EMORY, Va. – The Emory & Henry College Baseball Team (5-14, 4-14 ODAC) kept its hopes alive for a spot in the Old Dominion Athletic Conference Tournament with a split against Eastern Mennonite University (6-11, 6-11 ODAC) Friday afternoon.
The doubleheader was originally scheduled to be played on Saturday, but the forecast of rain in Southwest Virginia made it necessary to move the series up 24 hours.
The Basics
GAME ONE – Emory & Henry 5, Eastern Mennonite 2
GAME TWO – Eastern Mennonite 11, Emory & Henry 5
LOCATION – Emory, Virginia
VENUE – Porterfield/DeVault Field
RECORDS – Emory & Henry (5-14, 4-14 ODAC); Eastern Mennonite (6-11, 6-11 ODAC)
Game One – Emory & Henry 5, Eastern Mennonite 2
The Wasps got the scoring started in the bottom of the first with a RBI single to left field by senior right fielder Hayden Milley (Clover, S.C.). In the fourth, the Royals equalized at 1-1 as Ray Tricarico rolled a single up the middle.
E&H responded in the bottom of the frame with three runs. Senior left fielder Jacob Zoller (Culpeper, Va.) had a base hit while freshman third baseman Kolby Anderson (King William, Va.) drove in another when he reached on an error. Zoller scored when Anderson's attempted steal resulted in a second error to make the score 4-1.
In the fifth, Emory & Henry pushed its lead to 5-1 as senior designated hitter Chandler Kezele (Marshall, Va.) hit a towering no-doubter home run to right field. EMU's Jaylon Lee answered in the sixth with a solo home run of his own which would cap the scoring 5-2.
Senior right-hander Noah Griffin (Fort Mill, S.C.) earned the complete-game victory, allowing just two runs on nine hits with three strikeouts and no walks. It was the first nine-inning complete game win for the Wasps since April 14, 2018 when Gavin Felty went the distance against Bridgewater College.
EMU's Brendon Barrett suffered the loss, allowing five runs on nine hits despite striking out eight in seven innings pitched.
Game Two – Eastern Mennonite 11, Emory & Henry 5
E&H jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the bottom of the first on a two-run blast to left by Milley. Eastern Mennonite tied things up in the third as Lee hit his second home run of the day.
In the fourth, the Royals got runs on back-to-back hits as Jacob Merica and Ethan Spraker hit a triple and a double, respectively, to make it a 4-2 game. EMU pushed the margin to 8-2 with four runs in the fifth. Billy Quinn highlighted the frame with a bases loaded double to left-center.
The Wasps got three runs back in the bottom of the fifth as Milley swatted his second round-tripper of the game to make the score 8-5. EMU added a run in the sixth and two more in the ninth as Quinn plated a pair with a single up the middle for the final 11-5 score.
John Judy went the distance for the Royals, allowing five runs on nine hits with seven strikeouts and two walks. E&H senior J.T. Agosto (Cornelius, N.C.) suffered the loss, allowing eight runs on nine hits in 4.1 innings of work.
Up Next
Emory & Henry will get the final week of the regular season started on Tuesday when it visits Ferrum College at 6:00 p.m.
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