VIRGINIA BEACH, Virginia - The No. 14 ranked Virginia Wesleyan softball team swept the Royals of Eastern Mennonite University in a pair of five inning games on Senior Day, Sunday afternoon, at Tom & Betty Broyles Field at TowneBank Park in Virginia Beach, VA.
The Marlins extended their all-time record against Eastern Mennonite to 81-21 and have won the last 16 games against the Royals.
GAME 1 INFORMATION
Score: No. 14 Virginia Wesleyan 10 - Eastern Mennonite 1 - 5 Innings
Record: No. 14 Virginia Wesleyan 24-8, 7-4 | Eastern Mennonite 17-9-1, 3-8
Location: Tom & Betty Broyles Field at TowneBank Park | Virginia Beach, VA
INSIDE THE SCORE
Eastern Mennonite got on the board first in the top of the first inning as a sac fly to center field drove in the first run of the game.
After the opening run it was all Virginia Wesleyan from there, as the Marlins went on to score 10 unanswered runs over the next three innings.
VWU posted five runs in both the bottom of the first inning and the bottom of the third to win the game 10-1 with 12 hits and one error.
The Marlins runs in the first inning came on four hits, three singles, one each from Julia Sinnett, Jenna Laird, and Halee Hawkins, and a double from Madison Hudson. Crossing home plate were Maria Weddle, Sinnett, Caitlin Myers, Karlee Fretz, and Laird.
In the third inning, Virginia Wesleyan scored its five runs on two hits, a fielders choice, and a ground out. A single by Hudson to center field score Laird. Two more came home during Krissy D'Arco's at-bat as she reach first on a fielders choice and advanced to second on the errant throw by the second baseman, all the while Jaya Diggs-Hagwood scored on the error by the second baseman and Hawkins came ome on the play as well. During the next at-bat, Ariana Rolle tripled to right center field which scored D'Arco, and Rolle followed her home on a ground out by Weddle.
In the pitching circle, Emily Seale pitched three innings giving up one run on three walks while striking out two batters. Seale improved to 13-3 in the circle and has 76 strikeouts on the season. Sofia Eskola came in to pitch the fourth and fifth innings giving up one hit and striking out one batter.
GAME 2 INFORMATION
Score: No. 14 Virginia Wesleyan 11 - Eastern Mennonite 2 - 5 Innings
Record: No. 14 Virginia Wesleyan 25-8, 8-4 | Eastern Mennonite 17-10-1, 3-9
Location: Tom & Betty Broyles Field at TowneBank Park | Virginia Beach, VA
INSIDE THE SCORE
The Marlins struck first in the the first inning of the second game as Ariana Rolle rounded all four bases on a triple to right center field and scored on an errant throw by the second baseman. The next two runs, scored by Maria Weddle and Julia Sinnett, were driven in on sacrifice flys to center and right field respectively off the bats of Karlee Fretz and Jenna Laird.
The score quickly hit 6-0 in the Marlins favor when Sinnett sent a rocket over the left field wall that scored Rolle and Weddle. The fourth run of the second inning came in on a Madison Hudson at-bat as she reached base on an error by the third baseman that allowed Caitlin Myers to score.
EMU put a pair of runs in the top of the third inning when Grace Fravel hit a two-run homer over the left field wall that put the score at 7-2.
VWU did what they do best in the bottom of the fifth inning scoring four more runs to win by run rule with a final score of 11-2. Rolle hit her second triple of the game through the left side to score Hawkins for one of the runs. Rolle was sent home on a double by Weddle to center field for the second. The final two runs of the game came on Sinnett's second homer of the game, this time over the center field fence, the drove in Weddle on the play.
Lauren Bible (W, 10-3) threw four innings during which she gave up two runs on four hits while striking out one. Sofia Eskola came in to pitch the fifth inning and struck out one of the three batters she faced.
UP NEXT
The Marlins return to the field tomorrow on Wednesday, April 13, when they host the 6th ranked Yellow Jackets of Randolph-Macon College for a pair of midweek ODAC contests. First pitch of game one is slated for 3 PM.
