HAMPDEN SYDNEY, Va. – The Hampden-Sydney College Baseball Team (21-15-1, 13-7 ODAC) rallied twice on Saturday afternoon to defeat Emory & Henry College (9-27, 3-17 ODAC) in Old Dominion Athletic Conference action at Ty Cobb Ballpark.
Game One – Hampden-Sydney 6, Emory & Henry 5 (10 innings)
HSC got out to a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the first inning as Beau Flinchum singled to plate Christian Hamlett, who led off the game with a walk.
The Wasps took a 2-1 lead in the top of the fourth when sophomore first baseman Bransen Christopher (Hickory, N.C.) hit a two-run home run.
Emory & Henry made it 3-1 in the seventh as freshman left fielder Andrew Stockstill (Roanoke, Va.) drove in high school teammate senior right fielder Mark Robertson (Roanoke, Va.) on a groundout to third base.
In the bottom of the eighth, the Tigers tied the score 3-3 on a two-out double by Nathan Chamberlin.
The contest remained tied after nine innings and Emory & Henry went up 5-3 in the top of the 10th. Senior second baseman Sam Line (Inman, S.C.) got things going with a fielder's choice RBI with the bases loaded, scoring junior catcher Connor Wise (Cookeville, Tenn.). Christopher then scored on a passed ball for the 5-3 advantage.
Hampden-Sydney got a trio of runs in the bottom of the 10th to steal the victory. With two runners on and no outs, Flinchum doubled to tie the game at five. Andrew Tucker hit a RBI single two batters later to score Flinchum and give the Tigers the win.
For the game, Flinchum was three-for five with three RBI and a pair of runs. Hunter Lewis also had three hits while Chamberlin drove in two runs. Luke Rabiej picked up the win in relief as Zach Whitaker went five innings in the start allowing just two runs on six hits with seven strikeouts.
E&H was led at the plate by Christopher's two-run home run while senior centerfielder Eric Houff (Blacksburg, Va.) and freshman third baseman Chase Kirk (Knoxville, Tenn.) each had two hits. Senior Will Dingus (Powhatan, Va.) took the loss.
Senior Jessup Lambert (Fries, Va.) pitched the first nine innings in stellar fashion, allowing just three runs on 10 hits with a career-high 12 strikeouts in his final collegiate outing.
Game Two – Hampden-Sydney 7, Emory & Henry 6
Emory & Henry got out to a 4-0 lead after the first three innings. A sacrifice squeeze by Wise pushed one run across in the first while a trio of singles from Christopher, Lambert and junior right fielder Brogan Hoover (Stephens City, Va.) highlighted the third.
The Tigers got a pair of runs in the bottom of the third to make the score 4-2. Jeff Gray and Flinchum each had RBI singles in the frame. HSC closed the margin to 4-3 after the sixth as Andrew Tucker hit a sacrifice fly to left field.
In the top of the seventh, Emory & Henry extended its lead to 6-3 as Lambert and Hoover notched their second RBI singles of the game.
Hampden-Sydney got four runs in the bottom of the seventh to go up 7-6. Gray got things started with a RBI double while Ryan Carter and Jack Elliott each had run-scoring base hits in the frame.
E&H had two base runners in the top of the ninth, but was unable to push a run across as HSC escaped with a pair of wins on the day.
Elliott led the Tigers with a three-for-four day at the plate while Gray had two hits and two RBI. Flinchum and Kuhns also had two hits. Lewis picked up the win in relief, striking out two with no hits in 2.1 innings of work. Rabiej picked up the save as he faced the final batter of the game.
Five different Emory & Henry batters had two hits as the Wasps were led by Lambert and Hoover with two hits and two RBI each. Junior D.J. Russ (Greensboro, N.C.) took the loss, allowing four runs on four hits in the final two innings of the game.
Emory & Henry concludes the 2013 year with nine wins. The Wasps will await the announcement of the All-ODAC teams, which will come in conjunction with the 2013 ODAC Tournament next weekend.
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