Lisa Lee, one of three seniors recognized before the game, held the Yellow Jackets to only three hits over five innings as EMU went on to sweep the final regular season series between the two teams.

EMU Sweeps Randolph-Macon, Heads to ODAC Tournament

The hitting was in fine form Tuesday night.  Wednesday on Senior Day, the pitching followed suit in a sweep of Randolph-Macon.  With the wins, Eastern Mennonite clinched the sixth seed in this weekend’s ODAC Tournament and earned a repeat date with the Yellow Jackets, who finished as the third seed.  The teams will play Friday at 2:00pm in Salem.  The double elimination tourney culminates in the ODAC Championship on Sunday.

Wednesday night’s rescheduled doubleheader was played under the lights at Harrisonburg High School.

EMU 6, Randolph-Macon 1
The women got plenty of hits of R-MC ace Heather Lewis, who entered with an ERA of 0.93.  Molly Smith (Elkton, VA/Spotswood) started a four-hit rally in the second with a leadoff single.  Taylor Sellars (Powhatan, VA/Powhatan) and Brooke Hensley (Elkton, VA/Spotswood) each had RBI singles to put EMU on top, 2-0.

Rasheeda Crews (Brookneal, VA/William Campbell) got plunked on the helmet to open the third.  After a Smith single, Courtney Allman (Mt. Solon, VA/Fort Defiance) launched a homerun over the left field wall, scoring three for a 5-0 lead.

Lisa Lee (Buckingham, VA/Buckingham County), meanwhile, was in fine control of her pitches, allowing only three hits through five innings.  But the Yellow Jackets broke the shutout with a wind-aided homer to open the sixth.

Lee got the run back in the bottom of the frame, shooting a laser beam to center for her eighth longball of the year.  She then sent the Yellow Jackets down in order in the seventh to secure the 6-1 win.

The Lady Royals out-hit R-MC 9-4 in the opener, with Lee and Smith each getting a pair of hits.  Lee went the distance from the circle to improve to 10-4.

EMU 9, Randolph-Macon 6
The Yellow Jackets scored an unearned run to take a lead in the top of the first, but EMU responded in a big way in the second.  Sara Jenkins (Stanley, VA/Page County) led off with a homer to left, her third in the last four games.  Allman hit a one-out single and two bunt singles later the women had the bases loaded.

The Royals had a runner thrown out at home for the second out of the inning.  Hensley came through in the clutch, however, with a bases-clearing double.  Lee hit an RBI infield single and Crews followed with a two-run bomb, capping a seven-run outburst for the lead.

R-MC looked for a big inning the fourth, but only scored one run.  The visitors left the bases loaded when Megan Viafora (Stanley, VA/Page County) tracked down a fly ball in the right center field gap, leaving the score 7-2.  In the sixth, the Yellow Jackets plated another single run before leaving two on when Viafora made an inning-ending catch in a similar spot.

Rachel Breeden (Shenandoah, VA/Page County) cranked a two-run shot to straightaway center in the bottom of the frame, pushing the lead back up to six at 9-3.  The breathing room was needed as the visitors added a three-run homerun in their final at-bat, producing the 9-6 final score.

The women had an advantage in hits, 10-7, to help escape for defensive errors.  Eight of the nine starters had at least one hit.  Hensley was 2-4 while Jenkins finished 2-3.  Viafora singled and walked and scored both times.

Smith, 7-2, pitched the complete game victory.  Only four of the six runs she allowed were earned.

The Lady Royals snapped a season worst three-game losing skid with the wins and are getting hot at just the right time, with the ODAC Tournament starting on Friday.  EMU hit five homeruns against Randolph-Macon after getting four the night before against Virginia Wesleyan.

At 25-11 overall and 9-9 in the ODAC, the women are tied for the third-most wins in program history.  They finished 27-13 last spring and 30-13 in 2008.

Below is full schedule for day one of the ODAC Tournament.

Friday, April 27
Game 1: #1 Virginia Wesleyan vs. #8 Emory & Henry – Field 1 – 12:00 p.m.
Game 2: #4 Lynchburg vs. #5 Bridgewater – Field 3 – 12:00 p.m.
Game 3: #2 Roanoke vs. #7 Randolph – Field 1 – 2:00 p.m.
Game 4: #3 Randolph-Macon vs. #6 Eastern Mennonite – Field 3 – 2:00 p.m.
Game 5: Loser G1 vs. Loser G2 – Field 1 – 4:00 p.m.
Game 6: Loser G3 vs. Loser G4 – Field 3 – 4:00 p.m.
Game 7: Winner G1 vs. Winner G2 – Field 1 – 6:00 p.m.
Game 8: Winner G3 vs. Winner G4 – Field 3 – 6:00 p.m.