The No. 2-ranked softball team continued its eight-game winning streak this weekend during a double-header against Maryville College (Tenn.).
The Eagles won the first game by a score of 3-1 and the second game 7-2. Both games were played last Saturday at Maryville.

During the first game, senior captain Bridget Holloway pitched a complete game on her way to a win. She did not allow any walks and struck out seven batters over the course of the game.

“I am proud of my pitching performances because I feel that a successful performance shows how hard I have been working and also how far I have come as an athlete,” Holloway said. “Warming up, I focus on what my body is doing and feeling. But once the game is started, the only thing I am focusing on is putting all of my energy into each pitch.”

Freshman Moira Sullivan scored the team’s first run, and went two-for-three at the plate in the first game.

Emory’s second run came on a “squeeze play,” in which sophomore outfielder Lauren Gorodetsky took off for home and scored on a bunt off the bat of junior third baseman Dana Goodenough.

Junior third baseman Meaghan Schultz hit a home run to end the game 3-1.
During the second game, Maryville held the Eagles scoreless until the fifth inning, when freshman Ellen Shapiro went two-for-three with a triple hit.

“That play gave the team the momentum we needed and the team scored from there,” freshman Brooke Healey said.

Maryville scored two runs in the fifth inning, and Emory countered with two runs in the top of the sixth inning thanks to a double by Goodenough that scored Shapiro and sophomore Megan Light.

Gorodetsky scored an inside-the-park home run in the seventh inning to close out the game.

The inside-the-park home run is a rare feat at any level of softball.
“She is so insanely fast, and I don’t think the other team expected her to try for home,” senior captain Jessica Boni said. “Teams can hit it out anytime, but it is awesome to see someone get a home run without hitting it out.”

Senior Captain Jessica Thomas followed Gorodetsky’s inside-the-park home run with a home run of her own.

Sophomore Amanda Kardys pitched a successful last two innings of the second game, wrapping up the second game with a 7-2 decision.

The Eagles finished with a total of 10 hits in the second game and eight in
the first.

“During the games, we struggled to string our hits together and produce runs,” Gorodetsky said. “But we knew that we were the better team and found a way to manufacture the runs.”

The team now has an overall record of 29-3.

“I still don’t think that we’ve peaked yet,” Healey said. “We’re gradually getting better and better each week, so hopefully we’ll peak at regionals.”
The Eagles will return to action today against Piedmont College at 2 p.m.

— Contact Katherine Wilson.