EMORY, Va. – The Emory & Henry College Softball Team (17-14, 8-8 SAC) evened its South Atlantic Conference record on Friday as it picked up a pair of wins over visiting Catawba College (18-18, 6-6 SAC). The Wasps won the pair of high-scoring contests, 14-13 and 15-14, both in walk-off fashion.
The Basics
GAME ONE – Emory & Henry 14, Catawba 13
GAME TWO – Emory & Henry 15, Catawba 14
LOCATION – Emory, Virginia
VENUE – Wasps Field
RECORDS – Emory & Henry (17-14, 8-8 SAC); Catawba (18-18, 6-6 SAC)
Game One – Emory & Henry 14, Catawba 13
Catawba opened the contest with a run in the top of the first as Riley Tucker doubled down the left field line. E&H went ahead, 2-1, after two as junior right fielder Danielle King (Spencer, Va.) hit a solo home run in the bottom of the first.
The Wasps pushed their margin to 6-1 when sophomore shortstop Rachel Hill (Standardsville, Va.) and King combined for four runs on a pair of round-trippers in the fourth. Tucker pulled the Catawba Indians within three (6-3) as she drove in two in the top of the fifth but E&H freshman third baseman Karsen Simpson (Salisbury, N.C.) got her first career home run to extend the lead to 9-6.
In the sixth, Catawba threatened with another three runs but the Wasps responded again with junior designated player/pitcher Olivia Yates (Floyd, Va.) swatting a three-run home run to center to make it a 12-6 contest.
The Lady Catawba Indians pushed seven across in the top of the seventh, highlighted by a grand slam down the left field line by Savanna Balderston, going up 13-12. In the bottom of the frame, freshman Joy Back (Rembert, S.C.) scored from third on a wild pitch to tie the contest. On the next at bat, Hill had a base knock through the right side to drive in the winning run, 14-13.
Yates earned the win in relief, allowing two earned runs on two hits in 0.2 innings. Sophomore Kylie Cundiff (Roanoke, Va.) received a no-decision, scattering five earned runs on nine hits and two walks with six strikeouts. Kary Hales took the loss for Catawba, allowing six runs on six hits and seven walks in 1.2 innings.
Game Two – Emory & Henry 15, Catawba 14
The Wasps got things started in the bottom of the first as junior first baseman Lydia Taylor (Salem, Va.) plated two with a single down the right field line. Catawba scored single runs in the second in the third with Tucker tallying a homer to left-center to tie the contest, 2-2. In E&H's half of the second, sophomore second baseman/pitcher Abigail Street (Glade Spring, Va.) put the home team back ahead with a double to right-center.
The Lady Indians scored three on a home run by Kary Hales in the fourth to go up 5-3, but a trio of runs in the bottom half of the frame saw the Wasps regain the lead. Simpson tagged another home run early in the inning.
A two-run homer by Kinsley Caldwell pushed Catawba back ahead, but the bottom of the fifth saw junior centerfielder Mackenzie Williams (St. Augustine, Fla.) drill a three-run shot down the right-field line. Two batters later, Taylor connected with a two-run shot to almost the same spot, pushing the E&H lead to 11-7.
Catawba scored five in the sixth including another grand slam by Balderston to go back up 12-11. Hill pushed the Wasps back in front. 13-12 with a two-run single up the middle in the bottom of the sixth. In the seventh, the Lady Catawba Indians got a home run from Hales and a RBI groundout from Caldwell to make it a 14-13 contest.
Emory & Henry again came through with the magic in the bottom of the seventh. Yates tallied another RBI base knock down the third base line and Hill earned her second walk-off hit of the day poking a single into center for the 15-14 win.
Street earned the win in relief, allowing three runs on three hits with a strikeout in the final two innings. Freshman Bailey Payne (Fairview, N.C.) struck out four in two innings of relief. Catawba's Hales took the loss a second time, allowing two runs on three hits in 0.2 innings pitched.
Up Next
Emory & Henry embarks on a six-game road trip beginning with a doubleheader at Lees-McRae College on Tuesday at 1:00 p.m.
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