The baseball team continued its strong start to the season with a 10-4 home win over LaGrange College on Wednesday.
The team responded well despite falling behind by two runs in the top of the first inning, and won their fifth game out of the last six. The Eagles now stand at 6-2 on the young season.
Senior Ben Hinojosa started the game for the Eagles, his first game back after missing the entirety of the 2013 season with an injury. Hinojosa initially displayed a bit of rust to begin the game, allowing two early runs, but recovered strongly and proceeded to retire the next nine batters, all while not recording a walk.
It didn't take long for Emory to erase the deficit, and by the end of the second inning, the score was level. Junior center fielder Wes Peacock provided the initial spark, knocking in a run on a sacrifice fly, before senior third baseman Ryan Toscano singled home another run.
Peacock then would give the Eagles the lead in the third inning, which they would not relinquish for the remainder of the game.
Freshman pitcher Jackson Weeg entered the game in the top of the fourth inning. Weeg pitced four innings, striking out five while allowing only five hits and a solitary run. Weeg earned the win for his performance, outdueling Tyler Brooks of LaGrange.
Each team scored a single run in the fourth inning, preceding a scoring explosion by Emory that would last for the fifth and sixth innings, scoring three runs in each. The runs in the fifth were scored on singles by senior catcher Jared Welch and freshman third baseman Philip Maldari, and Peacock also scored off of a LaGrange balk to extend the Eagles' lead further.
Senior left fielder Daniel Iturrey batted in another two runs in the sixth inning, and then scored himself after a poor pitch by LaGrange.
Seniors Robert Gross and Mike Bitanga finished out the game pitching for Emory, with Gross allowing a single run, and Bitanga earning the save.
Another individual highlight from the game was Senior Brandon Hannon continuing his stellar base-stealing, stealing twice against LaGrange. Hannon has not been caught by the opposing team the last 26 times he has attempted to take a base.
The six-run victory saw Emory score 10 runs with great efficiency, as they did not hit a triple or home run the entire game.
The Eagles have been on a scoring binge as of late, scoring nine or more runs in all but one of their last five games, a 4-3 win against Piedmont. They scored a season-high 17 runs in a win over Pomona-Pizter (Calif.), and posted 11 runs twice against Cal Lutheran and Occidental College (Calif.)
Next up for the Eagles is a trip to Fayetteville, N.C., and a weekend doubleheader against Methodist University (N.C.).
– By Oliver Rockman
