The baseball team took one game out of three against the Huntingdon College Hawks over the weekend, falling on Friday 5-1 and Saturday 14-7 before rebounding on Sunday with an 8-7 win.
The Eagles now stand at 6-4 on the season.
Sophomore right-handed pitcher Connor Dillman started Friday’s game, lasting seven innings and surrendering five runs on seven hits. Dillman walked three batters and struck out four.
The Hawks struck first in the bottom of the first inning on a one-out homer, but Dillman was able to navigate out of trouble and get out of the inning without any further damage.
A pair of walks and fielder’s choices allowed the Hawks to extend their lead to 3-0 in the bottom of the third.
A leadoff double in the sixth inning spurred another two-run burst that put the Eagles down 5-0.
Emory finally got on the scoreboard with a run in the top of the eighth inning.
Junior right fielder Brandon Hannon drew a one-out walk and scored when junior catcher Jared Welch was hit by a pitch.
Junior third basemen Ryan Toscano led off the ninth inning with a single, but the Eagles were unable to bring him in.
The Eagles could not solve Huntingdon starter Craig Brown, who pitched seven shutout innings for the win.
Dillman fell to 0-1 on the season. He still only surrendered seven hits on the night, the same amount that Emory got off Brown.
Hannon, Toscano and sophomore first baseman Jordan Selbach all led the Eagles with two hits on the day.
The teams returned to Emory’s home park for the second game of the series, where freshman right-handed pitcher Paul Merolla got the start for the Eagles.
Merolla gave up eight runs (six earned) in four and two-thirds innings of work. He walked three batters and struck out two.
The Hawks struck early in a sloppy first inning where the Eagles committed two errors and let in three runs. Huntingdon added another run to make the score 4-0 in the top of the third.
Emory bounced back with two runs on four hits in the bottom of the inning. Toscano led things off with a single to right field, and advanced to second base on a single from freshman second baseman Dylan Eisner.
The Eagles loaded the bases on a single from sophomore center fielder Wes Peacock, then scored two on a Hannon single to pull within two runs.
After a scoreless fourth inning, Huntingdon broke the game open in the top of the fifth with six runs on just three hits.
The Hawks took a 10-2 lead that we would not relinquish for the rest of the game.
Emory would score a run in each of the remaining innings, but the Eagles were unable to get closer than a seven-run deficit. Merolla took the loss and fell to 1-1 on the year.
Peacock and Hannon had three hits apiece for the Eagles, while Toscano and Eisner each scored two runs.
The Eagles finally came out on top on Sunday behind the pitching prowess of freshman right-handed pitcher Tyler Sprague.
Sprague scattered seven hits and two earned runs over seven innings to earn the victory and move to a perfect 3-0 on the season.
After a scoreless inning, Emory struck first in the bottom of the second on a sacrifice fly from senior second baseman Mark Lindemann to score junior shortstop Jared Kahn.
The Eagles extended their lead to 2-0 in the bottom of the fifth when Peacock worked a walk, stole second, and was knocked in on a single from Welch.
Huntingdon threatened in the top of the sixth and cut the lead to 2-1, but Emory responded with a mammoth bottom of the inning where they scored six runs on six hits.
Kahn led off with a bunt single, stole second and then was brought home by a Toscano single and a Lindemann walk.
A single from junior left fielder Daniel Iturrey scored another run, while a wild pitch and Peacock single knocked in another pair. A Welch double knocked in the last two runs of the inning.
The Hawks rallied in the bottom of the ninth and cut the lead to 8-7, but sophomore right-handed relief pitcher Graham Bloomsmith managed to get the last out for his first save of the season.
The Eagles will play their last nonconference game of the season before University Athletic Association (UAA) play when they visit Birmingham Southern College on Wednesday, March 6 at 7 p.m.
– By Ryan Smith
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