WINCHESTER, Va. – The Shenandoah University baseball team opened the first weekend of ODAC play as the fourth-seeded Hornets welcomed the fifth-seeded Roanoke Maroons to Winchester for a best-of-three series, beginning with a Friday doubleheader and an if-necessary game scheduled for Sunday.
Game One Recap
The Hornets took game one in dominant fashion with a 22–4 victory. Shenandoah recorded 22 runs on 20 hits as Parker Farrington pitched seven strong innings, allowing six hits, two runs, seven strikeouts, and two walks.
Offensively, Jaime Padilla went 4-for-5 with four runs scored and two RBIs. Noah Cornwell finished 3-for-4 with seven RBIs, including his 16th home run of the year. Connor Houser was 3-for-5 with six RBIs, highlighted by a grand slam.
Game Two Recap
In the second game of the doubleheader, the Hornets secured a 10–4 win to advance to the second weekend of ODAC play in Tysons, Va. Noah Cornwell led the offense again, going 4-for-4 with three RBIs, including his 17th home run of the season and two doubles. Kyle Garrett went 3-for-4, while Haden Madagan contributed a timely grand slam, his only hit in a 1-for-4 performance.
Joey Mitchell started on the mound, going 3.2 innings with six hits and four runs allowed while striking out five. Orion Marshall followed with 1.1 innings, giving up one hit. Jacob Gilbert pitched 2.0 innings with no hits allowed and four strikeouts. Liam Stewart closed the game with 2.0 innings, surrendering two hits and striking out four.
GAME ONE HOW IT HAPPENED
Shenandoah came out aggressive in the bottom of the first after Parker Farrington made quick work of Roanoke's top of the order, striking out two and inducing a pop-up. Jaime Padilla led off with a single through the left side and quickly moved to second on a base hit by Kyle Garrett. Noah Cornwell continued his hot streak with a single to right, driving in Padilla for the game's first run. A deep flyout moved Garrett to third, and he later came home on a Connor Houser sac fly to make it 2–0.
The Hornets exploded in the second inning, sending 14 batters to the plate and scoring 10 runs. After back-to-back walks and a perfectly executed bunt single by Christian Carver, Padilla delivered a two-run single to left. Garrett followed with another RBI single, and Cornwell crushed a no-doubter over the left field fence for a three-run homer, putting Shenandoah up 8–0. Roanoke changed pitchers, but the damage wasn't done. Sam Pickette drew a walk, and Houser made it hurt with an RBI single to left. After an error and another base hit by Garrett, Cornwell capped the frame with a two-run single, giving the Hornets a commanding 12–0 lead after just two innings.
Roanoke scratched across two runs in the top of the fourth with a pair of RBI singles, but Farrington limited the damage and maintained control. In the bottom of the fifth, Shenandoah used speed and smart baserunning to plate another run as Pickette stole home on a double steal with Cornwell swiping second.
The Hornets blew the game wide open again in the sixth. A hit batter, walk, and single loaded the bases for Connor Houser, who launched a grand slam deep over the left field wall. Two batters later, Keenan delivered an RBI single, and Cornwell doubled in another run to push the lead to 19–2.
Farrington continued to cruise, finishing with seven innings of two-run ball. Michael Meyers pitched the final two frames, allowing two runs in the eighth but sealing the win with a quiet ninth. The Hornets finished with 22 runs on 20 hits and committed no errors.
GAME TWO HOW IT HAPPENED
Looking to sweep the series, Shenandoah once again started fast. In the bottom of the first, Garrett roped a one-out single to center and moved to third on Cornwell's line-drive base hit. With runners on the corners, Pickette lofted a sac fly to right field, scoring Garrett and giving the Hornets an early 1–0 advantage.
Roanoke responded in the top of the third after loading the bases with a single, an error, and a hit batter. A sac fly tied the game at 1–1, and with two outs, Roanoke's three-hole hitter crushed a two-run homer to left-center, giving the Maroons a 4–1 lead. Mitchell recovered to get the final out, but Shenandoah now had work to do.
After a 45-minute lightning delay in the bottom of the third, the Hornets came out swinging. Garrett reached on a hit, and Cornwell followed with his second home run of the day—an opposite-field shot that cleared the right-field fence and cut the deficit to 4–3.
In the fourth, Joey Mitchell issued a walk and gave up a single, prompting a call to the bullpen. Orion Marshall entered and got a crucial flyout before Madagan threw out a runner trying to score from third on a base hit to left, keeping the score 4–3.
The Hornets tied the game in the sixth after Padilla and Garrett singled and advanced on a passed ball. Cornwell was intentionally walked to load the bases, and Pickette came through with an RBI single to right. Then, with the bases still loaded and the game tied 4–4, Haden Madagan crushed a first-pitch fastball over the right field wall for a grand slam, electrifying the SU dugout and giving the Hornets an 8–4 lead.
Following a second lightning delay, Jacob Gilbert took over on the mound and delivered two scoreless innings, striking out four. Shenandoah tacked on another run in the seventh when Cornwell smoked a line-drive double off the left-center wall, scoring Garrett and making it 9–4.
Liam Stewart entered in the eighth and struck out the side with dominant fastballs and sharp breaking balls. In the bottom of the eighth, Padilla singled, stole second, and later scored on a sac fly to push the lead to 10–4.
Roanoke threatened in the ninth with back-to-back singles, but Stewart shut the door with a strikeout and a game-ending 6–4–3 double play, completing the sweep and sending the Hornets to the ODAC semifinals.
UP NEXT
The Hornets advance to the final four of the ODAC Championship, which will be held at Capital One Park in Tysons, Va.
#GoSUHornets
