MARYVILLE, Tenn. – The Emory & Henry College Softball Team (2-2) suffered its first losses of the year on Sunday at the Maryville Invitational. The Centre College Colonels (1-2) stole a 3-2 win in eight innings to start the day while the Scots of Maryville College (3-4) blanked the Wasps, 6-0, in the final game of the day.
Game One – Centre 3, Emory & Henry 2 (eight innings)
Emory & Henry got on the board in the top of the third on a solo home run by junior catcher Jordan Chrisley (Dublin, Va.). Centre took a 2-1 lead in the fifth thanks to a two-run shot by Jessika Young.
The Wasps tied things up in the seventh as senior right fielder Hannah Bays (Abingdon, Va.) got a pinch-hit sacrifice fly, scoring sophomore Jordan Whitcomb (Rocky Mount, Va.) from third base.
Centre was unable to score in the bottom of the seventh, forcing extra innings. E&H advanced a runner on third base with one out, but stranded the potential winning run, as the score remained, 2-2.
A sacrifice bunt on the first at bat moved the runner to third base and Ashley Merkin provided the walk-off single for win, 3-2.
Merkin had two hits in the game while Young drove in a pair and scored once on her home run. Erika Brewer earned the complete-game win, scattering two runs and three hits with three strikeouts.
Chrisley was the bright spot for the Wasps with her third-inning solo homer. Senior Taylor Banner (Castlewood, Va.) took the loss, allowing just three runs on five hits but walked eight.
Game Two – Maryville (Tenn.) 6, Emory & Henry 0
Maryville got three runs in the first on a home run by Alexus Murray and never looked back. The Scots added single runs in the fourth, fifth and sixth to make the final score 6-0. Elizabeth Wheeler provided a double in the fifth to drive in Murray.
The game was suspended for 45 minutes in the top of the second inning due to rain and lightning.
Murray went three-for-three with two runs and three RBI while Rachel Taylor also had two hits. Kayla Aloisi picked up the shutout, allowing five hits with four walks and three strikeouts.
Emory & Henry senior Kaitlyn Pruitt (Abingdon, Va.) took the loss, allowing six runs on 11 hits despite striking out four in 5.1 innings pitched.
E&H will host Marietta College and Case Western Reserve University in a two-day, six-game set next Saturday and Sunday. The Wasps will play Marietta on Saturday at 10:30 a.m., and close the day against Case Western Reserve at 2:30 p.m.
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-photo courtesy of Caleb Johnston, E&H '15