The EMU baseball men started their 2016 season with a split on Thursday, sharing the games of a doubleheader with Penn State-Altoona.
The Royals continue their season-opening 11-game home stand with two more twinbills this weekend, hosting Juniataon Saturday and Mount St. Vincent on Sunday. First pitch both days is 12:00pm.
EMU 11, Penn State-Altoona 5 – 7 innings
The opener had a slow start until the Royals broke through in the bottom of the third. They started in classic small-ball style, with a hit batsman, bouncing single and bunt single. Ryan Hedrick (Bridgewater, Va./Turner Ashby) ripped a two-run double to highlight a five-run frame, giving the men what looked like a comfortable lead.
But the Lions roared back in their next at-bat. A leadoff single and some control issues for EMU’s pitching staff turned into a five-run frame for the visitors, locking things up at 5-5.
The men kept up the attack, however, plating two more in the bottom of the fourth to go back ahead, 7-5. Kyle Armstrong(Greenville, Va./Riverheads) added a two-out RBI single in the fifth, and the Royals brought into another three runs in the sixth for the final margin.
Joe Hall (Gladys, Va./Rustburg), the 2015 ODAC Batting Champion, picked up where he left off his sophomore season by batting 4-5 with two runs. Kyle Salladay (Chesapeake, Va./Grassfield) added three hits as the team pounded out 15 knocks in just six at-bats. Hedrick finished 2-4 with three RBIs, and Armstrong was 2-4 with two RBIs. Griffin Stanley (Roanoke, Va./Cave Spring) scored three runs.
Armstrong also started on the hill, but got a no-decision as he allowed five runs in 3.1 innings of work. Aaron Hooven (Carroll, Va./Carroll County) pitched the final 3.2 to earn the win.
Penn State-Altoona 7, EMU 6
The Royals looked to have momentum with them in the nightcap, scoring three unearned runs over the first two innings. But Penn State-Altoona had things tied up at 3-3 by the end of five, scoring all three runs on two-out hits.
The Lions finally broke through in the seventh. Starter Jake Brown (Gloucester, Va./Gloucester) gave up a leadoff single before a sacrifice bunt. Brown was relieved at that point, but EMU’s bullpen faltered. Two relievers gave up two walks and two hits as the visitors scored four runs, again with two outs, to take their first lead of the day at 7-3.
Hedrick and Kyle Mathews (Chesapeake, Va./Great Bridge) provided back-to-back two-out RBI singles in the bottom of the inning to cut the deficit in half. Armstrong hit a two-out RBI double in the eighth, but the Royals also left two runners in scoring position for the second straight inning.
Mathews led off the bottom of the ninth with a single, but the men couldn’t tie the score. Pinch runner Ian Norris (Virginia Beach, Va./Salem) was left stranded on third when pinch hitter Adam Marston (Woodstock, Va./Miller School) grounded out to the end the game.
The men got plenty of baserunners in the second game with 10 hits, five walks and four Penn State-Altoona errors, but they also left 11 men on base.
Hall was 1-3 with two walks and scored twice. Armstrong, Hedrick and Mathews each had a pair of hits and an RBI.
Brown was tagged with the loss after giving up four runs in 6.1 innings.
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