MYRTLE BEACH, S.C. - Coming its first victory of the season yesterday against Neumann, Eastern Baseball competed against University of Mary Washington in a doubleheader on Thursday. Eastern played UMW close in the opener, trailing 4-3 after five, but 11 straight runs from the Eagles led to an eventual 15-3 triumph. Eastern held a 9-5 advantage in the rubber match, but six straight runs from UMW in the bottom of the sixth inning resulted in a heartbreaking 11-9 defeat. 

Griffin Falco put together a tremendous day at the plate for the Eagles, finishing a combined 3-for-5 with a pinch hit double in game one and a mammoth grand slam to left field in the second contest. Sean Cottrell continued his offensive tear, collecting two hits and his team-leading fourth home run, while Connor Schilling went 3-for-6 from the dish with two runs scored and a pair of RBIs. 

After UMW scored the first two runs of the opener in the first inning, Schilling responded with a leadoff home run, crushing the first pitch he faced over the left-center field fence. Mary Washington scored single runs in the second and fourth frame to take a 4-1 lead, before Falco's two-run double in the bottom of the fifth trimmed the Eagles' deficit to 4-3. That was as close as the Eagles would get, as UMW scored four runs in the fourth and seven more in the seventh to secure the victory. 

Both teams traded runs in the early going of the second contest as UMW built a 5-4 lead in the fourth inning. Falco created a three-run separation with his grand slam in the fifth, and a Mark Cruser sacrifice fly in the 6th put the Eagles up 9-5. However, the lead was short-lived, as UMW came roaring back with a six-run outburst, all of which came with two outs. 

Eastern will wrap up its Spring Break trip tomorrow with a pair of contests against Eastern Nazarene. Game one will begin at 10:00 am and game two follow at around 1:00 pm.