VIRGINIA BEACH, Virginia - The Marlins of Virginia Wesleyan opened the 2022 ODAC slate with a split in their doubleheader against the Royals of Eastern Mennonite University. EMU took game one 10-7, while VWU won game two 9-7 in seven innings. 

GAME RUNDOWN
Score: Eastern Mennonite 10  - Virginia Wesleyan 7
Records: Virginia Wesleyan 6-5, 0-1 | Eastern Mennonite 4-8, 1-0
Location: Harrisonburg, VA

GAME RUNDOWN
The Marlins got on the scoreboard first with a run in the top of the first inning as Matt Sinko drove in Ronaldo Del Duca on a double to center field. 

Neither team scored in their next two trips to the plate until the Royals evens the score at one all with a run in the bottom of the third inning. EMU took the lead off a run in the fourth before VWU knotted the score at two runs all in the top of the fifth as Sinko drove in another RBI, Garrett Lyons, on a single to left field. 

Eastern Mennonite took a 5-2 lead in the bottom of the fifth after the Royals scored three runs off a pair of doubles and a single. Virginia Wesleyan responded in the op of the sixth with four runs of their own taking a 6-5 lead. A Jaelen Hines triple drove in two RBI as Ryan Ballard and Sam Kasprow both crossed home plate. Del Duca sent Hines home following a single to right and Del Duca later came home during Trent Hanchey's at-bat. 

The Royals reclaimed the lead with three runs in the bottom of the sixth inning putting the score at 8-6. The Marlins claimed one more run in the top of the eighth as Jake Ness hit a sac fly to center field that scored Lyons, but two more runs by the Royals in the bottom half of the inning put the score out of reach as EMU took game one 10-7. 

GAME RUNDOWN
Score: Virginia Wesleyan 9 - Eastern Mennonite 7 - 7 innings
Records: Virginia Wesleyan 7-5, 1-1 | Eastern Mennonite 4-9, 1-1
Location: Harrisonburg, VA

GAME RUNDOWN
The Marlins started game two off with a pair of runs in the top of the first inning. Trent Hanchey doubled to score Garrett Lyons and Ronaldo Del Duca putting VWU up 2-0. A third VWU run was added to the tally in the top of the second as Thomas Crandall crossed home plate on a fielders choice play. 

The Royals responded with seven runs over the next two innings putting the score at 7-3. Neither team managed to score in the fourth or fifth but Virginia Wesleyan's bats came back to life in the sixth and seventh for a combined six runs over the two innings putting VWU up 9-7. 

Hanchey scored the first run of the sixth off a throwing error by the shortstop. Crandall later drove in two RBI sending Jake Ness and Connor Hall across home plate on a single to right field. 

Hanchey and Ness scored two of the three runs in the the seventh inning coming home on a throwing error by the pitcher. And the last VWU run was scored by Hall as he came home on a wild pitch putting the final tally at 9-7 in the Marlins favor. 

NEXT UP
Virginia Wesleyan returns to action on Tuesday next week as they head south to North Carolina for a pair of midweek games. Virginia Wesleyan will take on Methodist University Royals Tuesday, March 15th, at 4 PM in Fayetteville, NC. Wednesday's game will be a battle of the Wesleyan's as VWU takes on the Battling Bishops of NC Wesleyan at 2PM in Rocky Mount, NC.