EMORY, Va. – The No. 22 Bridgewater College Baseball Team (20-8, 7-2 ODAC) picked up a doubleheader sweep over Emory & Henry College (8-18, 6-6 ODAC) Saturday afternoon at Porterfield/Devault Field. The Eagles came away with a 16-9 win in game one, and won 12-1 in the rain/darkness-shortened seven inning nightcap.
Game One – No. 22 Bridgewater 16, Emory & Henry 9
Emory & Henry got out to a 2-0 lead in the third thanks to a two-run single through the left side by senior right fielder Remington Hedgepeth (Winston-Salem, N.C.). The Eagles plated a run on Alex Nuttycombe's sacrifice fly in the fourth inning to close the gap to 2-1, but the Wasps added another pair in the bottom half of the frame to go up 4-1.
After cutting the lead to 4-3 with two runs in the sixth, Bridgewater exploded for nine runs in the top of the seventh stanza. Zach Hynes and Darren Yoder each had two-RBI singles for the Eagles as they took a 12-4 advantage.
Emory & Henry plated four runs in the bottom of the eighth aided by senior second baseman Josh McMillian's (Amelia, Va.) two-RBI double to make the score 12-8 but Bridgewater had four runs of its own in the top of the including a two-run homer by Derrik Walling.
The Wasps got their final run of the game in the ninth to make the final score 16-9. After a 45 minute delay due to rain and lightning, senior third baseman Will Schulhof (Berryville, Va.) doubled to left centerfield, scoring junior first baseman Logan Ball (Honaker, Va.) from first base.
Bridgewater's Kevin Chandler moved to 6-0 on the year with the win as he scattered eight runs on eight hits with four walks and three strike outs over seven innings of work. Senior Zach Jones (Fries, Va.) fell to 2-2 with the loss for E&H.
Game Two – No. 22 Bridgewater 12, Emory & Henry 1 (seven innings)
Bridgewater got out to a 2-0 lead after scoring runs in the first and third innings. The Eagles plated 10 runs between the fourth and sixth inning to build an insurmountable lead. Hynes hit a two-run shot to left centerfield in the fourth while Andrew Hacker had a solo home run to lead off the sixth.
Rain and lightning suspended play in the bottom of the fifth for nearly an hour with the Eagles up 8-0.
Emory & Henry got its lone run of the contest in the sixth. After McMillian singled to start the inning, senior catcher Collin Metz (Cape Coral, Fla.) doubled to the wall in left centerfield, scoring McMillian from first.
The game was shortened to seven innings due to darkness and the risk that rain would return and render the field unplayable.
Robert Gallet (4-0) went the distance for Bridgewater, scattering one run and four hits over seven innings while striking out six. E&H junior Jessup Lambert (Fries, Va.) was credited with the loss, despite five strikeouts.
At the plate, Hynes was six-for-nine on the day with two home runs, a triple and a double, scoring six runs and driving in six for the Eagles. Devon Snow went six-for-11 at the plate with three RBI and three runs scored. Hacker went four-for-eight on the day with two doubles, a home run and three RBI as well and Walling had five RBI with a home run and a triple.
For Emory & Henry, McMillian went four-for-eight on the day with two doubles and three RBI while Hedgepeth went three-for-eight with two runs driven in. Schulhof and senior designated hitter Jesse Blizzard (Independence, Va.) each had two hits.
The Wasps will remain at home on Monday when they welcome the Pride of Greensboro College in a 2:00 p.m. contest at Porterfield/Devault Field. The contest is the makeup from February 22's game which was rained out.
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