Junior infielder Hannah Sendel prepares to bat. Sendel and the Eagles won the University Athletic Association (UAA) Championship this past weekend, sharing the win with Washington University in St. Louis. | Courtesy of Emory Athletics
This past weekend, the Emory softball team won the University Athletic Association (UAA) Championship title in Altamonte Springs (Fla.), sharing the win with Washington University in St. Louis as a tie.
The action started last Friday, March 13, against New York University (NYU) and Case Western Reserve University (Ohio).
Emory started the NYU match strong, racking in seven runs in the first inning, including a two-run single by senior Brianna Berceau and finished with freshman Gracie Taber’s grand slam, who also added a two-run double in the fifth inning. Sophomores Taylor Forte and Tara Fallahee and junior Hannah Sendel each added one run. Freshman Janelle Turnquest ran in two runs, and freshman Ashley Powers and senior Brianna Berceau both contributed three runs.
Taber, in addition to her three runs, also had six RBIs and one home run. Berceau added three RBIs and stole one base. Freshman pitcher Audrey Weller pitched the first three innings, notching her first collegiate win with two strikeouts. After five innings, the game stood at 14 to one, Emory capturing the win.
In the next game, against Case Western, Emory again ended up on top, defeating the Spartans 13 to three. The game started slow with no runs from either team in the first two innings. At the top of the third, both Sendel and Fallahee hit home runs and, along with Forte’s run, Emory led the game by four.
After two more home runs in the fourth inning by Sendel and Taber, the Eagles were ahead eight to two. The Spartans were only able to make one more run in the bottom of the fifth, leaving the score 10 to three going into the last inning. With another homer from Sendel, Emory won the game after six innings.
Sophomore Brittany File and Weller shared the time on the mound, with two and four innings played, respectively. Sendel ended the game with four runs, three home runs and five RBIs, notching an Emory school record for her homers. Now, she claims 30 career home runs, the second most on the program’s all-time chart. Taber, along with her home run, added three RBIs, and Fallahee added one RBI to go with her home run.
“We have lots of confidence going into each game,” Forte said. “We have been successful because for each new game, someone new steps up.”
On Saturday, Emory faced Washington. Emory started strong, notching in two runs by senior Micah Scharff in the first and third innings. Freshman Raygan Greer scored for Emory at the top of the fifth, followed by a sacrifice fly from Powers that allowed Fallahee to score.
Washington made its first run in the bottom of the fifth inning and added two more in the sixth.
At the top of the seventh, another sacrifice fly from Scharff scored freshman Kelsey Alexander, and with three more runs, Emory was up by six. Washington scored two more, ending the game with an Emory win, nine to five.
Fallahee and sophomore Amy Wray each had two RBIs, Scharff and Powers recording one each themselves. Junior Sydney Carpenter saw six innings on the mound, with three strikeouts.
In Emory’s next game, the Eagles defeated Brandeis University (Mass.) five to four after eight innings. Sendel started the game strong with a homer in the bottom of the first.
The game remained uneventful until the bottom of the fourth with a homer from Powers, and two runs from Greer and junior Melody Carter.
At the top of the sixth, Brandeis started to score for the first time in the game, adding six to their lead with a homer from freshman Madison Hunter.
With no runs in the seventh, the game was tied four to four. Brandeis made no runs at the top of the eighth, but an RBI by Powers allowing sophomore Amy Wray to cross the plate, winning the game for Emory.
On Sunday, the Eagles faced their last game in the UAA Championships against the University of Rochester (N.Y.).
In the bottom of the first, two runs by junior Alyssa Pollard and Scharff started Emory out strong. Rochester tied the score with two home runs in the second and fourth innings.
“Whether we win or lose the game before, we always go into the next game believing that if we all do our job we can win,” Fallahee wrote in an email to the Wheel. “When everybody on the team does their part, whether it be pitching, defense, hitting, or cheering, we know that we can compete with anybody in the country.”
With no runs at the top of the fifth by Rochester, Emory exploded with eight runs at the bottom of the fifth. Sendel started the inning off with a run-producing double, followed by Wray’s hit that pushed Greer and Fallahee across the plate. Wray then came home along with Powers due to a Rochester error.
A homer from Scharff sent Pollard and Carter home, notching the game’s end 10 to two.
Carpenter pitched all five innings as Scharff led with three runs and three RBIs.
“We still have half our season to go, and the goal remains the College World Series,” Forte added. “We beat Rochester, who went last year, so we know we could go this year.”
The win against Rochester locked the UAA win, which Emory shares with Washington.
The number eight-ranked Eagles have won the UAA Championships for the past six seasons, and close their conference season 8-2.
Emory will return to action March 21, hosting Fontbonne University (Mo.).
Managing Editor | Elana Cates is a College senior from San Diego, California, majoring in English and History. She joined the Wheel's Editorial Board her sophomore year as sports editor. In addition to the Wheel, Elana is also a member of the Kappa Kappa Gamma sorority and a vice president of the Student Alumni Board.
