The Emory baseball team split this week, winning against DePauw University (Ind.) at home on Tuesday, March 24, but losing to Berry College (Ga.) away on Wednesday.
“Certainly in both games, we weren’t playing good baseball,” Head Coach Mike Twardoski said. “We weren’t hitting the ball well and we weren’t making plays in the field.”
Tuesday afternoon was the Eagles’ game through and through. Improving their record to 13-8, the No. 26-ranked Emory bested DePauw 4-1. Sophomore pitcher Luke Emmett earned the win on Tuesday, improving his record to 1-0.
Senior infielder Jordan Selbach and outfielder Wes Peacock, and junior infielders Dylan Eisner and Ben Vizvary each contributed one run for the Eagles. Vizvary’s two RBI-double put the Eagles ahead at 3-0 by the end of the sixth inning.
“It was good to come out after losing three games in a row,” senior captain Brett Lake said. “It was great to come back from those loses in such a strong way.”
He added that the team had great energy throughout the game. Lake was impressed by the players on the bench as well, saying that they had that same energy.
Sophomore pitcher Kyle Monk and Emmett turned out impressive performances on Tuesday.Emmett’s second career start for the Eagles was characterized by consistency. Needing 87 pitches to complete his outing, Emmett struck out four batters, walked one and was responsible for 18 groundouts in the contest.
“Luke [Emmett] pitched incredibly,” Lake said. “His pitching was awesome and he really came out strong for the win, it was amazing [what] he was able to do.”
Monk entered the game at the top of the eighth inning and didn’t give up a single run, earning a save, the 13th of his career and sixth of the season. This ranked him as the third most in Emory baseball’s history, only five points away from the program’s record.
The Eagles faced traveled to Berry on Wednesday, and fell to the Berry Vikings 9-2. With the loss, Emory’s record fell 13-9 in the season; the Vikings improved 14-0 -1.
“We knew we were pitching well, but we’re not going to win games until we start batting and making plays back up to the pitcher,”Twardoski said.
Peacock put Emory ahead by the top of the second, scoring on a double play but ,by the bottom of the second, the Vikings had scored a pair of runs against freshman pitcher Matt Randolph and closed the inning 2-1.
The Eagles came on strong at the top of the fourth with Peacock scoring a run off an RBI double from sophomore infielder Philip Maldari. Peacock made it to third from right field after an uncoordinated Berry defense was confused in the outfield.
Berry pushed past the Eagles at the bottom of the fourth inning scoring one run, but it was not until the bottom of the fifth in which Berry solidified the win over Emory, scoring three runs against the Eagles. The Vikings then scored one run again in the bottom of the sixth and then two more in the bottom of the ninth.
“It was a big display last night, we just didn’t play up to our standards against Berry,” Lake said.
Lake added that the Eagles usually play Berry twice a year, and in his four years on the team, Emory has only lost to them twice.
“That is not to say that they are untalented. They are certainly a talented and strong team,” he said.
Berry played nine different pitchers, one for each inning. Randolph took the loss 1-1 while Berry freshman pitcher Austin Loper, took the win.
The team is now preparing for this weekend’s triple-gamer at home, Lake said.
“We have a really talented team. Our pitching is definitely exceptional; Luke [Emmett] does some amazing stuff on the mound,” he said.
The team awaits new potential from the bench, like that from Emmett and Vizvary against DePauw, Lake added.
Lake said that the team is focused on capitalizing on the team’s pitching skill while also taking a look at the team’s fielding and hitting abilities.
“I would say our pitching is awesome, but the infield has been a problem and we need to work on hitting,” he said. “We have been playing a little scared. We need to attack the ball more.”
Emory will play the University of Chicago tomorrow (Saturday, March 28) and LaGrange College (Ga.) on Sunday. The Eagles will then face Birmingham-Southern College (Ala.) away on Tuesday.
“We have to bring more energy to the games,” Twardoski said. “Today we had a great practice, so I don’t know why we don’t have enough energy in our games.”
Baseball Wins at Home, Falls at Berry
Junior infielder Jack Karras swings at a pitch. Karras and the Eagles picked up a win at home against DePauw University (Ind.), but lost away at Berry College (Ga.). This Saturday Emory will face the University of Chicago at home. | Courtesy of Emory Athletics.
