The hot Lady Royals softball squad continues to get hotter. As winners of eight in a row, the women hosted Frostburg State Thursday afternoon in a matchup of two teams which made the 2010 NCAA Tournament. Eastern Mennonite poured on 23 runs in a non-conference sweep, pushing their winning streak to ten straight.
EMU 8, Frostburg State 3
Box Score
Shortstop Brooke Hensley had seven RBIs in game two against Frostburg State, including a triple with the bases loaded which ended the game.
The Lady Royals jumped on board in their first at-bat as Brooke Hensley (Elkton, Va./Spotswood) and Lisa Lee (Buckingham, Va./Buckingham) hit one-out singles. With two outs, Courtney Allman (Weyers Cave, Va./Fort Defiance) hit a low roller which was muffed by the shortstop, giving EMU a pair of unearned runs.
The Bobcats plated one run in third to cut the lead in half but the women got back on the board in their half of the frame.
With the bases loaded and two outs, the Lady Royals brought in another four runs, highlighted by a two-run single from Jessica Sullivan (Midlothian, Va./Manchester) to push the lead to 6-1.
Frostburg State was struggling to get hits off Lee, the reigning ODAC Pitcher of the Week. In the sixth the Bobcats managed their third hit, a solo homerun to make it 6-2.
Alexis Labiche (Winchester, Va./Millbrook) led off the sixth with a single and started another rally. Two more runs scored as EMU extended the edge to 8-2.
The Bobcats got back-to-back hits to start the seventh, putting runners on second and third. But Lee only allowed one run to score, securing the 8-3 win.
Lee moved her record to 10-4 with the complete game victory as she allowed just five hits and struck out eight batters.
Hensley finished 3-3 with two runs and an RBI. Lee had a single and three walks as she scored twice. Jessica Blosser (Crimora, Va./Wilson Memorial) added a pair of singles.
EMU 15, Frostburg State 5 – 6 innings
Box Score
Both teams were scoring runs early in the nightcap but EMU grabbed the upper hand and led 8-3 after three innings. Hensley had a two-run single in the second and Labiche added a three-run bomb in the third.
The Bobcats scored two more in the fourth, trimming the lead to 8-5 and chasing starter Molly Smith (Elkton, Va./Spotswood).
The score stayed that way until the bottom of the fifth, when Hensley hit her second two-out, two-run single to make it 10-5.
The sixth inning looked to be quiet, as EMU had two runners on with two away. But the Lady Royals caught fire once again. A double brought in one run before the women loaded the bases. An error on a groundball scored another before Hensley stepped to the plate and added another dramatic two-out hit.
The freshman cracked a shot to right center which cleared the bases and gave her a triple. The runs also ended the game on the mercy rule, giving Eastern Mennonite the 15-5 win.
The Lady Royals rapped out 15 hits in the nightcap and added four walks. Hensley finished 4-5 with seven RBIs, all of them coming from two-out hits. Megan Barbour (Nokesville, Va./Brentsville District) was 3-3 with three runs and three RBIs.
Labiche scored four runs and had three RBIs from her first collegiate homerun. Fellow freshman Mandi Hodges (Linville, Va./Broadway) had a couple of hits and scored three times.
Smith pitched 3-2/3 innings and picked up the win. Lee didn’t allow a hit in her 2-1/3 frames and got the save.
Eastern Mennonite is now 15-7 on the season. The women will try to improve their 6-0 ODAC mark on Saturday when they return to league play at Emory & Henry. First pitch is at 1:00pm.