The Emory men’s baseball team earned its second-straight victory Tuesday night, after beating Maryville College (Tenn.) by a score of 8-5.
The win broke a seven-game losing streak against the Scots, which dated back to the 2009 season. Led by Head Coach Mike Twardoski, the Eagles entered the game with a 4-2 record on the season.
“The team played very well,” freshman right-handed starting pitcher Tyler Sprague said. “Together as a whole, we were able to get the win. No player on the team had ever beat Maryville during their Emory career, and that ended last night. The team came together and did everything we had to do to seal the win. Everyone did their job, and made things happen when we had to.”
Maryville wasted no time getting on the scoreboard and jumped out to an early 2-0 leading after hitting a single and a double to get men on base.
“We had some problems fielding yesterday that led to giving up runs,” sophomore designated hitter Brett Lake said. “But our timely hitting proved to be enough to win the game. Wes Peacock had a great game at the plate for us and drove in some important runs.”
The Scots did not hold on to that two-run lead for long, as the Eagles were quick to respond in the second inning.
Sophomore center fielder Wes Peacock started off for the Eagles with a triple to get on base and then scored on the following play to cut the Scots’ lead in half.
The Eagles then loaded up the bases after hitting two singles and drawing a walk with Lake up to bat. Lake hit a single to drive in two runs and take the lead in the 3-2 game. Junior left fielder Daniel Itturrey then hit an RBI single down the left field line to give the Eagles a 4-2 lead.
Emory would extend its lead with runs in both the fifth and seventh innings.
The Eagles made it a 5-2 game in the fifth inning after junior catcher Jared Welch hit a single to right field that scored Lake, who started off the inning with a double to right center. In the seventh inning, Peacock got on base early in the frame with a single and then scored on a fly ball.
Maryville would cut the lead to two and make it a 6-4 game in the bottom of the seventh inning, but that was as close as they would get to Emory’s lead.
The Eagles secured their victory by scoring two more runs in the bottom of the eighth inning to finish off their fifth win of the season.
Sprague started on the mound for the Eagles for the second time this season.
The freshman pitcher had another solid outing where he allowed four runs, three of which were earned and struck out seven batters in the seven innings pitched.
With the win, Sprague improved his record to 2-0 on the 2013 season.
“I started out a bit shaky yesterday after giving up two hits and two runs in the first inning,” Sprague said. “But after that, I was able to settle in and get a good feel for the mound and my pitches. I was confident that with the defense behind me, I could make pitches that would lead to either a ground ball or fly ball and that every play would be made.”
Junior right-handed pitcher Matt McMahon relieved Sprague in the seventh to finish the final two innings for the Eagles.
McMahon gave up one run and struck out two of the nine batters he faced.
Lake finished three for three at the plate with three runs batted in, while Peacock finished three for four at the plate with a run batted in and two runs scored.
Junior short-stop Jared Kahn and Hannon have both hit safely in the Eagles’ last four games. The two are tied for the team’s longest active hitting streak. The Eagles are 3-0 in the games where a freshman pitcher has started.
The Eagles are now 4-0 on the season for road games and have a mark of 1-2 at home. The Eagles are batting a team average of .306, and have scored 53 runs in the first seven games of the season.
Emory’s pitching staff has a combined 3.66 earned run average, and has held the opponents to a .251 batting average thus far this season.
The Emory men’s baseball team will return to the diamond this weekend when they head to Huntingdon College (Ala.) for a three-game weekend series. The first of the three games will take place at 6 p.m. on Friday, which will be followed by games at Emory on Saturday and Sunday.
– By Brian Chavkin
The Emory Wheel was founded in 1919 and is currently the only independent, student-run newspaper of Emory University. The Wheel publishes weekly on Wednesdays during the academic year, except during University holidays and scheduled publication intermissions.
The Wheel is financially and editorially independent from the University. All of its content is generated by the Wheel’s more than 100 student staff members and contributing writers, and its printing costs are covered by profits from self-generated advertising sales.
