SALEM, Va. – The #6 Emory & Henry College Softball Team (24-11) stayed alive in the 2015 Old Dominion Athletic Conference Tournament Friday splitting its slate of contests on day one. The Wasps earned a 2-1, 11-inning victory in thrilling fashion over seventh-seeded Eastern Mennonite University (16-14) as dusk was falling to advance. E&H dropped its first contest of the day, 3-1, to #3 Roanoke College (21-12).
The Wasps win their first ODAC Tournament game since the 2012 season when they prevailed over Lynchburg, 9-5, in an elimination game.
Game Six - #6 Emory & Henry 2, #7 Eastern Mennonite 1 (11 innings)
The first four innings of the contest went back and forth with neither team able to get any substantial offense together. EMU struck first in the top of the fifth when Danyele Smith singled through the left side plating Nicolette Cuevas, who led off the frame with a single down the left field line.
Emory & Henry answered to tie the game at one in the bottom of the fifth. Junior left fielder Hannah Bays (Abingdon, Va.) led things off with a double to left centerfield and was replaced on the bases by freshman Jordan Whitcomb (Rocky Mount, Va.). After advancing to third on a passed ball, Whitcomb was driven home on a sacrifice fly by senior pitcher Brandy Bryant (Salem, Va.).
Two more scoreless innings saw the game remain tied, 1-1, at the end of seven, forcing extra innings and the International Tie-Breaker, where the last batter of the previous inning is placed on second base.
The eighth, ninth, and 10th frames came and went with no changes and the Wasps' defense held strong through the 11th. In the bottom of the 11th, freshman centerfielder Leah Elswick (Raven, Va.) had a leadoff base hit to advance sophomore second baseman Riley Pudney (Beech Mountain, Va.) to third base. Elswick then advanced to second base and freshman third baseman Caley Hodge (Elizabethton, Tenn.) drew an intentional walk.
With no outs and the bases loaded, junior first baseman Taylor Doss (Damascus, Va.) singled to shallow centerfield driving in Pudney for the victory.
The Wasps managed just seven hits in the game, led by sophomore catcher Jordan Chrisley (Dublin, Va.), who went two-for-four. Bryant picked up the win in relief, scattering two hits, three walks and two strikeouts over 6.1 scoreless innings.
Mariah Foltz had three hits for the Royals while Smith added two hits, two walks and a RBI. Lauren Seale suffered the loss allowing two unearned runs on seven hits with five strikeouts.
Game Four – #3 Roanoke 3, #6 Emory & Henry 1
After two and a half innings of scoreless play, Roanoke got on the board with three runs in the bottom of the third. With two runners on and one out, Taylor Sutherland singled to drive in Rachel Guilliams. The Maroons added two more unearned runs in the frame to make the score 3-0.
Emory & Henry responded in the top of the fourth when Elswick tagged a lead-off home run over the left field fence for the 3-1 margin.
The Maroons got a pair of base runners in the fifth and loaded things up in the sixth but the Wasp defense held strong and kept further runs from scoring.
E&H managed just two hits in the game as RC pitcher Kelly Higbie picked up the win, striking out five. Guilliams was two-for-three for the Maroons with a run scored while Sutherland had two hits a run and a RBI.
Bryant suffered the loss, allowing one earned run on eight hits with two strikeouts.
The Wasps will face the loser of the #1 Virginia Wesleyan College-#4 Randolph-Macon College contest in an elimination game on Saturday morning at 9:00 a.m.
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-photo courtesy of Joe Matthews, E&H SID