NORTH MYRTLE BEACH, S.C. – The Emory & Henry College Softball Team (13-1) completed its slate of eight games at the Fastpitch Dreams Spring Classic Thursday afternoon with two more wins. The Wasps finished with a perfect 8-0 record in the tournament. E&H took its first game by a 10-2 score over Bay Path College and dominated Baptist Bible College, 17-0, to conclude its week of play.
Emory & Henry 10, Bay Path 2 (six innings)
Bay Path got out to a 2-0 lead in the top of the first. After two batters drew one-out walks, Mercedes Griffith doubled to right centerfield to plate them both.
E&H responded with a run in the bottom of the first. Sophomore Taylor Doss (Damascus, Va.) drove in freshman shortstop Riley Pudney (Beech Mountain, N.C.) on a groundout to put the Wasps on the board.
In the bottom of the third, Emory & Henry took the lead thanks to three runs. Senior second baseman Martha Fluharty (Halifax, N.C.) had a RBI groundout while Doss plated a pair with a single to centerfield, making the score 4-2.
Emory & Henry added three more runs in the fifth. Doss had another RBI base hit in the frame while junior Bethany Anderson (Dublin, Va.) got a pinch-hit single to drive in another run.
The Wasps put the final touches on the game in the bottom of the sixth. Pudney bunted for a base hit to drive in freshman centerfielder Devynne Stiltner (Meadowview, Va.) from third base and later stole home to put E&H one run away. Emory & Henry got its 10thh run to win by the Eight-Run Advantage Rule when a throw down to third by the catcher went into left field, scoring sophomore Kaitlyn Pruitt (Abingdon, Va.).
Pudney was two-for-four with three runs scored while Doss went two-for-three with four RBI. Stiltner was also two-for-three, scoring a pair of runs. Junior Katie Grimm (Staunton, Va.) went the distance to pick up the win, allowing two runs on just three hits with two strikeouts.
For Bay Path, Griffith had two hits and two RBI while Nicole Ogden had the team's other hit. Kate Sirois allowed 10 runs on 12 hits to take the loss, with one strikeout to her credit.
Emory & Henry 17, Baptist Bible 0 (five innings)
E&H didn't get going until there were two outs in the bottom of the third inning, but the next 11 batters reached base on seven hits, three walks and a hit batsman, scoring nine runs. Senior left fielder Cortney Halsey (Independence, Va.) and freshman designated player Shelby Wray (Boones Mill, Va.) both had two-RBI base hits in the frame.
Emory & Henry scored another eight runs to make it 17-0. The Wasps sent 12 batters to the plate to notch their highest run total of the season. Freshman first baseman Holly Eckard (Ringgold, Va.) led the inning off with a triple while Anderson plated three later in the inning with a triple of her own.
Four Wasps had two hits in the game led by Wray, who was two-for-three with three RBI and two runs scored. Freshman right fielder Ashlea Giblin (Hendersonville, N.C.) was two-for-two off the bench, getting her first collegiate base hits and a RBI. Junior right-hander Roxanne Hillman (Clintwood, Va.) faced just two batters more than the minimum as she picked up the two-hit shutout, striking out five.
Baptist Bible's Erica Thomson has both of the team's hits while Rachel Deman suffered the loss, allowing 12 runs on 10 hits in three innings of work.
Emory & Henry will open Old Dominion Athletic Conference play on Sunday afternoon when it travels to Randolph College for a 1:00 p.m. doubleheader.
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