Cold day snowballs for EMU baseball in loss to W&L

For the second straight game, athe EMU baseball team scored first. And for the second straight time, it did not matter, as Washington and Lee stormed back and handed the Royals a 15-4 loss in Harrisonburg on Wednesday.

The Generals (15-6/6-0 ODAC), had beaten Eastern Mennonite in Lexington on Tuesday, 11-9, utilizing an eight-run rally in the eighth.

In Wednesday’s home game, Griffin Stanley (Roanoke, Va./Cave Spring) and Joe Hall (Gladys, Va./Rustburg) opened the bottom of the first with singles and the Royals (10-10/1-5 ODAC) were in business. Damon Frazier (Waynesboro, Va./Wilson Memorial) brought in one run with an RBI groundout before the Generals opened the door with a two-out error, allowing one more to score. David Meehan (Virginia Beach, Va./Salem) added an RBI single, as EMU jumped in front, 3-0.

The men nearly dodged a bullet after a leadoff triple in the second, but a two-error opened the floodgates for a four-run rally, pushing W&L in front 4-3 with all unearned runs.

The Generals built an 8-3 cushion with a pair of runs in each the fourth and fifth. In telling fashion, EMU put together three hits, including two doubles, in the bottom of the fifth, but could only bring one run home.

Washington and Lee continued to touch up the Royals’ pitching staff, while the offense struggled to get a big hit. The men got at least one runner on base in every inning, and left at least one on in eight of the nine frames.

All told, W&L ended with a 17-15 advantage in hits, while Eastern Mennonite left 15 men on base compared to nine for the Generals.

Hall, Frazier, Ryan Hedrick (Bridgewater, Va./Turner Ashby), and Meehan each had two hits. Kyle Salladay (Chesapeake, Va./Grassfield) had two walks and a hit.

Bailey Hall (Daleville, Va./James River) gave up six runs, although only two earned, in 3.1 innings to get the loss. John Dudley(Raphine, Va./Riverheads) was the most effective pitcher, giving up two hits while striking out one in 1.2 innings. Eight of W&L’s run were unearned as the Royals committed four errors.

The men will try to snap a four-game skid at Emory & Henry on Saturday. First pitch is noon.