this season, which leads all of Division III.
• The sixth inning rally continued when Alex Gulisano hit into a fielder's choice, allowing McGinnis to score. Nick Arnold then singled to left center to plate Mason. Ethan Spraker finished off the rally with a two-RBI single to right field, sending both Gulisano and Arnold home. When the dust settled on the sixth inning, the Royals were within one of Bridgewater at 11-10.
• That is as close as EMU would get as the Eagles flew away with eight unanswered runs in the eighth and ninth innings to put the game out of reach.

 
Statistical Leaders
Miller: 3-for-5, 2 runs
McGinnis: 2-for-5, 2 runs, 3 RBIs
Harding: 2-for-4, 1 run, 1 RBI

What's Next
EMU Baseball will load the bus for a trip to Ashland this Saturday, April 20 to take on Randolph Macon in an ODAC doubleheader. First pitch of game one is slated 12 p.m.