BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – The No. 9 Birmingham-Southern College Baseball Team (13-2) earned a 14-7 win over visiting Emory & Henry College (4-13) Wednesday evening at Striplin Field. The Panthers notched six extra-base hits in the game en route to the victory.
Emory & Henry struck first in the top of the first as sophomore designated hitter Carson Bryant (Hickory, N.C.) drove in freshman second baseman Daulton Horne (Bristol, Va.) with a single to centerfield.
BSC got two runs in the bottom of the first and added three in the second and one in the third to go up 6-1. The Wasps scored in the fourth and fifth to draw the margin to 6-3, but a run in the fifth and three in the sixth gave the Panthers a 10-3 advantage. A two-run home run by Ross Anderson in the sixth highlighted the middle third of the game.
In the seventh and eighth frames, Emory & Henry got single runs to make the score 10-5 but a four-run outburst by Birmingham-Southern in the bottom of the eighth thanks to a pair of doubles resulted in four runs and a 14-5 lead.
The Wasps capped the scoring with two runs in the ninth for the final 14-7 margin. Freshman first baseman Luke Shepherd (Knoxville, Tenn.) hit a single to right field and saw two runs come home thanks to an error by the right fielder.
BSC was led offensively by Taylor McCracken, who had three hits, two runs and two RBI. Matt Brown and Preston White each had two hits and two RBI while Tyler Wise notched two hits and two runs. Vincent Torres earned the win, scattering two runs on three hits over four innings pitched with three strikeouts.
Horne had two hits and two runs for Emory & Henry while Bryant, Shepherd and sophomore shortstop Holden Watkins (Ridgeway, Va.) had a pair of hits. Senior right fielder Brandon Lineberry (Hillsville, Va.) tallied two runs on a hit and two walks with one RBI. Freshman Troy Polen (Lexington, N.C.) suffered the loss, allowing six runs on four hits with four walks in 2.1 innings of work.
Emory & Henry will return to Old Dominion Athletic Conference play on Saturday when it travels to face off against Eastern Mennonite University. First pitch of the doubleheader is scheduled for noon.
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-photo courtesy of Caleb Johnston, E&H '15