WINCHESTER, Va. – The No. 17 Shenandoah University Baseball Team (22-5, 12-2 ODAC) remained on top of the Old Dominion Athletic Conference with a doubleheader sweep of Emory & Henry College (8-17, 5-7 ODAC) Saturday afternoon at Bridgeport Field. The Hornets won by game scores of 5-2 and 9-8 as the Wasps battled hard against their nationally-ranked opponents all day long.
Game One – Shenandoah 5, Emory & Henry 2
E&H got on the board in the top of the second when senior right fielder Brogan Hoover (Stephens City, Va.) singled up the middle to drive in sophomore third baseman Chase Kirk (Knoxville, Tenn.).
The Hornets got a trio of run in the bottom of the fourth to take a 3-1 lead. J.J. McDaniel and Dan Powers both had RBI base hits in the frame. Shenandoah made it 4-1 after the fifth when Nolan Overby drove in Billy Arens.
Emory & Henry got a run back in the sixth when Kirk brought home senior second baseman Caleb Rotton (Boiling Springs, S.C.), who singled up the middle to start the inning.
SU made the final margin 5-2 in the bottom of the eighth. After Overby tripled to lead off the inning, the Wasps got two straight outs. An error on the shortstop was enough to get Overby back to the plate for the score.
Arens, Powers and Overby each had two hits while Overby scored a pair of runs in the contest. Darrell Thompson picked up the complete-game win, scattering five hits and six strikeouts across nine innings of work.
The Wasps managed just five hits in the game, but Kirk had a run scored and a RBI to go along with his base knock. Sophomore right-hander Ty Hill (Knoxville, Tenn.) allowed just five runs on nine hits in his eight-inning outing, but tell to 3-4 with the loss.
Game Two – Shenandoah 9, Emory & Henry 8
Rotton got things started for E&H with a one-out single to right field and was brought home three batters later when Kirk singled through the left side to make the score 1-0 after the first inning.
Shenandoah answered with two runs in the bottom of the second and added six runs in the third to go up 8-1. The Hornets' success in the third came thanks to three hits, three walks and an error.
Emory & Henry got back into the game with four runs in the fifth stanza. Rotton and senior catcher Connor Wise (Cookeville, Tenn.) each clubbed run-scoring doubles as the Wasps closed the gap to 8-5.
In the bottom of the sixth, SU made it 9-5 after Corbin Lucas hit a sacrifice fly to right, driving in Ricky Pardo, who was hit by a pitch with one out.
E&H got a run back in the seventh on a double by Kirk and made things interesting for the Hornets, scoring two runs in the top of the ninth. With two outs and the bases loaded, senior designated hitter reached on a fielding error by the shortstop, while Wise and Christopher scored. Emory & Henry's late-game luck would run out, however as Shenandoah got the final out and went home with the 9-8 win.
SU's Arens had a three-hit performance in game two while Andrew Creamer went two-for-four with two runs and two RBI. Matt Wilson picked up the win in relief, allowing one run on five hits in 2.2 innings pitched. Matt Riegler claimed the save, getting the final out of the game.
Emory & Henry was led by Christopher, who went four-for-five with three runs while Kirk drove in three on two hits. Rotton, Hoover and freshman center fielder Matthew Whisnant (Connelly Springs, N.C.) each had a pair of base knocks in the game as well. Sophomore Matthew McInaw (Honey Brook, Pa.) took the loss, as he allowed eight runs on four hits and six walks in three innings with five strikeouts.
The Wasps will remain on the road on Sunday when they travel to Greensboro, N.C., for a 2:00 p.m., ODAC single game with the Quakers of Guilford College.
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