Emory University junior Connor Dillman pitched seven scoreless innings and struck out a season-high 14 batters to lead the Eagles to their second shutout in the last four games, and a series-opening 8-0 win over Huntingdon College in Montgomery, Alabama on Friday night.

Dillman held the Hawks scoreless on three hits over his seven innings on the hill, walking just a pair.  After allowing a pair of hits in the first, he allowed just one over his final six innings of work.

His 14 strikeouts were one short of his career high, and two short of the school's single-game record.  The righty raised his season record to 7-1, including wins in each of his last four starts, and lowered his ERA to 2.16 for the year.

Senior Matt McMahon closed out the game with a pair of scoreless innings to complete the shutout, the third of the season for the Eagles and the most by an Emory pitching staff since the 2008 squad recorded three during the campaign.  Emory pitchers have not allowed an earned run in their last 31 2/3 innings against Division III opposition, dating back to the fifth inning of the team's game against Southwestern College on April 13^th.

The win was the Eagles' eighth straight against a Division III opponent, as the team improved to 27-10 overall for the campaign.  The 27 victories are the most by an Emory team since 2007, when the squad finished the year with a 43-10 record and advanced to the final game of the NCAA Division III Championships.

Senior catcher Jared Welch got the Eagles on the board in the second inning, when he triple to drive in junior centerfielder Wes Peacock, and freshman third baseman Philip Maldari followed with an RBI groundout to score Welch and push the Eagles' lead to 2-0.  Senior shortstop Jared Kahn would score the next two runs for Emory, crossing the plate on an error in the third inning, and on a wild pitch in the top of the fifth, extending the Emory advantage to 4-0.

The score remained the same until the top of the eighth inning, when the Eagles added four runs to their lead, scoring on a bases loaded walk drawn by senior right fielder Brandon Hannon, an RBI groundout from junior Brett Lake, and two more on an infield hit from Peacock.

The RBI was the 55^th of the season for Lake, tied with Andrew Pinckney (2003) for the fifth most in a season in school history and eight behind the program's single-season record, set by Ted Karniewicz in 2000.  Lake finished the game two-for-five with a double, while Peacock was three-for-four with two RBIs, and Kahn added a three-for-five day with three runs scored. 

Huntingdon dropped to 21-15 with the setback.  Hawks' starting pitcher, Gavin Free, took the loss, falling to 5-5 for the year after allowing four earned runs on 11 hits in his seven and a third innings of work.

The Eagles and the Hawks will continue their regular season ending series on Saturday at 3:00 PM ET in Montgomery, before returning to Atlanta, Georgia to conclude the series and the 2014 regular season on Sunday, April 27^th at 2:00 PM.