The Emory baseball team triumphed in three out of four games in a weekend series against the Washington University in St. Louis (Mo.) Bears. With the weekend’s results, Emory advanced to a 13-14 overall record and a 4-4 record in University Athletic Association (UAA) competition.
Emory initiated the home series with a 6-3 victory on April 6. Both teams found the scoreboard early, tallying one run a piece in the first inning. The game remained tied at one until Emory built a three-run lead at the bottom of the fourth.
Sophomore third baseman Christopher Stern smacked a leadoff homerun over the left field wall to begin the inning. With three more hits and two WashU errors, Emory added two more runs to grab a 4-1 advantage.
The Eagles maintained the lead for the remainder of the game. Sophomore starting pitcher Richard Brereton supplied the win, pitching seven innings and allowing one run on five hits, four walks and nine strikeouts.
In the second game of the series, Emory survived a late charge from WashU to win the game 8-6. The Eagles amassed a four-run lead in the first inning after WashU hit a batter with the bases loaded, junior left fielder Michael Wilson notched a two-run single and junior catcher Eric Terry stole home.
Building a 6-1 lead, Emory kept the WashU offense quiet until the top of the eighth inning. After seven innings of lights-out pitching, freshman starting pitcher Jack Moore left the game after the Bears loaded the bases with one out in the inning. Moore closed his performance at seven and a third innings, allowing four runs on six hits, five walks and four strikeouts.
WashU tacked on four runs in the top of the eighth, just one run away from tying the game. To answer, senior first baseman Bubby Terp brought home two runs with a double down the left field line.
Terp noted that the team worked on fixing their approaches at the plate, leading to better at-bats with runners in scoring position.
“Our approaches at the plate have led to better situational hitting,” Terp said. “We are a young team, so the more at-bats our guys are getting, the better they feel when they go up to hit.”
Emory allowed one more run in the top of the ninth, but held on to win the game 8-6.
Heading into the final day of the weekend series, WashU topped Emory 11-7 in the first game of a daytime doubleheader on April 8. The Bears dominated the pitch in each of the first five innings and accumulated a 7-4 margin.
The Eagles inched within one run of the WashU lead in the bottom of the sixth with a two-run inning. WashU responded and tallied four more runs in the final three innings. Emory failed to overcome the five-run margin, rounding out the match 11-7.
Contrary to the first game of the doubleheader, Emory shut out WashU, wrapping up the weekend series with a 4-0 victory.
Senior pitcher Mack Wilkins and freshman pitcher Christian Bradley together completed Emory’s shutout, allowing four hits, four walks and eight strikeouts.
Emory jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the first inning on RBIs from Terp and Terry. Plagued by errors in the bottom of the fourth, WashU gave up two unearned runs and fell behind the Eagles 4-0. The Eagles cruised to the end of the game, maintaining the 4-0 lead.
Head Coach Mike Twardoski said WashU hurt themselves throughout the series by committing 14 errors in the series.
“Historically WashU is a good team, but this time around they made a lot of mistakes, especially errors,” Twardoski said. “Still, we got timely hits and played well enough to win three out of four against a conference opponent.”
Terp said the team performed better offensively compared to the previous week and saw action from up and down the lineup.
“Our team was able to put together a solid, consistent series hitting the baseball,” Terp said. “We had a lot of guys contribute and put the ball in play, forcing [WashU] to make some plays.”
In a non-conference game on April 10, Emory lost to Oglethorpe College (Ga.) 6-2. The game was tied at two until the bottom of the seventh inning, when Oglethorpe tacked on four runs.
The Eagles will host Brandeis University (Mass.) on April 13-15 in a four-game series.
Eagles Best Bears: 4 Games, 3 Wins, 27 Runs
Senior pitcher Mack Wilkins winds up the ball for Washington University in St. Louis (Mo.) in the second match of a doubleheader on April 8. The Eagles redeemed their initial loss that day with a 4-0 shutout. Sarah Taha/Staff
