MYRTLE BEACH, S.C. – The Emory & Henry College Softball Team (5-5) went 1-1 on Thurday afternoon in its final pair of games at the Fastpitch Dreams Tournament at the Pepper Geddings Recreational Center. The Wasps fell to the Bulldogs of Tennessee Wesleyan College, 5-4, to start the day before concluding the week with a 22-0 drubbing of Penn State-Fayette, 22-0, in five innings.
Game One – Tennessee Wesleyan 5, Emory & Henry 4
Tennessee Wesleyan needed three runs in the top of the seventh inning in order to defeat Emory & Henry, but the Bulldogs were able to get just that as they went on to win, 5-4.
TWC led off the game with two scores in the top of the first but E&H senior catcher Ashley Ebersole (Maurertown, Va.) hit a two-run shot in the bottom half of the frame to knot the contest at two.
In the second, freshman pitcher Kaitlyn Pruitt (Abingdon, Va.) had a two-RBI single to make the score 4-2. The margin would remain the same until the top of the seventh where Tennessee Wesleyan pulled out the win.
Pruitt suffered the loss in the circle despite scattering six hits and five runs over 6.1 innings of work.
Game Two – Emory & Henry 22, Penn State-Fayette 0 (five innings)
Ebersole exploded with a pair of grand slams for her fifth and sixth home runs of the season as Emory & Henry scored the most runs since it defeated Sweet Briar, 27-1, on last season.
Sophomore pitcher Brandy Bryant (Salem, Va.) pitched a no-hitter with five strikeouts while sophomore shortstop Bethany Anderson (Dublin, Va.) went five-for-five at the plate with two doubles and a pair of stolen bases.
Junior second baseman Martha Fluharty (Halifax, N.C.), sophomore first baseman Katie Grimm (Staunton, Va.) senior outfielder Courtney Perkinson (Chesapeake, Va.) and freshman third baseman Hannah Bays (Abingdon, Va.) each had two hits in the game. Bays topped it off with three RBI as she added another round-tripper to her season total.
Emory & Henry will visit Ferrum College next Wednesday for a doubleheader with the Panthers. First pitch is set for 5:00 p.m.
===Wednesday ===
Emory & Henry College (4-4) split its pair of game Wednesday at the Fastpitch Dreams Spring Break Tournament at the Pepper Geddings Recreational Center. The Wasps fell to the Nitanny Lions of Penn State-Berks, 7-3, in the first game and bounced back to defeat the Green Mountain College Eagles, 10-0, in five innings.
Game One – Penn State-Berks 7, Emory & Henry 3
The Nittany Lions and Wasps played tight through the first six innings to a 4-3 score. In the top of the seventh, Penn State-Berks got three runs to seal the victory.
Senior catcher Ashley Ebersole (Maurertown, Va.) went three-for-three with two RBI, a double and a run scored while sophomore shortstop Bethany Anderson (Dublin, Va.) was two-of-three with a pair of runs and a stolen base.
Sophomore pitcher Brandy Bryant (Salem, Va.) took the loss, allowing four runs on seven hits across four innings of work. She struck out four while walking three. Sophomore Katie Grimm (Staunton, Va.) struck out five in three innings of relief.
Game Two – Emory & Henry 10, Green Mountain 0 (five innings)
E&H got its second run-rule victory of the week and its second shutout in as many days as the Wasps defeated the Eagles of Green Mountain, 10-0 in five innings.
Ebersole hit two home runs and had three RBI as she scored three times. Freshman first baseman Taylor Doss (Damascus, Va.) and senior left fielder Sylvia Robbins (Smithfield, Va.) each had doubles while freshman third baseman Hannah Bays (Abingdon, Va.) scored two runs and drove in another.
Grimm earned the win as she allowed just one hit in three innings of work. Bryant struck out two in two innings of relief.
=== Tuesday ===
Emory & Henry evened its season record at 3-3 Tuesday morning as it claimed a pair of victories at the Fastpitch Dreams Spring Break Tournament at the Pepper Geddings Recreational Center. The Wasps defeated the Lions of Penn State-Altoona, 6-2, to start the day and took down the Lady Lions of Penn State-Beaver, 5-0, in game two.
Game One – Emory & Henry 6, Penn State-Altoona 2
Freshman pitcher Kaitlyn Pruitt (Abingdon, Va.) hit a grand slam and picked up the win in the circle as each of the Wasps starters had at least one hit against the Lions. E&H got all six of its runs in the fifth inning, as it pounded out 11 hits.
Pruitt (1-0) scattered five hits and a run over her five-inning outing with five strikeouts. Sophomore Brandy Bryant (Salem, Va.) picked up the save, pitching two innings in relief.
Freshman first baseman Taylor Doss (Damascus, Va.) was two-for-three while junior second baseman Martha Fluharty (Halifax, N.C.) had a double and a RBI. Freshman third baseman Hannah Bays (Abingdon, Va.) went one-for-two with a pair of scores.
Game Two – Emory & Henry 5, Penn State-Beaver 0
The Wasps picked up their first shutout since a 5-0 win over the University of Maine-Presque Isle on March 26, 2012 as they defeated the Lady Lions of Penn State-Beaver by the same 5-0 margin.
Junior centerfielder Cortney Halsey (Independence, Va.) led E&H at the plate, going 2-for-2 while Bays hit her first collegiate home run. Fluharty was one-for-three with a two-out single in the third inning that plated a pair of runs.
Sophomore pitcher Katie Grimm (Staunton, Va.) picked up her second win in as many days, earning the five-hit shutout with four strikeouts.
=== Monday ===
Emory & Henry (1-3) split its first pair of games Monday at the Fastpitch Dreams Spring Break Tournament at the Pepper Geddings Recreational Center. The Wasps fell, 9-7, to the Raiders of Rivier Univeristy in the first game of the day but bounced back to run-rule the Roaring Lions of Penn State-Fayette, 15-1 in five innings.
Game One – Rivier 9, Emory & Henry 7
Emory & Henry got home runs from senior catcher Ashley Ebersole (Maurertown, Va.) and freshman first baseman Taylor Doss (Damascus, Va.) to score three runs in the third inning but it wasn't enough as Rivier picked up the 9-7 victory. Ebersole and Doss each had three RBI in the game while sophomore shortstop Bethany Anderson (Dublin, Va.) went two-for-three with three runs scored.
Sophomore Brandy Bryant (Salem, Va.) pitched six innings in the loss allowing nine runs on six hits, while striking out seven.
Game Two – Emory & Henry 15, Penn State-Fayette 1 (five innings)
Doss hit a three-run home run as she went two-for-three with three runs scored to lead Emory & Henry to a 15-1 run-ruling of Penn State-Fayette. Junior second baseman Martha Fluharty (Halifax, N.C.) was two-for-four with a double and four RBI while Ebersole had a double and plated a pair of runs.
The Wasps scored a run in the first inning, five more in the second and exploded for nine runs in the third frame.
Sophomore Katie Grimm (Staunton, Va.) scattered three hits over five innings of work allowing just one unearned run while striking out seven. She helped her cause at the plate, going two-for-two and scoring twice.
---E&H---