CAPE CORAL, Fla. – The Emory & Henry College Softball Team (6-0) made it a clean sweep in its slate of six games at the Gene Cusic Collegiate Classic with two more victories on Wednesday morning. The Wasps took down the New Jersey City University Gothic Knights, 7-0, in their first game of the day and completed play in the event with a 13-2 win over the Blazers of Elms College.
Six straight wins to start the season is a new program best for Emory & Henry, beating the previous mark of three set in the 1998 season.
Emory & Henry 7, New Jersey City 0
E&H got on the board in the top of the first thanks to a single to left field by junior first baseman Taylor Doss (Damascus, Va.). The hit plated freshman centerfielder Leah Elswick (Raven, Va.), who led off the game with a ground-rule double down the left field line.
The Wasps added four runs in the second, notching four hits in the frame. Both Elswick and junior left fielder Hannah Bays (Abingdon, Va.) had RBI doubles in the frame as Emory & Henry went up 5-0.
In the fifth frame, E&H added a run as sophomore right fielder Shelby Wray (Boones Mill, Va.) plated Doss with a base hit to centerfield. The Wasps added a final run for the 7-0 final margin as Elswick had a RBI single to centerfield.
Elswick finished the game three-for-three with two runs and two RBI while Bays and Doss each had two hits. Senior pitcher Katie Grimm (Staunton, Va.) went the distance for a four-hit shutout, striking out four.
Brittany Paulikas suffered the loss for NJCU, allowing six runs on 10 hits with just two strikeouts. She also went one-for-two at the plate.
Emory & Henry 13, Elms 2 (five innings)
The Wasps took immediate control of the game, scoring seven runs in the top of the first. Senior right fielder Bethany Anderson (Dublin, Va.) had a RBI single to get things going while a double by senior Taylor Banner (Castlewood, Va.) drove in three runs later in the frame.
In the second inning, freshman third baseman Caley Hodge (Elizabethton, Tenn.) led things off with a solo home run while a single to left centerfield by freshman catcher Bailey Williams (Wilmington, N.C.) had a RBI single to left centerfield to push the margin to 9-0.
Emory & Henry added four more runs in the fifth to go up 13-0. With one out and the bases loaded, Hodge hit a grand slam for her second home run of the game.
The Blazers got a pair of unearned runs in the fifth. With two on and two outs, Rachel Beery tripled down the right field line to make the final score 13-2.
Hodge was three-for-three with five RBI and three runs scored while Anderson had three hits of her own in the game. Elswick and senior Roxanne Hillman (Clintwood, Va.) had two hits and two runs while Banner drove in three with her bases-clearing double. Hillman earned the win, throwing three shutout innings of softball with allowing two hits and three strikeouts.
Beery's triple was the spark in the Blazers' offense. Jessica Colson took the loss, allowing nine runs on 12 hits in three innings pitched.
Emory & Henry will return home for a non-conference doubleheader against William Peace University on Sunday. The Wasps and Pacers will have first pitch at 1:00 p.m. Please note that the game time has been pushed back an hour from its original noon start.
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-photo courtesy of Joy Scruggs