EMORY, Va. – The Emory & Henry College Baseball Team (7-29, 4-19 SAC) dropped a pair of South Atlantic Conference games to Lincoln Memorial University (21-13, 13-10 SAC) Saturday afternoon. The Railsplitters earned a 16-6 win in game one before taking the nightcap 6-5.
The Basics
GAME ONE – Lincoln Memorial 16, Emory & Henry 6
GAME TWO – Lincoln Memorial 6, Emory & Henry 5 (Seven Innings)
LOCATION – Emory, Virginia
VENUE – Porterfield-DeVault Field
RECORDS – Emory & Henry (7-29, 4-19 SAC); Lincoln Memorial (21-13, 13-10 SAC)
Game One - Lincoln Memorial 16, Emory & Henry 6
LMU jumped ahead early in the game, scoring three runs in the second inning, three in the third and one more in the fourth to take the 7-0 lead. The Wasps got on the scoreboard in the bottom of the fourth. Sophomore catcher Garrison Bullock (Concord, N.C.) drew a one-out walk and senior outfielder Triston Hensley (Covington, Va.) drilled his first home run of the season over the wall in center to cut the deficit to 7-2.
The Railsplitters added three more in the top of the sixth, but E&H answered in the home half of the inning. Bullock drew a leadoff walk and junior third baseman Steven Smith (Salisbury, N.C.) launched his first home run of the year down the line in left to make it 10-4. Fifth-year second baseman Noah Mazza (Plainfield, Ill.) singled, senior outfielder Jared Foley (Sparta, N.C.) reached on an error and freshman shortstop Anthony Umbach (Harrisburg, N.C.) plated Mazza with an RBI single. Junior first baseman Jacob Bebber (Taylorsville, N.C.) drew a bases-loaded walk to score another and the score stood at 10-6 through six innings. LMU tallied six more insurance runs to take game one of the doubleheader 16-6.
Christian Pencek earned the win on the mound for LMU, allowing five runs and five hits while walking five and fanning four over 5 ⅓ innings. Fifth-year righty Zach Clover (Cary, N.C.) took the loss for E&H after giving up six runs on eight hits in three innings of work. Smith and Hensley each drove in a pair of runs and seven different Wasps recorded a base hit in the loss.
Game Two - Lincoln Memorial 6, Emory & Henry 5 (Seven Innings)
The Wasps flipped the script in game two of the doubleheader, taking the lead in the bottom of the first inning. Foley led off with a double, moved up on a wild pitch and scored on a sacrifice fly from Umbach. Bebber drew a walk and stole second before coming around to score on a long ball from senior outfielder Matt Hill (Pineville, N.C.) to run the score to 3-0 in favor of the home team after one inning.
The Railsplitters recorded a pair of runs in the top of the third, but again the Wasps had an answer. Umbach doubled, Bebber walked and both moved up on a sacrifice bunt by Hill. Umbach scampered home on a dropped third strike that would have ended the inning to give E&H the 4-2 advantage.
LMU tied things up with two runs in the top of the fifth and took the lead with two more runs in the top of the seventh inning. Smith launched his second home run of the day, this one of the solo variety, in the bottom of the seventh but it was too little too late as the visitors won game two by a 6-5 margin. David Brian Ellison was the winning pitcher for LMU as he scattered one run and five hits while fanning seven batters over 3 ⅓ innings. Senior righty Hunter Kirkpatrick (Albany, Ore.) was saddled with the loss, surrendering a pair of runs and four hits in two innings on the mound. Senior right-handed pitcher Bryson Wagner (Salisbury, N.C.) received the no-decision after allowing four runs on four hits with six strikeouts in five innings of work. Foley paced E&H with three hits, extending his hit streak to 15 games while Hill and Umbach each recorded a pair of hits.
Up Next
The Wasps wrap up the three-game series on Sunday with a single nine-inning game. First pitch is scheduled for 1:00 p.m. from Porterfield-DeVault Field.
--E&H--