LYNCHBURG, Va. --- Top-seeded Shenandoah University opened up the 2015 ODAC Baseball Tournament Thursday morning with an 11-3 victory over sixth-seeded Eastern Mennonite University.
The No. 8/10 Hornets (24-7-1) scored in every inning except the second and sixth in dispatching the Royals (16-17).
Leading 6-0 after scoring one in the first, three in the third and two in the fourth, SU found itself in a ballgame as EMU touched Shenandoah starter Darrell Thompson (5-1) for three runs on five hits in the sixth.
The rally came with two outs as 2-3-4 hitters Joe Hall, Justin Rodriguez and Kyle Armstrong strung together consecutive singles to cut the Royals deficit in half.
Thompson, who got out of it with a groundball to short, settled in to shut EMU down in the seventh before turning it over to Phillip Morse to start the eighth.
Morse worked a three-up, three-down eighth but was replaced after walking the first two hitters in the ninth.
Senior Matthew Wilson then recorded the final three outs with a lineout to left, a fly to right and a groundout to short.
The top six hitters in the SU lineup had all of 11 of the Hornets hits with Billy Arens, John Wilt, Michael Paul, J.J. McDaniel and Ryan Mossman getting two each.
Arens, Paul and Daniel Freshley all drove in two runs.
Freshley had what proved to be the game-winning run by drawing a bases loaded walk in the fourth.
Thompson allowed the three runs on 10 hits and one walk in 7.0 innings of work.
--- This release is courtesy of the Shenandoah University sports information department. ---