FOREST, Va. - The Emory & Henry College Softball Team has earned its first trip to the Old Dominion Athletic Conference Tournament since the 2007 season, ODAC officials announced Wednesday night. The Wasps finished tied for eighth in the ODAC regular season and earned the number eight seed via the league's Five-Point Tiebreaker system over Guilford College.
Emory & Henry will take on top-seeded Virginia Wesleyan College on Friday at noon at the Moyer Softball Complex in Salem, Va.
In the final week of the ODAC regular season, the Wasps had to pick up wins and hope that the chips would fall in the right order to qualify for the postseason. Lynchburg College and Eastern Mennonite University each gave E&H a little help in the standings, helping to break the eighth-place tie and send the Wasps to tournament play for the first time in six years.
Under first-year Head Coach Sara Schoenhoft, E&H is coming off its most decisive pair of wins of the season, sweeping Sweet Briar College by scores of 15-2 and 27-1 this past Sunday afternoon. Currently, 10 of the 12 players on the Wasps' roster are hitting .250 or above and five with a .330 average or better.
Senior shortstop Jenae Morrissey (Utica, N.Y.) leads the team in hits (35) and triples (two) while sophomore third baseman Martha Fluharty (Halifax, N.C.) is top of the chart in runs (22) doubles (10) and walks (12) and is second in hits (33). Junior catcher Ashley Ebersole (Maurertown, Va.) is first on the squad in RBI (27) and home runs (five).
In the circle, the Wasps have three pitchers with over 50 innings thrown this season to rely upon, led by freshman Brandy Bryant (Salem, Va.) who missed the first half of the year due to injury. In just 13 appearances, Bryant has struck out 63 batters, nearly four per outing.
Depending on the result of their first contest, the Wasps will either play their second game of the double elimination tournament at 4:00 p.m. or at 6:00 p.m.
---E&H---
2012 ODAC Softball Tournament - April 27-29
James I. Moyer Sports Complex - Salem, Va.
Friday, April 27
Game 1: #1 Virginia Wesleyan vs. #8 Emory & Henry - Field 1 - 12:00 p.m.
Game 2: #4 Lynchburg vs. #5 Bridgewater - Field 3 - 12:00 p.m.
Game 3: #2 Roanoke vs. #7 Randolph - Field 1 - 2:00 p.m.
Game 4: #3 Randolph-Macon vs. #6 Eastern Mennonite - Field 3 - 2:00 p.m.
Game 5: Loser G1 vs. Loser G2 - Field 1 - 4:00 p.m.
Game 6: Loser G3 vs. Loser G4 - Field 3 - 4:00 p.m.
Game 7: Winner G1 vs. Winner G2 - Field 1 - 6:00 p.m.
Game 8: Winner G3 vs. Winner G4 - Field 3 - 6:00 p.m.
Saturday, April 28
Game 9: Winner G5 vs. Loser G8 - Field 1 - 11:00 a.m.
Game 10: Winner G6 vs. Loser G7 - Field 3 - 11:00 a.m.
Game 11: Winner G7 vs. Winner G8 - Field 1 - 2:00 p.m.
Game 12: Winner G9 vs. Winner G10 - Field 1 - 5:00 p.m.
Game 13: Winner G12 vs. Loser G11 - Field 1 - 8:00 p.m.
Sunday, April 29
Championship Game
Game 14: Winner G11 vs. Winner G13 - Field 1 - 1:00 p.m.
If necessary...
Game 15: Rematch of Game 14 - Field 1 - 4:00 p.m.