In what proved to be a tough week due to injuries and inclement weather, the Emory baseball team played four games, winning two and losing two.
On Friday, Feb. 20, the Eagles traveled to Jackson, Miss. to take on the Millsaps College Majors.
Senior ace Connor Dillman started on the bump for the Eagles, and Millsaps got on the board first, putting up four runs in the bottom of the third innings. With two outs and the bases loaded, Millsaps junior outfielder Isaac Glenn singled to right center, scoring senior infielder Samuel Doucet. The next Majors batter, senior infielder Annon Etheridge singled to right field, scoring Glenn and senior infielder Keith Shumaker scored.
The Eagles got on the board in the top of the fifth, as junior infielder Dylan Eisner reached on a throwing error by the Millsaps shortstop to lead off the inning. After advancing on junior outfielder Chris Slivka’s groundout, Eisner stole third and scored when the Millsaps second baseman misplayed a groundball hit by junior infielder Jack Karras. Dillman left the game after the sixth, striking out five and allowing only three hits, but giving up four earned runs.
In the bottom of the seventh, the Eagles exploded for seven runs. Eisner started the rally off with a walk and scored when the next hitter, junior designated hitter Ben Vizvary, doubled to center field. With one out, sophomore Wilson Morgan, who was pinch-hitting for sophomore catcher Austen Maggin, singled to left field, scoring freshman Thomas Sprague who was pinch-running for Vizvary. Sophomore outfielder Cody Wetmore walked, advancing Morgan to second. After senior infielder Jordan Selbach struck out, senior outfielder Brett Lake reached on a fielding error by a Millsaps shortstop, loading the bases. With two outs, senior outfielder Wes Peacock doubled down the left-field line, scoring Morgan and Wetmore. The next batter, sophomore infielder Phil Maldari singled, scoring Lake and advancing Peacock to third. Maldari stole second and Peacock scored on the throw the second.
The Majors answered with one run in the bottom of the inning on a home run by Shumaker off Emory sophomore reliever Kyle Monk. Monk remained in the game, shutting the Eagles down in the seventh and eight and earning three strike outs en route to his second save of the season. The Millsaps pitchers gave up two earned runs, seven hits and struck out 10. The Eagles took advantage of the Majors’ three errors, which led to five unearned runs. The game came to an end with the Eagles winning 7-5.
“This is the time for younger players to step up and find their place,” Head Coach Mike Twardoski said.
Later that day, the Eagles faced the Webster College (Mo.) Gorloks. In a game that went down to the bottom of the last frame, the Eagles prevailed 5-4 on walkoff contact from Wetmore.
Junior pitcher Paul Merolla started on the mound for the Eagles. The Eagles started the scoring in the bottom of the first with a double from Lake that drove in junior infielder Jeff Ronpirin. The Eagles got one more in the bottom of the fourth when senior infielder Jordan Selbach reached on a fielder’s choice with the bases loaded that scored Vizvary from third. Merolla threw five scoreless innings before Webster finally got on the board in the top of the sixth with two runs when sophomore first Gorloks baseman Kyle Uhrich doubled to center field, driving in senior outfielder Charlie Gandolfi and sophomore outfielder Alec Bahnick, who had reached on a throwing error.
Eagles senior Michael Byman came in on relief for Merolla in the seventh and gave up two runs in the top of the eighth.
Down 4-2, the Eagles responded in the bottom of the inning with two runs of their own. Maldari started the inning with a single, and Wetmore followed with a home run to right field, knotting the score at four.
Sophomore Jackson Weeg pitched a scoreless ninth, putting the Eagles in position to break the tie in the bottom of the inning. Lake led off the inning with a single, but Peacock struck out and Maldari lined out centerfield, leaving the Eagles with only one more out to score before extra innings.
Wetmore hit a long fly ball, but Webster left fielder, Gandolfi, misjudged it and allowed it to drop. Lake scored, giving the Eagles a walkoff win.
Merolla pitched six innings, giving up three hits and one earned run and striking out six, but got no decision. Weeg, who pitched two scoreless innings and struck out three, got the win.
Josh Fleming got the loss for the Gorloks. At the plate, Lake went four-for-five with a double, Maldari added two hits and Wetmore drove in two, including the decisive one in the bottom of the ninth.
On Saturday, the Eagles took on the 25th ranked Rhodes College (Tenn.) Lynx. Sophomore Hans Hansen started for the Eagles. Rhodes got out ahead in the bottom of the third with one run off Hansen, and in the bottom of the fourth, the Lynx added three more runs. Rhodes’ Will Gietema led off the inning with a walk and Jackson Lourie singled to left field, driving him in. After four innings, Hansen’s day was done, relieved by sophomore left-hander Luke Emmett. Emmett pitched three innings, giving up one unearned run.
The Eagles struggled at the plate, mustering only four hits, all of which were singles. Despite the team’s hitting woes, Maldari continued to lock in at the plate, getting two.
“Phil works really hard, and we need him to fill in the middle of our lineup,” Lake said about Maldari.
On Tuesday, the Eagles took on the Oglethorpe University (Ga.) Stormy Petrel’s. Junior Tyler Sprague started on the mound for the Eagles, his first start in more than a year because of injury. Sprague struck out the leadoff hitter, but after giving up a double, a single, a two-run double and a single, he was replaced by Michael Byman after only getting one out. By the end of the half inning, the Eagles had given up three. In the bottom of the inning, Peacock walked and scored on a sac fly from Lake.
The Petrels added three more runs in the top of the second and one more in the top of the fifth bringing the score to 1-7, Oglethorpe.
Down five runs, the Eagles began to chip away at the Petrel’s lead. In the bottom of the fifth, the Eagles scored a run of their own on a single from infielder Ronpirin that drove in freshman catcher Mitch Kerner who singled to left.
In the bottom of the sixth, Vizvary led off with a walk and Maldari followed with a single. Morgan reached on a throwing error, scoring Vizvary. With two outs, Peacock singled to center, driving in Morgan and Maldari.
In the bottom of the eighth, Peacock walked, advanced to second on a wild pitch, stole third and scored when Ronpirin reached on a throwing error, narrowing the deficit to 7-6.
However, the Eagles failed to score in the bottom of the ninth and ultimately fell to the Petrel’s 7-6.
“We got down early and almost came back, but we just need to work on getting the lead in the beginning of the game,” Lake said.
The weather conditions did not help the fielders on either team and caused the Eagles too many errors, according to Twardoski.
“Our strength is pitching, and we need to get back to that,” Twardoski said.
Playing four games in five days was tough on the Eagles. The good news was that it gave younger players a chance to show what they’ve got, Twardoski said.
The Eagles, currently ranked third in the nation, will take on Methodist University (N.C) in a double header this Saturday at Chappell Park.
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