HARRISONBURG, Va. –  On a sunny and breezy Saturday afternoon in the Friendly City, EMU Baseball returned home to Royals Field to host Roanoke College for an ODAC doubleheader.
 
The twin bill featured plenty of offensive firepower as the two teams combined for 49 runs over the two games. Unfortunately, the majority of those runs came from the visiting Maroons, who swept the day to claim two wins in ODAC play, extending the Royals' losing streak to five in a row.
 
The play of sophomore designated hitter Daniel McGinnis was a bright spot for EMU, who went 8-for-9 from the plate across the two games on Saturday afternoon.
 
Records: EMU 6-11, 1-6 ODAC | Roanoke 11-9-1, 4-2-1 ODAC

Game One: Roanoke 16, EMU 13
WP: Thomas Burgress (3-1)
LP: Alec Riles (0-1)
S: Nick Capps (1)

Highlights

• The game was scoreless until the bottom of the second when the Royals lit up the scoreboard first with two runs. Noah Sanderson hit a sac fly to left field, allowing Erik Wilkinson to tag up for home. That brought Jett Cabanban up to the plate, who singled up the middle to bring in Dalton Rocke.
• After Roanoke scored five runs in the top of the third, Rocke smashed a home run over the left centerfield fence at Royals Field to tie the game up at 5-5 through three innings.
• The Maroons tacked on a run each in the fourth and fifth innings, but again the Royals had an answer with a three-run bottom of the fifth. Sandersons singled up the middle to send McGinnis home. Two batters later, Dylan Hall singled down the left field line to plate both Wilkinson and Sanderson. That made the score EMU 8, Roanoke 7 through five innings.
• The back-and-forth continued in the sixth inning as Roanoke added two runs in the top half while EMU scored once in the bottom of the frame. The Royals' sixth-inning run came courtesy of a Wilkinson sac fly to bring home Nick Arnold. With that, the two squads were deadlocked once again at 9-9.
• Roanoke got out front for good with four runs across the seventh and eighth innings. The Royals could only muster one run during that span, a Rocke RBI single to score Arnold in the bottom of the eighth.
• Roanoke tallied three runs in the top of the ninth to go up 16-10 going to the bottom of the inning. The Royals cut the deficit in half with three runs, two on an RBI double by Aidan Miller and another on a McGinnis RBI single. But that is as close as the Royals could get before the Maroons shut the door on them.

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

Game Two: Roanoke 14, EMU 6
WP: Trevor Orth (3-0)
LP: Damen Tapscott (1-4)
S: Isaac Brooks (3)

• Roanoke took the lead from the outset and never relinquished it. The Maroons started with three runs in the top of the first, capitalizing on three hits and three EMU errors.
• The Royals were able to get one of those runs back in the bottom of the first. McGinnis blasted an RBI double to right center, allowing Arnold to score. That put the score at Roanoke 3, EMU 1 through one inning.
• The Maroons widened the margin with four unanswered runs in the second through fourth innings.
• EMU chipped away at the deficit with three runs in the bottom of the fourth. Two of those runs came on an Arnold single, bringing in Chris Polymeropoulos and Hall. Arnold then reached home himself on a McGinnis RBI single.
• Roanoke doubled their run total with six more runs in the fifth through seventh innings. That put the Maroons up 12-4 going to the bottom of the seventh.
• EMU tacked on a run each in the seventh and eighth innings. In the bottom of the seventh, Rocke hit a sac fly to right field, opening the door for Arnold to score. One inning later, Dylan Hall belted a solo home run to left field, making the score Roanoke 12, EMU 6. Roanoke then added two runs in the top of the ninth to bring the game to its final score

Statistical Leaders
McGinnis: 4-for-4, 2B, 2 RBIs
Arnold: 1-for-4, 3 runs, 2 RBIs
Hall: 1-for-2, HR, 2 runs, RBI

What's Next
The Diamond Royals will load up the bus for a trip to Washington & Lee on Tuesday, March 25. First pitch against the Generals is set for 4 p.m.