The Eagles’ seniors shined at their senior day, sweeping Middle Georgia State College with two mercy rule victories and stretching their winning streak to nine games.
The team is now 35-6 on the season and clock in at 16th in the Division III national rankings. The weekend sweep continued the Eagles’ dominant season–Emory has now won 17 games this season by being up by at least eight runs after five innings of play.
The Eagles jumped off to a quick start with three runs in the bottom of the first inning, all coming home on a home run from sophomore third baseman Hannah Sendel. Senior first baseman Megan Light added another run in the bottom of the second with an RBI single that scored sophomore right fielder Alyssa Pollard.
Middle Georgia State countered with a run in the top of the fifth inning, but the Eagles scored five runs in the bottom of the fifth to extend their lead to 9-1, putting the game away.
Light had a fantastic game, going three for three with two runs and an RBI. Sendel and senior left fielder Ally Kersthold both contributed three RBIs.
The second game was another blowout, as the Eagles scored a pair of runs in the first two innings on a Sendel single and a Light double before exploding in the third inning with eight runs.
Junior catcher Micah Scharff led off with a double, followed by a pair of singles from freshman designated hitter Amy Wray and senior center fielder Lauren Gorodetsky to load the bases.
Junior shortstop Moira Sullivan followed with a double, knocking in all three runners. Sendel hit another home run at the end of the inning to drive in two more runs, extending the Eagles’ lead to 10-0 and effectively ending the game.
Freshman pitcher Brittany File earned the win, going all five innings and surrendering two runs. File only gave up one hit and struck out five batters.
Sendel led the way at the plate, going two for three with three RBIs and a run. Sullivan went two for three as well, driving home three runs and crossing home twice. Kertsthold, meanwhile, led the team with three runs.
It was an impressive final home game at Cooper Field for the team’s seniors.
Emory will be without Gorodetsky, Light, Kersthold, star pitcher Amanda Kardys and second baseman Claire Bailey next season. Light hit a blistering .488 on the season, while Bailey wasn’t far behind with a .391 average. Gorodetsky hit .378, while Kersthold, the leadoff hitter, batted .344. Kardys is currently 23-1 on the season with a 2.68 earned run average.
The Eagles will end the regular season on Saturday when they visit Maryville College (Tenn.) for a doubleheader.
– By Ryan Smith
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