EMORY, Va. – The Emory & Henry College Softball Team (12-16, 5-3 ODAC) picked up a pair of Old Dominion Athletic Conference victories over visiting Bridgewater College (6-18, 1-5 ODAC) Sunday afternoon at home. The Wasps took the opener by a 12-9 score and closed the day out with an 8-2 win in the nightcap.
Game One – Emory & Henry 12, Bridgewater 9
The Eagles opened the game with four runs in the top of the first. A single up the middle by Brooke Throckmorton provided two runs as BC took advantage of four hits, a walk and a hit batsman.
Emory & Henry answered in the bottom half to go up 5-4. Sophomore third baseman Ragan Halsey (Hillsville, Va.) tagged a two-run homer to left field. It was Halsey's first career round-tripper. Seniors Hannah Bays (Abingdon, Va.) and Taylor Doss (Damascus, Va.) also had run-scoring base hits.
Bridgewater went back up after scoring two runs in the second, but four runs by the Wasps in the bottom of the third made the score 9-6. E&H had two hits in the inning and the Eagles provided assistance via two errors, two walks and three wild pitches.
In the fifth, Emory & Henry scored two more on a double to right center by sophomore designated player Caley Hodge (Elizabethton, Tenn.) to push its advantage to 11-6. The Eagles got two runs in the sixth to make it 11-8.
In the bottom of the sixth, a single up the middle by sophomore left fielder Danielle Loving (Elizabethton, Tenn.) capped the scoring for the Wasps. BC loaded the bases in the top of the seventh and scored once, but the E&H defense held for the final 12-9 score.
Halsey and Loving drove in two runs and scored once each with their two hits while Doss and Bays each scored twice. Senior right-hander Taylor Banner (Castlewood, Va.) picked up the win, scattering four earned runs and nine hits over five innings of work. Senior Kaitlyn Pruitt (Abingdon, Va.) earned her second save of the season finishing the final four outs of the game.
BC's offense was led by Victoria Gontarz as she went five-for-five with two runs scored. Throckmorton drove in three on her two hits and scored once. Brianna Cox suffered the loss, allowing nine runs on six hits, three walks and seven wild pitches.
Game Two – Emory & Henry 8, Bridgewater 2
E&H broke open a 0-0 game, scoring four runs in the bottom of the third. Loving got things started with a two-out single up the middle and who batters later, Hodge blasted a three-run shot to centerfield.
In the top of the fourth, the Eagles cut the lead in half with a pair of runs. Allison Patrick and Hannah Nyquist provided the bats as Bridgewater drew the margin to 4-2. The E&H defense forced BC to leave the bases loaded, preventing any further damage.
The Wasps responded with four runs in their half of the fourth. Sophomore center fielder Leah Elswick (Raven, Va.), Loving and Hodge each had RBI base hits in the stanza to make the score 8-2.
Emory & Henry had an opportunity in the sixth to end the game via the Eight-Run Advantage Rule, but stranded a pair of runners. A three-up, three-down seventh sealed the deal for the Wasps to complete the sweep.
Hodge had two hits, four RBI and scored a run while Loving drove in two and scored twice on two hits. Sophomore left fielder Jordan Whitcomb (Rocky Mount, Va.) added a run on two hits while Elswick scored once and drove in one on her two hits. Junior Riley Pudney (Beech Mountain, N.C.) earned the win in the circle, scattering six hits and four walks over four innings, allowing just two runs. Banner came in to pitch the final three innings, allowing just one hit and a hit batsman to pick up her first save of the year.
Lindsey Talley had two hits to lead the Eagles, who managed just seven base knocks in the nightcap. Carolyn Campbell suffered the loss, allowing eight runs on eight hits and a walk in 3.2 innings of work.
Emory & Henry will take to the road for its next two doubleheaders. The Wasps will travel to face the Maroons of Roanoke College on Wednesday at 5:00 p.m.
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-photo courtesy of Caleb Johnston, E&H '15