NORTH MYRTLE BEACH, S.C. – The Emory & Henry College Softball Team (3-9) lost its first two games in the Fastpitch Dreams Spring Classic on Monday. It marks the first time since the 2013 season that the Wasps have fallen during their Spring Break trip. Lycoming College (1-0) claimed a 3-2 win over E&H in the first game of the day while Medaille College (3-1) earned a 12-10 victory in game two.
Game One – Lycoming 3, Emory & Henry 2
The Wasps manufactured a run in the top of the first with a leadoff walk, a pair of groundouts and a passed ball.
Lycoming took a 2-1 lead after scoring two runs in the sixth. Rachel Shady drove in a run with a single up the middle and scored three batters later on a fielder's choice.
Down to their final three outs, Emory & Henry tied things up in the seventh. With sophomore left fielder Danielle Loving (Elizabethton, Tenn.) on second base, a single up the middle by senior Hannah Bays (Abingdon, Va.) knotted the score at 2-2.
The Warriors got the winning run in the bottom of the seventh as Ashley Schoenstadt plated Chelsey Poorman with a single to right field.
Schoenstadt had a pair of hits, a run and a RBI while Shady scored once with a run and a RBI. Shady earned the win in the circle, taking a no-hitter into the seventh while striking out five.
Bays got the only hit of the game for the Wasps and added a RBI. Senior Kaitlyn Pruitt (Abingdon, Va.) struck out five in 5.1 innings of work for a no decision.
Game Two – Medaille 12, Emory & Henry 10
The Wasps and Mavericks battled through five ties and three lead changes over the course of the contest as they combined for 22 runs on 27 hits and 12 walks.
Emory & Henry's first big inning came in the second when they scored three runs on five hits to tie the game, 4-4. The Wasps went up 7-5 in the fourth on a two-run home run by sophomore third baseman Caley Hodge (Elizabethton, Tenn.).
Down by a 10-7 score in the top of the sixth, Emory & Henry got three runs thanks to a single up the middle by Loving and a two-run home run by sophomore Leah Elswick (Raven, Va.) to tie the game at 10-all.
The game would be decided on a walk-off home run down the left field line by Mercedes Sulzbach to give Medaille a 12-10 victory.
Sulzbach went three-for-four with two RBI and three runs scored while Megan Owens had two hits, four RBI and two runs scored. Amanda Mesi earned the win in relief, allowing five runs on nine hits in four innings pitched.
Senior first baseman Taylor Doss (Damascus, Va.) led the way with four hits, scoring two runs while junior second baseman Riley Pudney (Beech Mountain, N.C.) had three hits, two RBI and a run scored. Hodge plated three on two hits while sophomore left fielder Jordan Whitcomb (Rocky Mount, Va.) had two hits and two RBI. The Wasps sent three pitchers to the circle, but the damage was done early in the game as four of the Mavericks' first eight runs were unearned.
Emory & Henry will be back in action on Tuesday afternoon in the Fastpitch Dreams Spring Classic. The Wasps will play the Penn College Wildcats at 3:30 p.m., and will face off against the Cougars of Chatham University at 5:30 p.m. Both games will take place at North Myrtle Beach Central Park Field 1.
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-photo courtesy of Caleb Johnston, E&H '15