It was a cool Saturday afternoon at Eastern Mennonite University’s home opener for the baseball team. The Westminster College Titans, a Presbyterian college from New Wilmington, Pennsylvania, came to Harrisonburg in mid-February. The Royals started on the road in Newport News, Virginia with a 9-4 loss followed by three games against William Peace University, a series the Royals won 2-1. EMU postponed several games due to the terrible weather conditions in February, delaying the first home game to February 21.
With the Sunday game cancelled, the Royals hosted the doubleheader. The first game saw a 2-1 win for the Titans with senior Aidan Miller scoring the lone run for EMU, then the Royals found their revenge winning 7-4. Daniel McGinnis, a junior outfielder from Alexandria, Virginia, had four hits and a run in the second game, leading the team in hits. After the game, when asked about the snow disruptions, Daniel McGinnis told the Weather Vane, “I think the snow made us better man, I think it made us more hungry to play, I think it brought the team together. Not being on the field we had to find ways to be in the gym and practice off the field.” McGinnis was ready to get back on the road following the important win, going into the next game with a record of 4-4.
The Royals next traveled to take on the University of Mary Washington, a public liberal arts university in Fredericksburg, Virginia. Mary Washington was coming into the matchup with a two game losing streak to John Carroll University, a team that is currently 8-2. The Mary Washington Eagles had to cancel some games like EMU, but they had already hosted two games in Fredericksburg. The result was definitely not what the Royals would have hoped it would be, losing 13-11, but they did put together a bit of a comeback trailing 10-9 in the mid-seventh inning after being down 8-0 after the third inning.
The team then hosted 15 Messiah University, losing 17-1 with the game ending due to lack of daylight. After the disappointment, the Royals took on Penn State Altoona in a doubleheader on the Saturday before Spring Break. The Royals got two massive wins, 12-5 and then a 21-5 beatdown with 21 hits as a team for the Royals. EMU got back in the swing of things winning those two games giving them a 5-5 record. The Saturday after Spring Break held a doubleheader against Hilbert College, a small private Franciscan college from Hamburg, New York. The first game was a 6-4 loss in eight innings, while the second game was another large win for the Royals with a score of 16-7.
The fifth ranked University of Lynchburg comes to town Saturday at 12:00 p.m. and 3:00 p.m., opening Old Dominion Athletic Conference play for the Royals. With their current record of 7-6, there is no reason the Royals can not pull off the upset this weekend against one of the best teams in Division III.
