With the end of the regular season fast approaching, the baseball team split a home weekend series with the Methodist University (N.C.) Monarchs, winning the first game 3-1 on Saturday before falling on Sunday, 10-6.
The Eagles now stand at 20-15 on the season.
Emory sent out freshman right-handed pitcher Paul Merolla for the Saturday game.
Merolla pitched a gem, allowing just three hits and one run over eight innings. He walked three and struck out three.
The Eagles, however, failed to get anything going at the plate early on. Despite threatening with a couple of hits in the bottom of the second innings, the game remained scoreless until the sixth.
It was the Monarchs that struck first, getting their only run of the day on a pair of singles and a sacrifice bunt and claiming a slim 1-0 lead.
Emory managed a hit in both the sixth and seventh innings but failed to bring a runner across the plate until the bottom of the eighth. Junior shortstop Jared Kahn got on with a one-out single, and advanced to second after junior left fielder Daniel Iturrey walked.
After an infield fly, freshman designated hitter Chris Slivka delivered with an RBI single that scored Kahn. The Eagles two-out rally continued after freshman first baseman Ben Vizvary doubled to left field, knocking in both runners and giving the team a 3-1 advantage.
The advantage was more than enough for sophomore right-handed pitcher Graham Bloomsmith, who entered in relief of Merolla and promptly struck out the side. Bloomsmith earned the save, his fourth of the season, while Merolla got the win and ran his record to 5-1.
Vizvary and Iturrey both had two hits for the Eagles. Vizvary also led the team with a pair of RBIs.
The Eagles were in for a much higher-scoring contest on Sunday. Freshman right-handed pitcher Tyler Sprague got the start and surrendered seven runs off 10 hits in four innings.
Runs came early and often. The Monarchs opened with game with a pair of runs in the top of the first inning, but the Eagles were quick to respond.
Kahn led off the bottom of the inning with a triple and came home on a sacrifice fly from junior right fielder Brandon Hannon. Iturrey took advantage of some sloppy Methodist play, reaching on an error and moving to third on a wild pitch. Junior catcher Jared Welch worked a walk before sophomore center fielder Wes Peacock reached on a error, scoring Iturrey.
Vizvary ended the onslaught with a single to knock in Welch and give the Eagles a 4-2 lead.
It would not last long. Methodist added three runs in the second to retake the lead at 5-4, but Emory answered in the bottom of the inning when Kahn doubled and scored on a pickoff attempt to knot the game at 5 runs apiece.
Peacock led off the third with a single and eventually scored on a sacrifice fly from sophomore third baseman Warren Kember to give the Eagles the lead, but it was the last run they would score in the game. The Eagles went cold against Methodist junior reliever Michael Judge, who closed the game out with six scoreless innings.
The Monarchs reclaimed the lead, 7-6 with two runs in the fourth inning and added three in the sixth to pull away for a 10-6 victory. Sprague got the loss and fell to 3-5 on the season.
The Eagles have just one series left in the regular season – a trio of games against Piedmont College. The first will be on the road this Friday at 7 p.m. before the teams return to Chappell Park on Saturday and Sunday at 3 p.m.
– By Ryan Smith
Photo by Lauren Arsenault
