Opening Day is Saturday for the Eastern Mennonite University baseball team, which made history last spring with their first Old Dominion Athletic Conference (ODAC) Tournament appearance since 2002. [Editor’s note 2/12/16: The Saturday 2/13/16 double-header against Penn State-Altoona has been postponed.]
Coach Ben Spotts was named the conference Coach of the Year, and three players were named to the All-State Team.
The Royals were picked eighth in the recently released ODAC preseason poll.
One of their three All-ODAC First Team members returns this season, outfielder Joe Hall (Gladys, Va./Rustburg). In a breakout sophomore season, Hall won the OADC batting title with a .423 clip. He led the team with 47 hits, 26 runs and nine stolen bases.
EMU also gets fifth-year senior Kyle Armstrong (Greenville, Va./Riverheads) back for one more season. The outfielder/pitcher has a .321 career batting average with a total of 68 RBIs and was All-ODAC Third Team in 2014.
Their 40-game slate starts Saturday against Penn State-Altoona with games at noon and 3 p.m.
A unique 11-game home stand kicks off the schedule, including 10 in February. EMU will welcome in a number of northern teams during the month, playing mostly weekend seven-inning doubleheaders.
After opening their Old Dominion Athletic Conference contests with a twinbill at Roanoke on March 5, the Royals begin another unique aspect to their schedule – a Spring Break trip to California. The men will play games at Claremont-Mudd-Scripps, Whittier and Chapman on March 7-9. The three schools sit within 30 miles of each other in the valley east of Los Angeles.
EMU has usually traveled to North Carolina for a handful of games on opening weekend before heading to the RussMatt Invitational in Florida over Spring Break.
Along with home doubleheaders against ODAC opponents Emory & Henry, Hampden-Sydney, Lynchburg and Virginia Wesleyan, the Royals continue their home-and-home splits with more local conference rivals Bridgewater, Shenandoah and Washington and Lee.
Among their 25 home games this spring, the men also host non-conference dates with John Jay (doubleheader) and Ferrum.
The ODAC doubleheader with Virginia Wesleyan on Apr. 23 marks the end of the regular season with the ODAC Tournament running Apr. 28 through May 1 at City Stadium in Lynchburg.
With the surging roster size led by Spotts’ recruiting efforts, Eastern Mennonite is also adding a junior varsity team this year, playing a slate of around 10 games.
Click here for more information on the ODAC Preseason Poll, including preview capsules for each of the conference’s baseball programs.