EMORY, Va. – The Emory & Henry College Baseball Team (6-17) scored five runs in the final two innings en route to an 8-4 victory over visiting Centre College (12-10) Tuesday afternoon at Porterfield/DeVault Field.
After two and a half scoreless innings, the Wasps got on the board in the bottom of the third. With one out and sophomore centerfielder Josh Macek (Concord, N.C.) on second base, senior right fielder Brandon Lineberry (Hillsville, Va.) doubled down the left field line to make the score 1-0.
Emory & Henry added single runs in the fourth and fifth to go up 3-0. In the fourth, Lineberry drew a two-out bases loaded walk while the run in the fifth came on a double down the left field line by freshman second baseman Andrew Francisco (Abingdon, Va.).
In the seventh, the Wasps pushed two more runs across to make their lead 5-0 on a single to left centerfield by Macek. E&H managed a game-high three hits in the inning alone.
Centre spoiled the shutout in the eighth scoring four runs to make the score 5-4. Base hits by Andrew Olson and Alex Richardson drove in a run each while a wild pitch and fielding error saw two more runs come around.
The Wasps bounced back in the bottom half of the frame with three runs for the final 8-4 margin. Freshman third baseman Eli Straw (Radford, Va.) hit a two-run single to left field to get things started while senior left fielder Ben Barnett (Knoxville, Tenn.) had a base knock to right field to drive in Straw.
Straw went two-for-three with a pair of hit by pitches and added two runs and two RBI. Francisco hit a pair of doubles with a RBI and a run scored while sophomore first baseman Carson Bryant (Hickory, N.C.) added two hits and a run. Macek and Linberry each had a base hit, drew a pair of walks and two RBI.
Emory & Henry junior Nick Lesnak (Blountville, Tenn.) went seven-plus innings on the mound, allowing two runs on seven hits, striking out five. Freshman Gavin Felty (Bristol, Va.) picked up the save, pitching the final 1.2 innings with three strikeouts.
The Colonels saw Olson and Drew Scacht tally two hits each with Olson scoring a run and driving in another. Aaryn Chandler suffered the loss, as he allowed one run on three hits, a walk and a hit batsman in three innings of work. Centre sent five different pitchers to the hill in the contest.
Emory & Henry will remain at home on Friday when it hosts Bridgewater College in an Old Dominion Athletic Conference doubleheader. First pitch is scheduled for noon.
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-photo courtesy of Caleb Johnston, E&H '15