R-MC Unbeaten, will Meet LC in Championship Game
SALEM, Va. --- Randolph-Macon College emerged from a rainy day at the James I. Moyer Sports Complex unscathed as the Yellow Jackets head to their second straight ODAC Softball Tournament title game. Lynchburg College, after losing to R-MC earlier in the day, will again square off against the Yellow Jackets, this time with the league hardware up for grabs.
Randolph-Macon has not yet lost in the double-elimination tournament, given it one game in-hand against LC. Should the Yellow Jackets lose in the championship scheduled for 1:00 p.m. on Sunday, a second "if" championship will be played to determine the conference champion and winner of the ODAC automatic qualifier into the NCAA Division III Tournament.
As expected, weather played a major role in the flow of Saturday's contests. Games normally slated for 11:00 a.m. and 2:00 p.m. were moved to 9:00 a.m., but the weather hit the area sooner than expected, forcing those three contests to be moved to 10:30 a.m. But there was a siliver lining as not only were those games competed, but two others to return the tournament to its normally scheduled game times and format for Sunday.
Sixth-seeded Emory & Henry College had Moyer buzzing for much of the day, beginning with an upset of top-seeded and nationally fifth-ranked Virginia Wesleyan College. E&H then defeated Roanoke College, putting the Wasps one win away from a championship game berth. That opportunity never came as Lynchburg ended E&H's run in the loser's bracket final.
A rundown of the day's results and schedule for the remainder of the tournament is below.
ODAC Softball Tournament - Scores and Schedule
Saturday, April 25
Game 9: #3 Roanoke 5 def. #5 Guilford, 5-4 --- Box Score
Guilford took an early 3-0 lead with three runs in the top of the second, but a grand slam by Roanoke third baseman Jordan Meador in the bottom half of the frame gave the Maroons a lead they would not relinquish. The homer for Meador was the first of her career. Kelly Higbie got the win, working all seven frames to move to 14-11. Meador led RC with two hits, while Caroline Barnette had two knocks for GC.
Game 10: #6 Emory & Henry def. #1 Virginia Wesleyan --- Box Score
Virginia Wesleyan scored once in the first inning, but that would be the only run E&H hurler Taylor Banner would surrender as she scattered seven hits and worked around three walks towards the win. E&H leveled the scored in the third inning, and then tacked on two more in the fifth with RBI singles from Banner and Riley Pudney. The Marlins had a chance to make some noise in the seventh with runners on second and third, but Brandy Bryant shut the door for her fourth save.
Game 11: #4 Randolph-Macon def. #2 Lynchburg, 6-2 --- Box Score
R-MC left Nelda Bagley won for the third time in as many starts, collecting her third complete game victory. LC took the lead 1-0 in the third inning, but the Yellow Jackets took gained a 2-1 advantage on a two-run double by Sierra Ford in the fifth. R-MC broke it up with four runs in the seventh, powered by a three-run homer by Harley Jones. The win put R-MC in the ODAC title game for the second straight season.
Game 12: #6 Emory & Henry def. #3 Roanoke, 4-1 --- Box Score
Brandy Bryant bent but didn't break in earning a complete game win, giving up one run on seven hits with three walks and five strikeouts to help E&H to its second victory of the day. E&H opened up a 3-0 lead with runs in the first, fourth and fifth innings, with the middle tally coming via a solo shot by Danielle Loving. Roanoke got on the board with a Rachel Guilliams big fly, but the Wasps scored once more in the sixth and carried the momentum thru the final innings.
Game 13: #2 Lynchburg def. #6 Emory & Henry, 2-1 --- Box Score
LC's Conner English and E&H's Roxanne Hillman locked horns in a pitcher's duel, each giving up one run thru the first six innings. LC got on the board first via a sacrifice fly by Leslie Bourgeois in the first inning, but Caley Hodge knotted the score for E&H with her ODAC-best 11th homer of the season in the fourth. Bourgeois was at the center of LC's winning run, leading off the bottom of the seventh with a triple to right. Logan Walker followed with a walk-off sac fly to left. English gave up two hits and struck out five in seven innings, while Hillman surrendered just five hits in 6.1 innings in the circle.
Sunday, April 26
Game 14 - Championship: #4 Randolph-Macon vs. #2 Lynchburg (Field 1) --- 1:00 p.m.
Game 15 - "If" Championship: Same teams as in Game 14 (Field 1) --- 3:30 p.m.