LYNCHBURG, Va. (EMU Athletics) – After a successful 2-1 homestead at Royals Field, EMU Baseball took their show on the road, traveling to take on the reigning ODAC champions Lynchburg in a Saturday doubleheader.

On a cloudy day in The Hill City, starting pitching shined for the Diamond Royals. In game one, Damen Tapscott, a sophomore from Warrenton, Va., held the nationally ranked Hornets to just two runs and five hits in seven and a third innings of work. That tied Lynchburg’s lowest scoring output of the season. Despite Tapscott’s effort, Lynchburg was still able to make one more play than EMU to pull out a 2-1 victory over the Royals in game one.

In game two, Josh Gjormand took the mound against his former team, limiting Lynchburg to three runs in five innings. However, the Hornets prevailed once again, giving the Royals a 7-1 defeat.

Records: EMU 6-8, 1-3 ODAC | #4 Lynchburg 15-2, 4-0 ODAC

Game One: #4 Lynchburg 2, EMU 1
WP: Colin McGuire (2-1)
LP: Damen Tapscott (1-3)

Highlights
• The Royals got out to the early lead in the top of the first inning. Aidan Miller tripled to right field, and he then reached home thanks to a Nick Arnold sac fly to left field, putting EMU up 1-0.
• From there, the game settled into a pitchers’ duel, with Tapscott and Lynchburg starter Tyler Kaltreider trading scoreless frames through the middle of the sixth.
• In the bottom half of the sixth, Lynchburg tied the game at 1-1 with an RBI double by Sean Pokorak. The Hornets then took a 2-1 lead in the eighth inning when Benton Jones smacked a base hit to score Brandon Garcia.
• The Royals were unable to get anything going in the top of the ninth, going down 1-2-3 to end game one.

Statistical Leaders
Daniel McGinnis: 2-for-4,
Arnold: RBI
Tapscott: 7.1 IP, 4 H, 2 ER, 4 K
Nash Withers: 0.2 IP, 1 H, 0 ER, 1 K

Game Two: #4 Lynchburg 7, EMU 1
WP: – Nick Mattfield (3-0)
LP: – Josh Gjormand (2-1)

Highlights
• This time, it was the Hornets got out front quickly, scoring a run each in the first and second innings.
• Try as they might, the Royals could not get the bats going as Lynchburg starter Mattfield kept EMU off the scoreboard. Lynchburg padded their lead with one more run in the fifth, three runs in the sixth, and another run in the seventh.
• The Royals avoided a shutout when Miller reached base on an error and later scored for EMU in the top of the ninth.

Statistical Leaders
Miller, Arnold, Trevor Selph: 1 hit each
J. Gjormand: 5.0 IP, 9 H, 3 ER, 1 K

What’s Next
The Diamond Royals continue the heart of the ODAC schedule with a trip to Shenandoah on Wednesday, March 19. First pitch from Winchester is slated for 3:30 p.m.

— EMU Athletics —