MYRTLE BEACH, S.C. – The Emory & Henry College Softball Team (5-5) went 1-1 on Thurday afternoon in its final pair of games at the Fastpitch Dreams Tournament at the Pepper Geddings Recreational Center. The Wasps fell to the Bulldogs of Tennessee Wesleyan College, 5-4, to start the day before concluding the week with a 22-0 drubbing of Penn State-Fayette, 22-0, in five innings.
Game One – Tennessee Wesleyan 5, Emory & Henry 4
Tennessee Wesleyan needed three runs in the top of the seventh inning in order to defeat Emory & Henry, but the Bulldogs were able to get just that as they went on to win, 5-4.
TWC led off the game with two scores in the top of the first but E&H senior catcher Ashley Ebersole (Maurertown, Va.) hit a two-run shot in the bottom half of the frame to knot the contest at two.
In the second, freshman pitcher Kaitlyn Pruitt (Abingdon, Va.) had a two-RBI single to make the score 4-2. The margin would remain the same until the top of the seventh where Tennessee Wesleyan pulled out the win.
Pruitt suffered the loss in the circle despite scattering six hits and five runs over 6.1 innings of work.
Game Two – Emory & Henry 22, Penn State-Fayette 0 (five innings)
Ebersole exploded with a pair of grand slams for her fifth and sixth home runs of the season as Emory & Henry scored the most runs since it defeated Sweet Briar, 27-1, on last season.
Sophomore pitcher Brandy Bryant (Salem, Va.) pitched a no-hitter with five strikeouts while sophomore shortstop Bethany Anderson (Dublin, Va.) went five-for-five at the plate with two doubles and a pair of stolen bases.
Junior second baseman Martha Fluharty (Halifax, N.C.), sophomore first baseman Katie Grimm (Staunton, Va.) senior outfielder Courtney Perkinson (Chesapeake, Va.) and freshman third baseman Hannah Bays (Abingdon, Va.) each had two hits in the game. Bays topped it off with three RBI as she added another round-tripper to her season total.
Emory & Henry will visit Ferrum College next Wednesday for a doubleheader with the Panthers. First pitch is set for 5:00 p.m.