Courtesy of Emory Athletics
Freshman pitcher Brittany File fires a pitch toward home plate. She picked up two wins, making her record 10-4, this week, giving up only one earned run over 12 innings. The Eagles are now 35-6 overall, 5-3 in University Athletic Association (UAA) play.
The softball team had an impressive weekend, sweeping both Covenant College and Piedmont College en route to extending their winning streak to seven games. The Eagles, ranked No. 16 in the nation, now stand at 35-6 on the season.
Emory got off to quick start in the first game against Covenant on Tuesday, scoring three runs in the bottom of the first inning. Senior outfielder Ally Kersthold worked a leadoff walk and scored on senior second baseman Claire Bailey’s double. Senior first baseman Megan Light followed with another double, knocking in Bailey and eventually scoring on sophomore catcher Melody Carter’s one-out single.
Senior outfielder Lauren Gorodetsky almost singlehandedly extended the lead to 4-0 in the bottom of the second, tripling and scoring on a ground-out from sophomore outfielder Cortney Sugihara.
The lead stayed at 4-0 until the bottom of the fifth, when Light knocked in Bailey on a no-out homer to right. Covenant cut the lead to 6-2 in the top of the sixth, but that was the closest they would get for the rest of the game. Light hit a three-run homer run in the bottom of the sixth to make the final score 9-2.
Light started out hot in the second game of the day as well, doubling home Kersthold in the first to put the Eagles up by a run. Emory pulled away in the bottom of the third, scoring three runs on a pair of singles and an error. Convenant doubled home a run in the bottom of the fourth, but they would get no closer; Light and junior catcher Micah Scharff knocked in a pair of runs en route to another Eagles blowout, this one by a score of 9-1.
The Eagles had a tougher matchup on Wednesday again sixth-ranked Piedmont College, but once again jumped out to a quick lead on a three-run double from freshman first baseman Tara Fallahee.
Emory extended their lead to 5-0 in the fifth on a pair of RBI singles from junior shortstop Moira Sullivan and sophomore outfielder Alyssa Pollard and never looked back, racing to a 7-0 victory in the opening game of the doubleheader.
The nightcap was the Eagles’ only close game of the week. The team managed just four hits for the entire game, but the game remained scoreless until the bottom of the sixth, when Bailey led off by getting hit by a pitch and advanced to third on an error and a walk. With the bases loaded, Scharff singled to knock in the game’s first run, and Gorodetsky followed with a sacrifice fly two batters later. The Eagles surrendered a homer run in the top of the seventh, but senior Amanda Kardys retired three batters in a row to earn a 2-1 win, their fourth victory of the week.
The Eagles will take the field next on Sunday when they host Middle Georgia State College for a doubleheader.
– By Ryan Smith
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