WINCHESTER, Va. – The Emory & Henry College Softball Team (20-8, 6-6 ODAC) made it a 20-win season for the first time since 2007 with a doubleheader sweep of Shenandoah University (8-19, 6-8 ODAC) Saturday afternoon in Old Dominion Athletic Conference action Saturday afternoon. Emory & Henry earned a 10-8 win in game one and notched a 4-1 victory in the nightcap.
The wins against the Hornets were the first for the Wasps since the 2007 season and the first since SU has become a member of the ODAC. It is only the sixth time in program history that E&H has had more than 20 wins in one year.
Game One – Emory & Henry 10, Shenandoah 8
After Emory & Henry went up 1-0 in the top of the first on a single up the middle by sophomore first baseman Taylor Doss (Damascus, Va.), Shenandoah responded with a four-run second inning to take a 4-1 lead. Kimberly Brady had a two-run single to highlight the second for the Hornets.
The Wasps put up five runs in the top of the third on five straight extra-base hits including three triples. After SU got a run back in the bottom of the frame on a throwing error by the catcher, E&H put two more on the board in the fourth to take an 8-5 lead. Doss got her third and fourth RBI of the game, this time on a double to right centerfield.
Emory & Henry added single runs in the fifth and sixth innings. Senior left fielder Cortney Halsey (Independence, Va.) scored on a fielding error by the third baseman on freshman centerfielder Devynne Stiltner's (Meadowview, Va.) bunt in the fifth while sophomore right fielder Hannah Bays (Abingdon, Va.) had a RBI on her base hit to left field in the sixth.
The Hornets made it interesting, scoring once in the bottom of the sixth and twice in the seventh for the final 10-8 margin. Megan Tripp had a double to left field and Brittany Guepe tallied an infield single with two outs in the bottom of the seventh, but the Wasps got out of the inning with no more harm done for the win.
Doss went four-for-four with four RBI and two runs scored while Bays was two-for-four with a pair of RBI. The Wasps pounded out 12 hits in the game including seven for extra bases. Junior Katie Grimm (Staunton, Va.) picked up the win in relief allowing one unearned run on one hit with two strikeouts in 2.1 innings pitched. Junior Brandy Bryant (Salem, Va.) earned her third save of the year getting the final out of the game.
Morgan Coble and Guepe each had three hits on four at bats with Coble scoring a trio of runs. Tripp suffered the loss, allowing six runs on six hits in 2.1 innings pitched.
Game Two – Emory & Henry 4, Shenandoah 1
After the first three innings of the game went scoreless, Emory & Henry went up 2-0 in the top of the fourth. With two outs and the bases loaded, junior Bethany Anderson (Dublin, Va.) had a pinch-hit single to right centerfield to drive in a pair.
Shenandoah bounced back with an unearned run in the fourth. With two outs and a runner on second base, Karli Rorabaugh singled up the middle to put the Hornets on the board.
Emory & Henry got two more runs in the fifth for the final 4-1 margin. Junior designated player Roxanne Hillman (Clintwood, Va.) and senior second baseman Martha Fluharty (Halifax, N.C.) tallied a pair of two-out base hits to set things up. Doss then drove both of them in with a single to right centerfield, but was thrown out trying to stretch her base hit into a double.
Shenandoah would get a pair of baserunners in the fifth by the Wasp defense held strong to keep the lead. The fifth frame was the only time the Hornets would threaten the rest of the game as E&H went on to complete the sweep with the 4-1 win.
Fluharty went three-for-four with a run scored while Hillman had a pair of base hits and a run. Doss and Anderson both notched two RBI on their hits in the nightcap. Bryant went the distance, scattering six hits and four strikeouts over seven innings, allowing just an unearned run.
Guepe had three of Shenandoah's six hits in game two while Rorabaugh had a RBI on her base knock. Lisa Mitro suffered the loss, allowing four runs on eight hits with four strikeouts.
Emory & Henry will return home on Sunday for an ODAC doubleheader with Guilford College. The twin-bill, which is scheduled to begin at 2:00 p.m., will also serve as Senior Day for the Wasps.
---E&H---