Emory & Henry Softball Earns A Sweep Sunday For A Perfect Weekend At Home

-photo courtesy of Joey Gass
-photo courtesy of Joey Gass

EMORY, Va. – The Emory & Henry College Softball Team (7-3) got two more wins Sunday at home to make it a perfect 4-0 weekend.  The Wasps defeated Oberlin College (0-4) by a 10-1 score in five innings to start the day, and earned a 4-3 walk-off win over Marietta College (2-2) to cap their slate of games.

The Basics
GAME ONE – Marietta 8, Oberlin 5
GAME TWO
– Emory & Henry 10, Oberlin 1 (five innings)
GAME THREE – Emory & Henry 4, Marietta 3
LOCATION – Emory, Virginia – Wasps Field
RECORDS – Emory & Henry (7-3, 0-0 ODAC); Marietta (2-2, 0-0 OAC); Oberlin (0-4, 0-0 NCAC)

Game One
- Marietta scored three runs in the bottom of the sixth to propel itself to the win. After leading 3-0, the Pioneers fell behind the Yeowomen, 5-3, midway through the fifth.
- A pair of runs in the bottom of the fifth tied the contest, 5-all, and set up the opportunity for MC to retake the lead and win the game.

Game Two
- Emory & Henry, playing as the visiting team on the scoreboard, rolled to a 4-0 lead in the top of the first inning. Three straight RBI doubles by junior Caley Hodge (Elizabethton, Tenn.) and freshmen Courtney Herron (Roanoke, Va.) and Alex Thomas (Orlando, Fla.) highlighted the frame.
- Herron and Thomas added run-scoring singles in the third to push the lead to 6-0, but Oberlin got on the board in the bottom of the inning as Emma Downing knocked a single to left center.
- The Wasps got up by a 10-1 score after the fourth, putting the Eight-Run Advantage Rule into play at the end of the fifth.  Senior second baseman Riley Pudney's (Beech Mountain, N.C.) at bat netted two runs as she hit a sacrifice fly. A throwing error allowed another run to come home.
- Junior Emily Kendrick (Honaker, Va.) earned the complete-game win, scattering four hits with six strikeouts over five innings.
- Tori Poplaski suffered the loss, allowing four runs on four hits in just 0.2 innings pitched.

Game Three
- Marietta scored in the top of the first on a double to right centerfield by Katilin Klinchock.
- The Wasps tied it up in the fourth as Herron tagged a single down the right field line.
- In the fifth, the Pioneers plated a pair of runners on Ariann Barile's base hit to centerfield, making it a 3-1 game.
- Emory & Henry close the gap to 3-2 in the sixth with a RBI base hit by Pudney.
- In the bottom of the seventh, Herron's number came up again with a two-out RBI single to tie the game. The Wasps earned the walk-off on the next at bat as sophomore right fielder Rachel Smoot (Riner, Va.) drove one back up the middle to push the winning run across the plate.
- Kendrick picked up the win in relief, striking out four in 2.1 innings of no-hit softball. Freshman Tiffany Cole (Wise, Va.) struck out two in the start.
- Kristina LaRocca took the loss and a blown save, allowing two runs on three hits with a walk in 0.2 innings of work.

Emory & Henry Individual Leaders
- Herron went five-for-seven on the day with two doubles, two runs and five RBI. Hodge had two hits, two runs and two RBI while Pudney went two-for-four with two RBI, two walks and a run scored.
- Junior centerfielder Leah Elswick (Honaker, Va.) put up two runs, two hits, a walk and was hit by a pitch while Thomas and senior first baseman Danielle Loving (Elizabethton, Tenn.) each had a pair of hits with Thomas driving in two.

Up Next
- Emory & Henry will remain at home on Friday when it hosts Salem College in a non-conference doubleheader.
- First pitch between the Wasps and Spirits is set for 2:00 p.m.

---E&H---