SALEM, Va. – The Emory & Henry Baseball Team (5-4, 3-0 ODAC) made it three wins in two days as it defeated Roanoke College (1-5, 0-3 ODAC) Sunday afternoon in an Old Dominion Athletic Conference contest at Kiwanis Field.
E&H got on the board in the top of the second as sophomore left fielder Ben Barnett (Knoxville, Tenn.) drew a walk with the bases loaded, driving in senior catcher Connor Wise (Cookeville, Tenn.), who led the inning off when he was hit by a pitch.
Roanoke tied things up in the third when Hayden Lee doubled down the left field line to score Jacob Clifton. The Maroons threatened to take the lead in the frame, but hit into a double play to strand two runners and end the inning.
The Wasps got single runs in the fourth and fifth, highlighted by senior second baseman Caleb Rotton's (Boiling Springs, S.C.) solo home run to lead off the fifth inning. Emory & Henry made it 7-1 with four runs in the top of the sixth. With the bases loaded, two runs came home on junior shortstop Jordan Woullard's (Oak Ridge, Tenn.) sacrifice fly. Junior first baseman Bransen Christopher (Hickory, N.C.) plated another run in the frame with a triple to centerfield.
In the bottom of the sixth, Roanoke got a run to break E&H's momentum. With two outs, Will Decker singled to centerfield and two batters later Clifton doubled down the left field line to close the gap to 7-2.
After two scoreless innings, Emory & Henry added a pair of insurance runs for a 9-2 lead. Wise walked to lead things off and ended up scoring on a wild pitch two batters later. Senior Zack Hill (Fries, Va.) got a pinch-hit single up the middle with two outs to bring home freshman Hunter Jeffries (Hickory, N.C.), who singled earlier in the inning.
The two runs scored by the Wasps ended up making a difference as the Maroons tacked on five runs in the bottom of the ninth. After the first three batters reached to load the bases, Danny Creel singled to right field to bring home Lee. Two batters later, Will Decker hit a grand slam to draw the score to 9-7. Two more base hits later in the game gave Roanoke a chance, but the Emory & Henry defense held on for the win.
Christopher led E&H with a three-for-five day with two extra-base hits and a RBI. Rotton and Wise scored twice while Woullard drove in a pair of runs and stole two bases. Sophomore Matthew McInaw (Honey Brook, Pa.) picked up the win (1-1) as he scattered two runs and nine hits over six innings of work with just one walk.
Roanoke had 15 hits on the day highlighted by Decker's ninth-inning grand slam. Clifton and Bradley Mattox had three hits a piece while Lee added a pair of base knocks. John Ruhlman suffered the loss, allowing three runs on five hits with four walks and four strikeouts. Austin Gregory allowed four unearned runs in two innings of relief.
Emory & Henry will travel to face Ferrum College on Wednesday afternoon at 5:00 p.m.
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