EMORY, Va. – The Emory & Henry College Baseball Team (6-22, 3-13 ODAC) picked up its first doubleheader sweep of the year, taking a pair of Old Dominion Athletic Conference contests from Washington and Lee University (6-11, 4-9 ODAC) Saturday afternoon at Porterfield/DeVault Field. The Wasps won game one by a 6-4 score and prevailed in the nightcap 13-7.
Game One – Emory & Henry 6, Washington and Lee 4
The Generals got out to a 4-0 lead in the top of the second inning, scoring a trio of unearned runs. Luke Myer plated a pair with his two-out single to centerfield while Matt Wasson and Austin Crane each had RBI base hits.
Emory & Henry began to chip away at the lead in the bottom half of the second. Senior designated hitter Kevin Nelson (Johnson City, Tenn.) led off the frame with a solo home run to left field to make the score 4-1. The Wasps tied things up at four-all in the third as Nelson drove in two with a single to left field. Senior first baseman Bransen Christopher (Hickory, N.C.) added a run-scoring base hit as well.
E&H took the lead in the bottom of the fifth on a sacrifice fly by junior right fielder Brandon Lineberry (Hillsville, Va.) and made the final score 6-4 when freshman catcher Brandon Whitaker (Walnut Cove, N.C.) singled through the left side to drive in Christopher.
Christopher was three-for-four with two runs scored while Nelson went two-for-three with three RBI and a walk. Sophomore left fielder Matthew Whisnant (Connelly Springs, N.C.) added two hits and a run while senior shortstop Jordan Woullard (Oak Ridge, Tenn.) scored twice. Senior left-hander Aaron Sparks (Troutman, N.C.) went the distance in the win, scattering eight hits and one earned run with a strikeout and a walk.
Crane led Washington and Lee with three hits, a run and a RBI while Myer drove in a pair with his base hit. Tom Concklin suffered the loss, allowing five earned runs on 10 hits in seven innings pitched despite fanning eight.
Game Two – Emory & Henry 13, Washington and Lee 7
The Wasps started things off with two runs in the bottom of the second highlighted by another leadoff home run by Nelson. W&L got on the board in the top of the third but E&H answered in the bottom half of the frame to make the score 3-1.
After the Generals tied things up at three in the fourth on singles by Jonny Swenson and Myer, Emory & Henry pushed four runs across to go up 7-3. Freshman third baseman Carson Bryant (Hickory, N.C.) had a two-run singled down the left field line with two outs.
Three more runs came for E&H in the fifth with Lineberry's single up the middle bringing home two. W&L made the score, 10-4 on Nick Biumi's single to right field in the sixth.
In the seventh, the Wasps added three more insurance runs, two of which came on a triple to right centerfield by Lineberry. Nelson got another RBI on the next at bat, driving in Lineberry with a groundout to second base.
Washington and Lee got a run in the eight and two more in the ninth to make the final score 13-7.
Lineberry had three hits, five RBI and two runs scored while Bryant and Whisnant added three hits each. Christopher and junior catcher Toby Edwards (Clinchco, Va.) both had two base knocks in the game with Edwards driving in a pair. Sophomore Garrett Butler (Knoxville, Tenn.) allowed for runs on eight hits with four strikeouts in six innings pitched while junior Chase Kirk (Knoxville, Tenn.) earned the three-inning save.
Drew Weprinski went three-for-five with three runs and Biumi added three hits and two RBI for the Generals. Myer put up another two hits and two RBI while Wasson and Swenson had two hits each. Kyle Tipping allowed 10 runs in five innings pitched, taking the loss.
Emory & Henry will be on the road on Tuesday when it travels to Buena Vista, Virginia for a 3:00 p.m. non-conference game against Southern Virginia University.
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-photo courtesy of Caleb Johnston, E&H '15