EMORY, Va. – The Emory & Henry University Baseball Team (11-24) held off a late rally from visiting King (Tenn.) University (8-26) to earn a non-conference win Tuesday afternoon. The Wasps tallied two or more runs in five separate innings on their way to the narrow 11-10 victory, sweeping the season series against their border rival.
The Basics
FINAL SCORE – Emory & Henry 11, King (Tenn.) 10
LOCATION – Emory, Virginia
VENUE – Porterfield-DeVault Field
RECORDS – Emory & Henry (11-24, 3-15 SAC); King (Tenn.) (8-26, 4-14 Carolinas)
How It Happened
Both teams were kept off of the scoreboard in the first inning, but the Wasps struck in the bottom of the second. Fifth-year outfielder Triston Hensley (Covington, Va.) drilled a solo home run over the wall in left-center field, his third of the year, to get E&H on the board. Fifth-year outfielder Matt Hill (Pineville, N.C.) followed suit one batter later when he launched a solo shot, his first of the season, to push the Wasps' lead out to 2-0 after two innings.
The Tornado tied things up in the top of the third on a two-run home run from Michael Starrs to run the score to 2-2, but Emory & Henry had an answer in the home half of the frame. Freshman shortstop Jaret Hoppes (Taylorsville, N.C.) reached on an error and senior third baseman Steven Smith (Salisbury, N.C.) slammed a two-run bomb to left-center, his seventh of the year, to put the Wasps back on top. Senior first baseman Jacob Bebber (Taylorsville, N.C.) went back-to-back with Smith for his sixth long ball of the season to give the Wasps a 5-2 advantage.
After a scoreless fourth, King got back on the board in the top of the fifth with two runs on a pair of hits and an error to draw back within a run at 5-4. The E&H response came in the bottom of the sixth. Freshman outfielder Rhett Barker (Charlotte, N.C.) led off with a single, moved up to second and came around to score on an RBI single off the bat of fifth-year second baseman Jared Foley (Sparta, N.C.). Foley touched home on a wild pitch two batters later to push the lead back out to 7-4. The Tornado would not go quietly as they tallied two more runs in the top of the seventh inning, but the Wasps answered with two more in the home half of the stanza. Fifth-year designated hitter Caeden Howell (Roaring River, N.C.) drew a leadoff walk and Hensley was hit by a pitch to set the table. Barker delivered an RBI double down the line in left and senior outfielder Khadeem Lewis (Chesterfield, Va.) drove in Hensley with a sacrifice fly to make it 9-6.
The back-and-forth game continued in the eighth as the Tornado scored two more runs on another two-run shot from Starrs to close the deficit to 9-8. Emory & Henry struck back once more in the bottom of the inning as Foley doubled and Smith cleared the bases with his second long ball of the game to give the Wasps a little breathing room at 11-8 heading into the final inning of play. The Tornado managed to push across two more runs and put the winning run in scoring position at second base, but fifth-year reliever Jack Swarbrick (Haverhill, Mass.) came in to put out the fire as he retired the final two batters without allowing a run to pick up his second save of the year and give Emory & Henry the 11-10 win.
Fifth-year pitcher John McCarthy (Hampton, Va.) earned the win on the mound for E&H as he allowed two runs on three hits in 1.1 innings of work. Connor Haynes took the loss for the Tornado after surrendering five runs on five hits, including four long balls. Smith paced the Wasps' offense as he finished with his two home runs and a game-high four RBIs. Foley had three hits and a run driven in while Bebber, Hensley and Barker all recorded a pair of knocks and one RBI.
Up Next
The Wasps return to South Atlantic Conference play this weekend when they travel to take on the Saints of Limestone University in a three-game series. First pitch of game one is scheduled for Friday, April 4 at 6:00 p.m. from Gaffney, South Carolina.
--E&H--