Zach Bowles hit a triple in game one and added two more hits in the nightcap against Mount Saint Vincent. (photo by Wayne Gehman)

Baseball Sweeps Mount Saint Vincent, Improve to 7-5

EMU’s baseball men are now 7-5 after a pair of doubleheader sweeps over the weekend in Harrisonburg.  The Royals powered past Mount Saint Vincent on Sunday, plating 25 runs in two, seven-inning games.

EMU 9, Mount Saint Vincent 1
The men pounded out 13 hits in the opener and jumped ahead in the bottom of the first when Jonathan Estrada (Miami, FL/Doral Academy) ripped a two-run triple.  Zach Bowles (Staunton, VA/Robert E. Lee) added a run-scoring triple in the third to make it 4-0.

Kyle Armstrong (Greenville, VA/Riverheads) jumped on the three bagger parade in the sixth, as his two-run triple highlighted a five-run frame.

The visiting Dolphins got their only run on a one-out groundout in the seventh.

Adam Posey (Poquoson, VA/Poquoson) improves to 2-0 with the complete game win, as he struck out seven and scattered three hits.

Estrada finished 3-4 with three runs and two RBIs, as the catcher was a homer short of hitting for the cycle.  B.J. Mortimer (Mechanicsville, VA/Lee-Davis) was 2-3 with two RBIs and a run while Armstrong went 2-4 with two RBIs and a run.  Justin Rodriguez (Miramar, FL/Pace) walked and singled and scored twice.

EMU 16, Mount Saint Vincent 2
The men picked up their second 16-2 win of the season in the nightcap, pounding out 17 hits.  They scored at least one run in each of the six innings the offense came to the plate.

Ryan McAlister (Bridgewater, VA/Turner Ashby) had the biggest swing, ripping a two-run homer in the sixth.  It was the junior’s first homerun of his collegiate career.

Mortimer keyed the attack out of the five-spot, batting 3-5 with four runs scored and two RBIs.  Armstrong missed the cycle by a homer and finished 4-5 with a pair of RBIs and a run.  Posey had a double and three walks, and scored four times.

McAlister, Estrada and Bowles each had two hits.

Daniel Stanley (Henrico, VA/Varina) threw the first six innings and improved to 2-1.  EMU’s ace struck out eight Dolphins.  Armstrong struck out a pair as he pitched the seventh.

Eastern Mennonite is now on a four-game winning streak.  The men have also won five of their last six to move two games over .500.  The Royals open conference play next weekend, playing a pair at Emory & Henry on Saturday before heading to Florida for the RussMatt Central Florida Invitational the following week.