SWEET BRIAR, Va. – The Emory & Henry College Softball Team (10-11, 2-3 ODAC) picked up a pair of wins over Sweet Briar College (0-10, 0-8 ODAC) Saturday afternoon in Old Dominion Athletic Conference play. The Wasps won game one, 11-1, and took the second contest by a 12-1 score.
With her two-run home run in the top of the sixth inning of game one, senior catcher Ashley Ebersole (Maurertown, Va.) became E&H's single-season home run record holder. Ebersole has now hit 10 home runs this year.
Game One – Emory & Henry 11, Sweet Briar 1
E&H broke open a scoreless game in the top of the fifth inning as junior centerfielder Cortney Halsey (Independence, Va.) scored on a passed ball. Halsey reached on a single two batters earlier.
The Wasps took control in the top of the sixth. Ebersole hit a two-run shot to start the scoring off and junior left fielder Sylvia Robbins (Smithfield, Va.) hit a three-run homer later in the inning for the 7-0 lead.
Sweet Briar avoided the shutout as it plated a run in the bottom of the sixth frame with a RBI single to left field from Elizabeth Snyder.
Emory & Henry got four more runs in the top of the seventh to push the advantage to 11-1. Halsey hit a one-out single to left field, scoring Ebersole, who reached on a double to start things off. On the next at bat, freshman third baseman Hannah Bays (Abingdon, Va.) tattooed her sixth home run of the season, this one a three-run shot.
Five Wasps had two hits in the game led by Bays and Robbins, who each plated a trio of runs. Sophomore pitcher Katie Grimm (Staunton, Va.) picked up the win in relief as she pitched the final four innings of the game with three hits and two strikeouts.
The Vixens managed just seven hits in the contest led by Snyder with a hit and a RBI. Cynthia Schuh took the loss, allowing 11 runs on 13 hits despite striking out four.
Game Two – Emory & Henry 12, Sweet Briar 1 (five innings)
Emory & Henry got things going with six this in the top of the third inning thanks to five hits and three Sweet Briar errors. Robbins highlighted the inning as she came up with the bases loaded and drove three runs in with a double to left centerfield. Junior second baseman Martha Fluharty (Halifax, N.C.) and Grimm each had RBI singles in the inning.
In the bottom half of the third, Hollie Halford hit a two-out double to centerfield to score Megan Thompson, who drew a one-out walk to get things going. The Wasps ended the inning with a putout from centerfield as the Vixens tried to squeeze two runs in on the play.
E&H got two more runs in the fourth as freshman first baseman Taylor Doss (Damascus, Va.) doubled to left center, plating Ebersole who led things off with a one-out single to left. Doss scored on a passed ball to make the advantage 8-1 in favor of the Wasps.
In the top of the fifth inning, Emory & Henry scored four more runs to help satisfy the conditions of the Eight-Run Advantage rule. Robbins drove in one on a double to left field and senior right fielder Veronica Blankenship (Roanoke, Va.) had a RBI groundout to make the score 10-1. Ebersole then singled to right field, driving in two more runs for the 12-1 advantage.
Sweet Briar was unable to cut into the lead in the bottom of the inning, concluding the game.
Bays led the Wasps as she went two-for-three with three RBI and a pair of runs. Ebersole was two-for-four with two runs and two RBI as six E&H players had a multi-hit game in the second contest.
Freshman Kaitlyn Pruitt (Abingdon, Va.) picked up the victory as she scattered two hits over four innings of work and struck out two. Freshman Taylor Banner (Castlewood, Va.) struck out one in one inning of relief work.
Halford was one-for-two with a RBI to lead SBC while Snyder had the Vixens' other hit in the nightcap. Thompson allowed six earned runs on 13 hits with just two strikeouts in the complete-game loss.
Emory & Henry will travel to Roanoke College on Wednesday evening at 5:00 p.m., for an ODAC doubleheader.
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