Emory & Henry Softball Splits Two Games At Piedmont Classic Friday

Madison McClanahan stands in the batter's box.
-photo courtesy of Taylor Jefferson

UPDATE: Heavy rains on Friday evening in Demorest have caused unplayable field conditions at Habersham Central High School's field. E&H's 1 p.m. game against No.13 Berry at has been cancelled. The Wasps will still play their contest against Centre College at 9 a.m.

 

DEMOREST, Ga. – The Emory & Henry College Softball Team (2-2, 0-0 ODAC) opened play in the Piedmont Classic on Friday going 1-1 in its pair of games. The Wasps defeated the host Piedmont Lions by a 4-2 score to start the day, and saw a seventh-inning rally come up just short in a 3-2 loss to Averett University in the afternoon game.

The Basics
GAME ONE  Emory & Henry 4, Piedmont 2
GAME TWO
  Averett 3, Emory & Henry 2
LOCATION
 – Demorest, Georgia
VENUE – Walker Athletic Complex
RECORDS – Emory & Henry 2-2 (0-0 ODAC); Piedmont 0-1, (0-0 USA South), Averett (1-0, 0-0 USA South)

Game One – Emory & Henry 4, Piedmont 2
- Hannah Hoban put Piedmont on the board in the bottom of the first with a double down the left field line. The Lions extended their lead to 2-0 in the sixth with an inside-the-park home run by Mariann Kennison.
- Emory & Henry stormed ahead in the top of the seventh frame with a four-hit inning, highlighted by senior Madison McClanahan's (Abingdon, Va.) pinch-hit grand slam to make the score 4-2.
- Junior Tiffany Cole (Wise, Va.) picked up a complete-game win, scattering two runs on six hits with three strikeouts.
- Melissa Eckman suffered the loss, allowing four runs on eight hits.

Game Two – Averett 3, Emory & Henry 2
- Kourtnie Blakenship gave Averett its first run in the bottom of the first inning. The Cougars pushed the margin to 2-0 in the third on a single to left field by Anna Coleman.
- In the top of the seventh, E&H senior Erin Anderson (Aylett, Va.) drove in a pair with a base hit to tie the contest at two.
- AU scored the winning run in the bottom of the frame on a double by Kaitlyn Aherron..
- Taylor Bailey picked up the win, pitching 6.1 inning of shut-out softball as she returned to close out the game.
- Emory & Henry sophomore Cameron Derr (Cornelius, N.C.) took the loss with three runs on five hits and four walks.

Up Next
- Emory & Henry will continue action in the Piedmont Classic on Saturday with two more games.
- The Wasps will take on the Colonels of Centre College at 9:00 a.m., on the PC campus and will face No. 13 Berry College at Habersham Central High School beginning at 1:00 p.m.

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