EMORY, Va. – The Emory & Henry College Softball Team (11-1, 3-1 ODAC) split an Old Dominion Athletic Conference doubleheader with Roanoke College (7-9, 2-2 ODAC) Tuesday afternoon at home. The Maroons took game one by a 12-0 score in five innings while the Wasps rebounded in the nightcap for a 2-1 victory.
The loss in first game brought E&H's 10-game streak to an end, but not before the Wasps set a new program record for the best start to a season. Emory & Henry was held to less than four runs in both games for the first time all year and fewer than six since the opening contest of the season.
The doubleheader also served as the Wasps' annual Light It Up Blue Day in support of Autism awareness and the Autism Speaks Foundation.
Game One – Roanoke 12, Emory & Henry 0 (five innings)
The Maroons got out to a 4-0 lead in the first inning thanks to five hits. Katie Smith started the scoring with a two-run double down the left field line. Roanoke added a run in the second to make the score 5-0.
In the top of the third, Kelly Higbie drove in a pair with a single to left centerfield with the bases loaded. Marleigh Hall gave Roanoke three more runs and a 10-0 lead with a three-run shot on the next at bat.
RC added single runs in the fourth and fifth frame for the final 12-0 margin. Taylor Carter had a solo home run in the fourth.
Taylor Sutherland went four-for-four with two runs while Carter had three hits, three runs and a RBI. Higbie and Hall also drove in a trio of runs for the Maroons. Higbie also earned the win in the circle, allowing just two hits while striking out six in the shutout.
Emory & Henry got base hits from junior first baseman Taylor Doss (Damascus, Va.) and sophomore catcher Jordan Chrisley (Dublin, Va.). Junior Taylor Banner (Castlewood, Va.) took the loss, allowing nine runs in 2.1 innings of work.
Game Two – Emory & Henry 2, Roanoke 1
After the first three and a half innings saw the score remain 0-0, E&H got on the board with a pair of runs in the bottom of the fourth. With two outs and sophomore second baseman Riley Pudney (Beech Mountain, N.C.) on second base, junior shortstop Alyssa Clark (Hiltons, Va.) singled to centerfield to drive in a run. Clark came home on the next at bat when Chrisley had a base hit through the left side, making the score 2-0.
Roanoke responded in the top of the fifth to cut the margin to 2-1. With two outs and nobody on base - thanks to a highlight-reel double play on the preceding at bat - Rhea Schleicher hit a solo home run over the left field fence.
Emory & Henry's defense made multiple diving plays at important times during the game, keeping the bases clear, preventing base runners from advancing or ending the inning with an exclamation point.
Chrisley, Pudney and Clark each had two hits in the contest with Clark coming through with her glove on several occasions. Freshman third baseman Caley Hodge (Elizabethton, Tenn.) and sophomore right fielder Shelby Wray (Boones Mill, Va.) notched base hits as well for the Wasps.
Senior right hander Brandy Bryant (Salem, Va.) earned her fourth complete-game win of the year, allowing just one run on four hits with five strikeouts.
Schleicher led the way for the Maroons' offense, going one for three with a home run. Higbie took the loss in game two, allowing two runs and seven hits in 3.2 innings pitched.
Emory & Henry will be back in action on Wednesday afternoon when it travels to face Bluefield College at 2:00 p.m. The Wasps and Lady Rams were originally scheduled to open the season against one another, but the cold, snow and rain pushed the doubleheader back over a month.
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-photo courtesy of Caleb Johnston, E&H '15