NORTH MYRTLE BEACH, S.C. – The Emory & Henry College Softball Team (6-1) started off its slate of Spring Break games with an 11-3 win over Blackburn College (0-3) Sunday morning at the Fastpitch Dreams Spring Classic.
The Wasps stranded two runners in each of the first two innings before the Beavers got on the board first with a single run in the bottom of the second.
E&H responded with three runs in the third frame. With two outs and runners on second and third, freshman third baseman Ragan Halsey (Hillsville, Va.) singled to right field to drive in a pair. Two batters later, freshman designated player Holly Eckard (Ringgold, Va.) hit a line drive to left field to plate the third run as the Wasps went up 3-1.
Blackburn closed the gap to 3-2 with a RBI single by Melissa Heigert in the bottom half of the third but Emory & Henry blew the game open in the fourth with five runs.
Sophomore right fielder Hannah Bays (Abingdon, Va.) started things off with a two out single to right field to plate a run while sophomore first baseman Taylor Doss (Damascus, Va.) tagged a ball for a double to left field, driving in a pair. Ragan Halsey and senior left fielder Cortney Halsey (Independence, Va.) both had RBI singles in the inning.
The Beavers closed the gap to 8-3 with a run in the bottom of the fifth as Heigert got her second RBI of the day.
In the top of the seventh, Emory & Henry added three more runs for the final 11-3 margin. Freshman catcher Jordan Chrisley (Dublin, Va.) had a bunt single that scored a run while freshman Shelby Wray (Boones Mill, Va.) pinch hit to drive in a run two batters later.
As a team, E&H pounded out a season-high 18 hits en route to its largest run total of the year thus far. Ragan Halsey, Eckard and freshman shortstop Riley Pudney (Beech Mountain, N.C.) all tallied three hits on the day with Halsey notching three RBI and a pair of runs scored. Chrisley and Bays both recorded multi-hit games as well.
Junior right-hander Brandy Bryant (Salem, Va.) picked up the win to go to 3-1, allowing just three runs on eight hits with four strikeouts in seven innings pitched.
Blackburn was led offensively by Heigert's two-for-three performance with a pair of RBI. Lauren Rhodes was two-for-two with a walk and a run scored while had a hit and scored a run. Mary Chamberlain fell to 0-2 on the year, allowing seven earned runs on 18 hits with two strikeouts.
Emory & Henry will play two games on Monday. The Wasps will open the day at 11:30 a.m. against the Mavericks of Medaille College and will follow that contest up with a 1:30 p.m. test against the Ohio Valley University Fighting Scots.
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