Continuing its season of dominance, the No. 2 softball team swept its weekend doubleheader against Berry College. The Eagles extended their winning streak to seven games and have now won eight of their last nine games. The two wins improved the team’s record to 34-2-1.

Emory won the first game 5-4 in eight innings and followed with a 10-6 victory that afternoon.

The first game was a seesaw affair that went into extra innings. Emory prevailed in the eighth inning after an RBI single by senior outfielder Brittany Boeshore scored junior outfielder Jessica Thomas for the game-winning run. Workhorse freshman starter Lena Brottman pitched the duration of the game for her latest complete game effort, surrendering three earned runs off of seven hits., She struck out seven and walked three in eight innings of work.

“We knew Berry is a tough team,” Brottman said. “I focused one pitch at a time, and it was a great game throughout. Our offense made adjustments, and we ended up with some clutch runs late in the game.”

Boeshore, the team’s captain, credited her teammates for their hard-fought win in the first game.

“We struggled a little in the first game, but we never gave up,” she said. “Our team fought until the very last out of the game.”

In the fourth inning, the Eagles struck first behind a two-out run-scoring triple from freshman first baseman Megan Light, which drove home freshman infielder Sophia Tarte.

Emory added two more runs to its lead in the fifth inning to bring the score to 3-0, but the Vikings were able to knot up the score at three in the bottom of the inning. Berry’s cleanup hitter Lacey Herring lined a double that cleared the bases for three runs. The Eagles reclaimed a one-run lead in the seventh off of a pinch-hit single by senior catcher Zara Louy.

“She [Louy] has been out for so long due to injuries,” Boeshore said. “She made a huge comeback.”

However, Berry’s Herring struck again in the bottom of the seventh with another game-tying RBI double. This forced the game into extra innings, but Boeshore’s heroics in the eight inning put the team ahead at 5-4. The Vikings would not regain the lead.

The Emory offense piled on 13 hits in the game, but Berry starter Caillee Shamoun was able to escape multiple jams throughout the game.

Brottman prevailed in the pitcher’s duel, though, and was able to finish the game and stifle a Berry team that had been able to mount rallies all game long. The win improves Brottman’s record on the season to a sterling 14-1.

“Getting those last three outs in the eighth inning was tough,” Brottman said. “It was a relief to seal the deal.”

The Eagles’ offense was much more potent in the second game, as it lit up Berry starter Andrea Cole for 10 runs off of 14 hits and five walks. Cole almost began the game with a clean inning in the first, retiring the first two batters without a hitch, but the Eagles were able to post three two-out runs onto the board.

Singles by Tarte and Light put runners on first and second. Thomas, who went 3-for-5 with four RBIs and three runs in the second game, lined an RBI double to score Tarte. Junior Jessica Boni followed with a double of her own, driving in two.

Emory led 5-2 after the third inning due to a two-run home run by Thomas, her team-leading ninth homer of the year.

Two Viking runs in the bottom of the fifth brought Berry within a run, but thanks to some timely hitting in the sixth inning, Emory was able to blow the game open. Light, Thomas and sophomore third baseman Dana Goodenough strung together three RBI singles, and Boeshore contributed an RBI sacrifice bunt. The four-run sixth inning put the Eagles ahead for good.

On the mound, junior Jaclyn Jacobi threw two 2/3 innings of relief to earn her third win of the campaign. Jacobi gave up four hits and two unearned runs in relief of sophomore starter Jamie Melson.

Though the Eagles’ regular season is coming to a close with only three doubleheaders left on the schedule, the team sees no reason to relax yet.

“Just because we have a winning record and are ranked nationally doesn’t mean we will make it to regionals,” Boeshore said. “With our regular season winding down, every game counts to us.”

The softball team travels to Piedmont College on Thursday for a doubleheader beginning at 1 p.m.

— Contact Vincent Xu.