EMORY, Va. – The Emory & Henry College Baseball Team (2-3) earned a split in its home-opening doubleheader with Tennessee Temple University (1-5) Saturday afternoon at Porterfield/DeVault Field. The Wasps picked up a 4-2 win in game one while the Crusaders held on for a 3-2 win in the nightcap.
Game One – Emory & Henry 4, Tennessee Temple 2 (seven innings)
Tennessee Temple got on the board with a run in the top of the second inning. Jan Ramirez doubled to left centerfield with one out and was driven home by Jake Stone two batters later for a 1-0 lead.
The Wasps answered in the bottom of the fourth with a trio of runs. Senior catcher Connor Wise (Cookeville, Tenn.) led off with a solo home run to left field and two more runs scored when the Crusaders' right fielder dropped what would have been the third out.
Emory & Henry added a fourth run in the fifth inning. Senior second baseman Caleb Rotton (Boiling Springs, S.C.) doubled to left centerfield to start things off and was driven in by junior first baseman Bransen Christopher's (Hickory, N.C.) single through the left side on the next at bat.
TTU made things interesting in the top of the seventh with back-to-back singles to lead off the frame. Austin Layne hit a single to right field with runners on first and second, but the ball was too much for the right fielder to handle as Ramirez was easily able to score from 180 feet away. The Wasps got the next two batters out to hold the damage to one run and win, 4-2.
Junior left-hander Aaron Sparks (Troutman, N.C.) picked up the win for E&H to move to 1-1 on the year. He went all seven innings, scattering eight hits, while striking out six and walking none with just one earned run. Tennessee Temple's Hunter Giles took the loss, despite striking out six batters as well.
Christopher and senior designated hitter D.J. Russ (Greensboro, N.C.) were both two-for-three in the game but Wise's home run provided the highlight of the contest.
Game Two – Tennessee Temple 3, Emory & Henry 2 (seven innings)
The Crusaders jumped out to a 1-0 lead in the top of the first. Bryant Martin reached on a one-out error and was driven home three batters later on Nico McElrath's sacrifice fly to centerfield.
TTU went up 3-0 after the sixth stanza as it added two runs. With two runners on and two outs, Stone singled to the gap between shortstop and third base to drive in a run. Dustin Crumley plated a run with the next at bat, going back up the middle.
In the bottom of the sixth, the Wasps got on the board. Rotton drew a walk after a full count at bat and Christopher drove him home with a double to right centerfield that nearly left the park. E&H found the bases loaded after back-to-back hit batsmen but were unable to add runs to the board.
Down to its last three outs in the top of the seventh, Emory & Henry made a hard surge. Freshman Caelan Canady (Browns Summit, N.C.) found himself on second base after a dropped fly ball in left centerfield. Canady scored from third two batters later on a double play, but with no runners on and two outs the Wasps could not get their momentum back and were retired, giving TTU the 3-2 win.
Dylan Massengill earned the win for the Crusaders, allowing just four hits in seven innings pitched while striking out five. Sophomore Ty Hill (Knoxville, Tenn.), the reigning ODAC Pitcher of the Week fell to 1-1 on the year, allowing three runs on five hits with two walks and three hit batsmen.
Emory & Henry will return to action on Tuesday afternoon at 3:00 p.m. when it travels to Maryville, Tenn., to take on the Scots of Maryville College.
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